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BUSINESS
IN BRIEF 1/3
The State Bank
stated on February 27 that bitcoin and other virtual currencies are not legal
tender or a permitted means of payment in
Credit institutions
are not allowed to use them while supplying services to customers.
The ownership and
trading of bitcoin and similar currencies poses many risks as they are not
protected by the law.
The bank warned
organisations and individuals not to invest or conduct any payment with them.
First appearing on
the Japan-based Mt.Gox exchange in June 2010, bitcoin has been widely used
since early 2013 for payment and investment.
Many governments,
including
Metro Cash
& Carry launches new business strategy
Metro Cash &
Carry Vietnam has embarked on a new business strategy in
This was announced
by Philippe Bacac, Chairman and Managing Director of Metro Cash & Carry
Addressing the
event, Philippe Bacac underscored that fundamentally the strategy focuses on
creating better management information systems and distribution channels that
link up suppliers with manufacturers.
With the assistance
of METRO, suppliers will have improved capabilities to understand and meet
the expectations of manufactures with quality product produced on a timely
and economical manner and in turn boost sales and profitability.
19 Metro Cash &
Carry distributors throughout the country have now served about 1 million
professional customers. The volume of Vietnamese goods at METRO centres
account for over 95%.
Annually, the group
also directly and indirectly purchases made-in-Vietnam goods worth up to
US$50 million to provide a number of METRO centers worldwide.
Dong Nai
bridge project gets approval
Construction of a
new bridge linking Binh Duong city and Bien Hoa city has received final
approval and will get underway in early 2015.
A total investment
of VND800-billion has been allocated for the new bridge crossing the
Having an estimated
length of over 2.8 kilometers, the bridge will have four lanes for vehicles
with a design speed of 80 km per hour.
The construction
will be built under Build-and-Transfer (BT) and build-operate-transfer (BOT)
models.
Lotte wants
to further operations in Vietnam
With the hope of
expanding future operations in
Visiting and
exploring investment opportunities in the northern province of Ha Nam is part
of the scheme, said Director General of Lotte Centre Hanoi Lee Jong Kook
during his working session with local authorities on February 27.
The official spoke
highly of the province’s socio-economic progress in recent years and its
foreign investment attraction policies.
He also underlined
the encouraging transport links as a local advantage to facilitate operations
for overseas investors, including Lotte – which hopes to make contributions
to the locality’s development.
The group was
suggested a list of places where it can pour money into building trade
centres.
Lotte operates in many
countries such as
Lotte Mart trade
centres can be found in
The
South
Africa seeks wood industry ties with Binh Dinh
South African
Ambassador to Vietnam Kgomotso Ruth Magau expressed the desire during a
workshop held in the province on February 27.
The ambassador
stressed that
First Secretary of
the
Meanwhile, Binh
Dinh is one of
In 2013,
Foreign
tourists up in February
The number of
foreign guests to
In the first two
months, 1.6 million foreigners arrived in
Up to 992,129 came
for tourism, up 33.37%. The number of business visitors was 270,854, up
32.31%. Those visiting relatives and for other purposes were 268,981 and
86,236, respectively.
Markets sending a
high number of visitors were
During the reviewed
period, domestic guests touched 9.5 million.
The tourism sector
earned VND 47 trillion in turnover.
This year,
IFC helps
build more homes for mid-income earners in Vietnam
International
Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is financing Nam
Long Investment Corp to build 8,000 apartments for mid-income homebuyers in
The financial
support aims to alleviate an acute shortage of affordable housing in the
country’s biggest city.
IFC, in a statement
released today, states that the $7.5 million equity investment will support
Nam Long’s plan to build more housing units under its EHome brand, which was
launched 10 years ago as its first affordable-housing project.
Nam Long is a
market leader of affordable-housing developments in
“IFC’s investment
is a stamp of approval for our competitive advantage in affordable housing
and in
In addition to the
financing package, IFC is helping the company improve its environmental and
social practices, and adopt higher energy-efficiency standards for its
buildings.
With IFC’s advice,
Nam Long is developing a pilot building with green features that comply with
“Although the last
few years have been challenging for Vietnam's property market, there is still
strong, fundamental demand for affordable housing as Vietnam continues to
urbanize,” said Simon Andrews, IFC’s regional manager for Cambodia, Lao PDR,
Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“Nam Long sets the
quality benchmark for affordable housing in
Agribank,
NongHyup Bank in money transfer deal
Agribank and
NongHyup Bank on Tuesday struck a cooperation deal to provide money transfer
service for Vietnamese guest workers in
In addition to the
remittance service, the two sides will be joining hands to offer financial
support for Vietnamese employees through the employment permit system (EPS).
EPS allows
employers who cannot hire native workers to legally employ foreigners. This
system of the Korean government is designed to monitor foreign guest workers
in
To subscribe to the
service, Vietnamese workers should open an account at NongHyup Bank and
maintain it until they have settled all their loans owed to Agribank.
Main customers of
Agribank and NongHyup Bank are in the agriculture sector.
High export
targets and challenges for Vietnam
This is indeed a
major challenge for the country at a time when the world economy is forecast
to face continuing difficulties that will reduce consumption demands and
lower the prices of many types of export goods.
In addition, protectionism
is generally increasing around the world, particularly in the form of
anti-dumping lawsuits and technical barriers, making it difficult for
Vietnamese exporters to develop markets and seek partners.
The structure of
The export revenue
of foreign-invested companies accounts for a large proportion of the total,
particularly that of high-tech products such as computers and phones.
To fulfill the
target set for 2014, there must be close co-ordination between ministries,
sectors and enterprises, with the leading role played by the Ministry of
Industry and Trade.
It also requires
comprehensive measures to ease difficulties for enterprises and facilitate
their business activities in gaining access to loans, purchasing or leasing
land and performing administrative procedures.
It is necessary to
increase activities seeking out markets and those expanding and boosting
trade promotion programmes, with the focus placed on developing countries,
potential and emerging markets.
There should be
policies put in place to support the consumption and export of agricultural
and aquatic products, in addition to major export products such as textiles
and footwear.
To reduce the
dependence on imported materials, domestic production needs to be fostered,
particularly the enhancement of supporting industries and industries with
great comparative advantages and high levels of competitiveness.
The communication
work and the role of the Vietnamese trade offices abroad are also of great
importance, as they will expediently grasp the changes of policies and
mechanisms related to exports, announcing them to domestic agencies which can
then better handle potential problems.
This year,
Thus, domestic
enterprises should utilise the favourable conditions from such agreements to
boost export and enhance the efficiency of exports to other member countries.
Vegetable
and fruit exports to
The department said
the total export value of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits to
Koshida Ryu, a
farming expert of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), claimed
that not only dragon fruit and mango but also other kinds of Vietnamese fruit
could enter the Japanese market, including rambutan, milk fruit and longan,
reported the Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam (VnEconomy) newspaper.
Japanese consumers
have tasted Vietnamese fruits during tours to the Cuu Long (
According to
Some kinds of
Vietnamese fruit have built a strong reputation in the Japanese market, such
as Hoa Loc mango, Chin Hoa durian and Nam Roi grapefruit.
The increase was
due to preferential tariffs created under the Viet Nam–Japan Economic
Partnership Agreement (VJEPA).
However, Vietnamese
vegetable and fruit export volume is still only a small segment of Japan's
total vegetable and fruit imports, accounting for only 0.6-0.9 per cent of
the total.
To promote exports
to
Additionally, by
2020, Vietnamese enterprises should diversify vegetable and fruit products to
Amended law
aims at more transparent investment climate
Creating a more
transparent investment climate, amending and adding new administrative
procedures and addressing difficulties in gauging investment performance are
the key targets of the amended Investment Law.
This was discussed
at a workshop held to gather opinions from industry insiders in Ha Noi
yesterday.
Speaking at the
workshop, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Dang Huy Dong said the
amended Investment Law needed to clarify four issues: defining foreign
investors, procedures to set up a business with foreign investors, procedures
for capital contributions to buy shares and essential issues to implement a
one-door policy.
A representative of
the Viet Nam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) noted that the amended
investment law is adaptable to localities and provinces as these areas are
thirsty for foreign investments.
The difficulty was
that foreign investors were still skeptical about the implementation of
administrative procedures for business registrations or investment certificates,
he said.
Nguyen Thanh Tra, a
representative of a law firm, remarked that foreign investors were now
unwilling to buy stock from local companies. The existing law did not
stipulate whether investors who buy shares that constitute less than a 49 per
cent stake in a local company should obtain an investment certificate. He
added that the amended law needed to clarify this issue.
To ensure
consistency and transparency, the draft regulations should not discriminate
between domestic and foreign investors. If the law is changed, incentives for
investors should remain unchanged.
In addition, the
open-door policy was also enacted to address procedures on investments, land
and construction through the agency of investment certification.
The amended law
will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval this year. The
current Investment Law consist of 10 chapters and 77 sections enacted in
2005.
After more than
eight years of implementation, the current Investment Law has proved to have
a number of limitations and shortcomings.
In particular, the
sections on investment industries and investment areas are haphazard and
ineffective. The provisions on investment conditions and procedures are still
unclear and unfeasible. This does not create an equal legal framework for
both domestic and foreign investors. –
Rung Toan
Cau tries to collect on empty promise
More signs of
evident scams from Rung Toan Cau Company continue to surface, prompting
Rung Toan Cau
belongs to a group of eight joint-venture companies whose charter capital is
claimed to be around VND78 trillion (USD3.7 million).
Nguyen Thi Thuan,
the headmistress of a nursery school in
The letter was on
Hien Vinh Company letterhead. The company apparently helped to organise
conferences and meetings for Rung Toan Cau. Thuan said, "They want to do
charity for disadvantaged children and households. They also promised a
support for us worth VND17 billion, but we haven't heard from them since. We
were also warned by police to be careful with this company."
There is no primary
address listed for Hien Vinh, and neighbours who live near the secondary address
say the company moved out years ago.
Reporters disguised
as customers approached Rung Ben Vung Toan Cau, at an office located on
According to
employees at the site, the company offers individuals or groups who wish to
start an agricultural business a chance to borrow capital. After submitting
land-use permits and VND27,250,000 the organization or individual "will
receive share in our company, worth VND545 million," according to one
employee.
Colonel Nguyen Van
Binh, deputy head of Public Security Department in
On January 25,
Thanh Hoa Province People's Committee issued directives warning against so called
charity funds from eight joint-venture companies who do not have the
financial capacity to carry out their promises. On February 12, the local
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development also warned other agencies
against cooperating with these companies.
MobiFone
sale to ignite telecoms
Giant mobile
service provider MobiFone is expected to be detached from its state-owned
parent, the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group, in a move experts
hope will bring more competition to the telecommunications market.
At a recent
seminar, it was proposed that MobiFone, one of
Pham Hong Hai, head
of the Ministry of Information and Communications’ (MoIC) Telecommunications
Department believes that the proposal could see the local
telecommunications market reach new heights.
Currently,
Former Deputy
Minister of Post and Communications, now MoIC, Mai Liem Truc claimed that
with all three major players being state owned, they were inherently
inefficient.
“In the long term,
they will not develop strongly. The domestic telecommunications market developed
strongly first, but development has slowed compared to the global
telecommunications market,” Truc said.
The Central
Institute for Economic Management’s vice head Vo Tri Thanh said the
restructuring of the telecommunications market, including the separation of
MobiFone, would enable the market to develop and promote more healthy
competition.
“An equitised
MobiFone joined by private investors with modern technology and management
experience will pressurise VinaPhone and Viettel,” Thanh stressed.
At present,
MobiFone largely focuses on mobile services. However, the firm’s chairman Le
Ngoc Minh stated that if MobiFone became an independent firm, it would
diversify into more competitive services.
Outside of the
three large-scale telecommunications groups, there is also a collection of
small-scale players. Also according to the White Book, MobiFone, VinaPhone
and
Viettel hold 81 per
cent of the mobile market, the remaining part of the cake belonging to more
obscure operators such as Vietnamobile (10.74 per cent), Gmobile (3.93
per cent) and SFone (0.01 per cent).
Of them, only
Vietnamobile, with more than 10 million subscribers, is considered to be
viable, while Gmobile, with nearly 5 million subscribers faces difficulties
and SFone is on the brink of collapse. These operators receive almost
no incentives from the state.
If the equitisation
of MobiFone is realised, and the market becomes more competitive, these
small-scale operators would find it increasingly difficult to survive.
However, the MoIC’s
Pham Hong Hai clarified that the Law on Telecommunications allowed private
firms unlimited participation in the market.
“In the
telecommunications sector, firms can shift to other business sectors if they
fail to operate well in mobile services. After EVN Telecom was merged into
Viettel, its customers were still able to use Viettel’s services.
Cement
firms remain stuck
Another tough year
is forecasted for cement firms amid an oversupplied and sluggish property
market.
Total cement
consumption in 2014 is estimated at 62-63 million tonnes, up 3 per cent
against 2013. Of this, 48.5-49 million tonnes is to serve the domestic market
and 13.5-14 million tonnes is for export, according to the Ministry of
Construction’s latest forecast.
Assuming that
consumption matches expectations and cement firms do not amend their
capacity, about seven million tonnes will be overproduced, irrespective of
another seven million tonnes set to be sourced from five new production lines
to be commissioned in the second half of this year.
According to
general director Hoang Xuan Vinh of Cam Pha Cement JSC based in
This year, the
company has targeted sales of 1.7 million tonnes of cement in the domestic
market while 650,000 tonnes of clinker are set for export, worth some VND2.7
trillion ($128 million) in total predicted revenue. “Our entire company will
execute a wide range of measures from the early period of this year and will
provide better support to customers to reach the set target,” Vinh said.
Cam Pha Cement,
with more than VND6 trillion ($285 million) in total investment capital and
2.3 million tonnes in annual capacity, began operations in 2008 and incurred
more than VND1.7 trillion ($81 million) in cumulative losses by mid-2013.
In October 2013,
leading telecom group Viettel bought a 70 per cent stake in Cam Pha Cement,
giving the company better hopes for the future.
Last year, the
company reported VND2.3 trillion ($109 million) in revenue, up 10 per cent
against 2012, and sold approximately 1.3 million tonnes domestically and
shipped over 813,000 tonnes abroad. Despite these reasonable figures, the
company still accumulated VND19 billion ($905,000) in losses since it had to
pay interest payments of VND364 billion ($17.3 million) in addition to other
financial costs.
This year, state
cement conglomerate Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) set a 21
million-tonne target, producing 16-17 million tonnes of clinker, revenue of
more than VND30 trillion ($1.4 billion) and profits of about VND500 billion
($23.8 million).
These targets were
down on 2013 figures, revealing Vicem’s cautious approach.
Vicem’s
subsidiaries were also liable for repayments on debts, with Vicem But Son JSC
incurring over VND100 billion ($4.7 million) in losses since it had to deduct
VND730 billion ($34.7 million) in investment cost repayments in addition to
paying over $4.7 million due to exchange rate fluctuations.
Input costs also
rose constantly last year, with coal price increasing 37-41 per cent from
April and electricity growing 5 per cent from August.
In this context,
cement firms have regarded export as a way to boost sales despite the lower
profits.
Vicem said it would
support member units in spurring exports to reach 2.6 million tonnes in
cement and clinker export this year, up 300,000 tonnes over 2013.
Cam Pha Cement
intends to surpass its one million tonne cement export target this year.
Substandard
cement projects axed as demand decreases
The government last
week rejected nine substandard projects from its cement industry development
plan for 2011-2020, with orientation towards 2030, according to the Vietnam
Association for Building Materials.
The scrapped
projects include the Ha Tien-Kien Giang, Truong Son-Ro Li, Hop Son, Ngoc Ha,
Vinafuji Lao Cai, Thanh Truong, Son Duong, Quang Minh and Cao Bang projects,
each of which was planned to produce less than 2,500 tonnes of clinker per
day.
The decision came
as the Association for Building Materials (ABM) forecast cement consumption
in the domestic market would decrease 14-15 per cent against the levels projected
during the state’s planning for 2011-2015.
“Removing low
capacity and ineffective cement projects from the cement industry plan is
vital. It will bring significant changes and greener production practices
into
Under the new
cement plan, investors in new cement projects with a capacity of 2,500 tonnes
of clinker per day must invest in waste heat recovery systems to generate
power.
Projects already in
operation or under construction will also be forced to complete the
investment in waste heat recovery systems before 2015, while additional plans
will completely transform technology from blast furnaces to reverse furnaces
with the gradual termination of outdated technology.
Tran Van Huynh,
chairman of the ABM added that besides extending deadlines and removing weak
plants, cement firms also have to speed up their restructuring to increase
competition. Current times have proven hard even for market leaders like
state conglomerate Vicem, which consists of eight member companies and
controls over 33 per cent of the market countrywide.
“Each Vicem member
should scale up efforts to maintain their traditional home markets since it
will be difficult for firms to increase sales in new areas due to high
transportation costs,” said Vicem general director Nguyen Ngoc Anh.
The Ministry of
Construction has estimated cement consumption will reach 62-63 million tonnes
in 2014, a mere 1.5-3 per cent increase in comparison with 2013. It targets
to export 14 million tonnes this year, equal to that of 2013.
Lower fees
proposed for transport firms
A proposed Ministry
of Finance draft circular would give transport businesses a number of new
benefits if passed.
The Ministry of
Finance (MoF) just turned to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) for comments on
a draft to the MoF’s Circular 197/2012/TT-BTC, dated November 2012, guiding
collection, payment, management and use of roads by units of vehicles. This
is aimed at helping reduce the financial burdens now on transport companies.
Accordingly, the
first benefit transport firms would see is a new regulation covering truck
drivers.
The existing
circular regulates the collection of road tolls from tractor trailers and/or
semi-trailers, whereas the draft version combines the weight of both vehicles
to calculate charges.
This means firms using
trailer trucks will pay fees on trailers correlative to their tractor number.
According to Le Van
Tien, owner of a big tractor business and chairman of Haiphong Freight
Transport Association, if the draft is passed into law, transport firms could
save up to VND10 million ($500) in road use charges each month.
“In fact, some
firms have 50 tractors carrying 70 trailers. Under the draft they would pay
fees on the 50 tractors with relevant trailers but not the total 70
trailers,” said Tien.
The second new
point in the draft is that transport firms with accrued road use charges of
VND50 million ($2,380) per month can pay on a monthly basis, but not every
six months as at present.
Chairman of the
Vietnam Auto Transport Association Nguyen Van Thanh said the new regulation
would help alleviate businesses’ burdens as they pay big amounts every 6, 12,
18 or 24 months now and could instead pay smaller amounts each time.
My A Forwarding
Joint Stock Company general director Vo Thi Phuong Lan seconded this, saying
existing regulations require firms to pay road use charges on units of
vehicles following a longer-term registry period, depending on the type of
vehicle (second-hand or brand new.
Under this
regulation, firms with large numbers of vehicles often have to borrow money
to ensure they meet their payment obligations.
Another new point
in the draft that is being welcomed by transport firms is that vehicles would
not have to pay charges if their use has been suspended for 30 or more
consecutive days.
If firms already
paid these fees, they would be refunded or deducted from a later payment.
In fact, for a
number of reasons, many vehicles are left unused for a month or more while
firms still pay road use charges on them. The new regulation helps avoid this
and reduce the financial burden on businesses.
According to Deputy
Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai, the MoF will start sourcing comments from
other government agencies and localities on the draft circular once it gets
input from the MoT.
Binh Duong
drives future growth
The southern
The local
authorities inaugurated a new integrated administration centre in Binh Duong
New City on February 20, marking a milestone in the province’s development
and providing fresh opportunities for investors.
Located in the Binh
Duong New City project, the new hub includes 20-storey twin towers and a
helicopter pad.
Work on the centre
started in November 2010 and the towers now house the province’s party,
government and public agencies.
The new Becamex
IDC-constructed centre cost more than VND1.4 trillion ($67.54 million), and
was designed by
Deputy Chairman of
the Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Nam said the new
administration hub was a symbol of the province’s development, and marked the
efforts of the local authorities to provide fast, transparent and modern
administration.
Only an hour’s
drive from
Part of the
“By 2020, the Binh
Duong New City project will become Binh Duong City’s core district to further
foster the whole province’s sustainable development,” Nam said, adding that
the province was working on plans to build a railway line with funding from
the Japanese government to link the new city with Ho Chi Minh City’s first
metro rail route Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien, which is currently under construction.
Also on February 20,
the local authorities introduced a raft of key projects for this year,
including developing an express bus service to connect the
Another project is
Other projects
include a new Binh Duong Television centre, construction of the Binh Duong
Development Fund Office, opening of Japanese retailer Aeon’s 62,000-square
metre shopping mall and building new major roads including a road linking
Binh Duong New City with Thu Dau Mot City, construction of Tan Van Logistic
Centre and Port Complex, finishing An Son Port Services Complex, and building
a 1,500-bed general hospital. Aeon is due to open the $95-million Binh Duong
Canary mall in October 2014 and will be its second shopping centre in
A major project is
to turn Ben Cat district into Ben Cat municipality and Bau Bang district, to
transform Tan Uyen district into Tan Uyen municipality and North Tan Uyen
district. The project also includes construction of the 300-hectare Bau Bang
Industrial Park (IP) for garment and textile companies, and supporting
industries.
As part of efforts
to lure more investors, Binh Duong has completed infrastructure in 26 of the
province’s 28 IPs, developed human resources and enhanced its service quality
by simplifying administrative procedures and promoting transparency, said Mai
Hung Dung, director of the Binh Duong Provincial Department of Planning and
Investment. The local IPs include popular
The province
recorded its GDP growth of 12.8 per cent last year and is targeting 13 per
cent growth for 2014. It is predicted the industry sector to grow 16 per
cent, trade and services 20 per cent, and agriculture 4 per cent this year,
up on last year’s results of 8.7 per cent, 19.6 per cent and 1.8 per cent
respectively.
Binh Duong’s
efforts to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) have been rewarded, with
the province having this year already attracted $715.7 million in FDI, equal
to almost three quarters of its $1 billion year target by February 20, said
Dung. Among the new inflows, $189.8 million was from 20 newly licensed
projects, and $525.9 million was added to 19 already operational projects.
He added the
performance showed investors had faith in Binh Duong’s investment environment
and that the province was eager to support investors as part of its efforts
to continually improve its business climate.
Tata not
set to wave
The failure of Tata
Steel’s $5 billion steel project in the central
Indronil Sengupta,
chief executive of Tata Sons Limited – the holding company of Tata Group – in
Previously, Tata
Steel asked for the same amount of financial support for site clearance that
had been offered to
“We were extremely
serious and had spent over five years trying to develop the project. However,
despite our sincerity and strenuous efforts, we could not successfully
implement the project. We were disappointed as we had spent a significant
amount of time and resources,” said Sengupta, who was previously chief
executive of Southeast Asia Projects at Tata Steel Limited.
“Although it has
been a setback, our confidence in
Sengupta said Tata
Steel was still considering participation in the steel and mining sector in
Tata is currently
focusing on the power sector. Tata Power last November signed a memorandum of
understanding with the Ministry of Industry and Trade for investing in Long
Phu 2 project in the southern
“We are very
positive about Long Phu, and we don’t see site clearance issues arising as we
are satisfied with the co-operation we have received from the leaders of Soc
Trang so far,” he added.
With the potential
growth of the economy and the expanding market, Sengupta believes that
“Several of our
group companies have global marketing plans and will enter the
NPL cancer
grows, profits hit
High non-performing
loan ratios are continuing to cause expenses for banks as they are forced to
invest in provisions. Larger banks particularly are finding it difficult to
both battle bad debt and achieve profits.
According to ACB’s
2013 consolidated financial statement, its pre-tax profit was VND1.035
trillion ($49.2 million), lower than VND1.042 trillion ($49.5 million) in
2012. While profits dropped, non-performing loans (NPLs) grew, with the
bank’s potential irrevocable debt (debt group 5) doubling compared to the end
of 2012 to reach VND2.123 trillion ($101 million).
Similarly, Eximbank
suffered a sharp drop in pre-tax profit in 2013, down 70 per cent on-year.
The bank’s debt group 5 increased significantly by 35.4 per cent, reaching
VND1.073 trillion ($51 million).
According to
Techcombank’s statements, the bank’s consolidated pre-tax profit of 2013 was
about 13.7 per cent lower than 2012. The decrease was blamed on provisions
put aside to battle bad debt. The bank’s NPL ratio still stands at 3.65 per
cent, significantly high to warrant the forced sale of the debt to the
Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC).
Notably, these
three banks have foreign strategic shareholders, a competitive advantage.
HSBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) hold a 20 per cent stake
in Techcombank and Eximbank respectively, while Standard Chartered Bank is
ACB’s foreign strategic partner.
A raft of other
banks have announced positive profit growth, but their NPLs have continued to
increase sharply.
Sacombank’s debt
group 5 increased by 13.5 per cent, and now makes up 63 per cent of the
bank’s total bad debts. BIDV’s same debt group increased by 14 per cent.
Vietcombank saw the
highest debt growth as the lender’s debt group 5 reached VND3 trillion
($142.6 million), 200 per cent higher than 2012’s figure.
According to
banking expert Nguyen Tri Hieu, debt group 5 increases show the deteriorating
quality of bad debts in general.
In contrast to the
biggest banking players, smaller banks seem to have escaped the worst,
especially those which underwent restructuring.
In 2013, SHB
decreased its NPL ratio to 4.05 per cent from 8.5 per cent after merging with
debt-ridden Habubank in 2012. The bank also reported outstanding credit
growth of 34 per cent. Its 2013 pre-tax profit was VND1 trillion ($47.6
million), while it bore a loss in 2012.
TPBank surpassed
their yearly profit target by earning VND350 billion ($16.6 million), double
2012’s total. The lender’s NPL ratio is also looking good at less than 2 per
cent.
VPBank in 2013
posted surprising credit growth of 30 per cent, while pre-tax profit was 30
per cent higher than 2012.
While these modest
success stories show how drastic restructuring can help banks escape their
present difficulties and emerge stronger in the future, in general, banking
profits are sliding.
NPLs continue to
threaten the system. A new Moody’s report titled Vietnam Banking System
Outlook estimates the figure to comprise at least 15 per cent of total
assets.
“Profitability
remains stagnant in a challenging operating environment in which an improved
external position has yet to revive domestic demand. Weak loan demand is
depressing bank margins, which remain insufficient to offset rising credit
costs and improve internal capital generation,” stated the Moody’s report.
New law
offers small steps forward
Real estate
developers anticipate a better environment if the draft revised Law on Real
Estate Business and the draft revised Law on Residential Housing are approved
by the National Assembly later this year.
Foreign real estate
developers may welcome the revised law, but expatriate buyers may find the
lack of progress on equal treatment disappointing Photo: Le Toan
According to David
Lim, head of the Land Sub Group under the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF),
provisions have been inserted in the draft revised Law on Residential Housing
(LRH) to expand the rights of foreigners to purchase and use residential property.
However, there
continue to be limitations on the rights of foreigners who will still not be
permitted to lease their property, own residential houses other than in
prescribed commercial residential housing projects, or use property as
collateral to access loans from the bank.
“We think the
amendment of the laws to allow greater rights for foreigners would be very
beneficial for a foreign developer when they can sell a large number of
apartments in a specific building for a foreign investor, then this investor
can re-sell or re-lease those properties,” Lim said.
Regarding the draft
Law on Residential Housing (LRH), foreign commentators said that while some
meagre efforts had been made to increase the rights of foreign investors to
undertake real estate transactions in Vietnam, foreign investors were still
not permitted to purchase houses and buildings for resale or lease, be
allocated land by the state, receive and transfer land use rights or invest
in infrastructure for transfer or for leasing land with infrastructure.
Lim optimistically
claimed that the participation of foreign investors in the real estate market
would help the real estate market to mature further.
“Over the years, we
have seen domestic investors gain in experience and capabilities arising from
a thriving real estate market which includes the contributions of foreign
investors. It is not uncommon today to see many iconic developments
undertaken by domestic developers. The risk that domestic investors will be
disadvantaged by allowing foreign developers more rights in
Nguyen Manh Khoi,
vice director, Housing and Real Estate Market Administration under the
Ministry of Construction said the two draft laws had addressed those issues.
“Supplements will
be made to the draft to allow foreign investors coming to
Initially the
government opened the housing-for-sale market to foreign developers with the
Phu My Hung project in
According to real
estate expert Dang Hung Vo, foreign investment was helping stimulate the real
estate market. “If the rights for foreigners are improved in the current
revised land laws, the real estate market could revive more quickly,” Vo
said.
South Fork
case offers experience
The South Fork
lawsuit against Binh Thuan provincial People’s Committee is a lesson for
state authorities in dealing with future litigation with foreign investors.
Information
released by the Ministry of Justice showed the
The committee did
not respond to VIR’s requests for comment last week, and South Fork has
similarly avoided media contact.
Le Net, a partner
at law firm LNT & Partners and also an arbitrator at the Vietnam
International Arbitration Centre, said the case was a good chance for
“State authorities
took the initiative, faced the lawsuit and complied with arbitration
regulations. These were the keys to success in this case,” said Net.
He also added that
the Ministry of Justice had hired capable lawyers and was confident in the
nation’s legal opinion and strategy.
The South Fork Twin
Capes project was licensed in 2004 by the Ministry of Planning and
Investment. It would have comprised luxury resorts, golf courses, villas,
luxury condo complexes, a large community yacht and marina and entertainment
areas.
In December 2009,
Binh Thuan provincial People’s Committee handed over more than 333 hectares
to South Fork for developing the project, demanding the company to implement
the project within five months since the handover, or otherwise, the committe
would recover the land.
The lawsuit came
after the committee revoked the license in 2010 due to long delays.
South Fork laid the
blame on the committee, saying they had allowed Duong Lam Company to exploit
titanium on the project’s land, causing construction delays.
The committee’s
defence was that South Fork was responsible for the delay and was aware of
the mineral exploitation as evidenced by an agreement it signed with Duong
Lam.
The dispute raised
more than a few eyebrows in 2011 when South Fork announced it would sue the
committee in an international arbitration tribunal and set damages at $3.7
billion.
Immediately after
South Fork announced the suit, former director of Binh Thuan’s Planning and
Investment Department Luong Van Hai said local authorities began collecting
evidence defending their case.
A source from the
Ministry of Planning and Investment said the government also formed a team to
handle the dispute immediately after lodging a request for legal recourse to
the charges.
Source: VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Thứ Sáu, 28 tháng 2, 2014
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