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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 13/7
This
week tax offices in
They
also threatened to block bank accounts or invalidate invoices of businesses
that fail to pay up and hand over their cases to the police.
The
move, a part of the Ministry of Finance's efforts to reduce back taxes
estimated at VND72 trillion (US$3.24 billion) currently, seems effective so
far with some businesses reportedly scrambling to pay.
However,
the move has caused resentment among many companies and annoyed economists.
They
said it is "unfair" that tax authorities go after private businesses,
while the tax agencies themselves and many other state agencies get away
scot-free with debts they owe businesses, especially tax refunds and payment
for public construction works.
Ngo Tri
Long, an economist, said government agencies and local governments sit on the
money they owe contractors of public projects for years, causing financial
trouble for many companies, but none of the officials responsible for this
have been named or punished.
He
quoted a 2013 report by the Ministry of Planning and Investment as saying the
debts related to construction had risen to VND91 trillion ($4 billion).
Statistics
from the General Department of Taxation showed that the government owed
businesses nearly VND17.24 trillion ($776.33 million) in tax refunds as of
last year.
Nguyen
Thai Son, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Agents Club, said though
the law states that tax agencies have to pay interest when they delay tax
refunds to businesses, they rarely do.
Nguyen
Thi Thu Trang, finance manager of HCMC-based interior construction company
C.N.D Aluminum Glass, said when her company delayed payment of taxes, it was
slapped with interest much higher than bank rates.
But the
tax offices themselves did not pay any fines in a similar situation, even in
case of delays lasting years and amounts involving billions of dong, she
said.
"It
is extremely unreasonable and unfair to businesses."
Despite
their resentment, businesses rarely dare take legal action against official
agencies, Long said.
In
Another
economist, Do Thien Anh Tuan, agreed, saying that in many countries when a
state agency owes them money, companies can go to court.
"It
is a pity that our laws are not that good."
Commercial
banks in
The
deadline for banks to reduce their bad debts is October 1.
Lenders
missing that deadline will not be licensed to add more branches or install
new ATMs, the State Bank of
It is
unclear if the expansion restriction will be lifted next year.
Bad
debts in
The
central bank has continuously affirmed its commitment to bring that level
down to 3 percent by the end of the year.
In one
of the bank's efforts, local lenders were ordered to sell their bad debts to
its asset management company VAMC by September.
VAMC,
which was established in July 2013, planned to buy around VND80 trillion
($3.6 billion) of bad debts from commercial lenders this year.
BIDV,
the second-biggest partly private bank by assets, was asked to sell the
largest amount, around VND8 trillion ($360.31 million), local media reported.
Life
insurers break records in
Life
insurance premiums in
Premiums
from life insurance plans are expected to rise 15 percent to a record 31.5
trillion dong ($1.45 billion) this year, or 3.3 times the value in 2007,
finance ministry data shows. Still, the number of life insurance policies
totalled just 5.96 million at the end of April - that's less than the
population of the capital
It will
take a few more years before insurers make more substantial headway into the
market. Most households still have low understanding and awareness of
insurance policies, and despite a rising middle class, most can yet afford coverage,
BMI Research said in a report last month.
Trinh
Van Anh, 24, a manager at an international school in Hanoi, has no life
insurance and hasn't thought of getting one, even though her monthly salary
of about $1,000 is higher than most of her peers. "There's no one
telling me to get one," she said. "No one knows what life insurance
covers, what it gives the policy holder, or what the benefits are."
By 2019,
at least one of the major players may achieve significant success in
developing and distributing micro-insurance products among the lower-income
population, according to BMI. Prudential, AIA, Manulife and Dai-ichi
currently dominate the market. Baoviet Life, a unit of Baoviet Holdings, is
the only domestic player, and the market's second-biggest player after
Prudential.
Central
province to promote swiftlet nest products
A
workshop was held in Nha Trang city on July 10 to identify ways to boost the
production of salangane nests – a delicacy from the central province Khanh
Hoa.
The
event, held by the Khanh Hoa Salangane Nest Company and the Ministry of
Science and Technology, was attended by nearly 100 delegates, including
officials, scientific and technological experts, and salangane researchers.
Speakers
underscored the necessity of in-depth studies on how to sustainably raise
salanganes, a species of swiftlets, and harvest their nests. They also
highlighted the potential impacts of climate change and human activities, and
suggested solutions to protect the species.
Prof. Dr
Mai Dinh Yen from the Hanoi-based
Director
of the Khanh Hoa company Le Huu Hoang called upon coastal localities
throughout the country to devise investment strategies and consider
developing breeding sites for salangane in favourable areas, helping Khanh
Hoa expand salangane breeding and nest harvesting.
The
workshop was part of the on-going 2015 Nha Trang Sea Festival, which ends on
July 14.
The
salangane lives in caves on limestone cliffs and makes nests using its own
saliva. The nest is a popular but an expensive traditional dish which is
believed to have health benefits.
Khanh
Hoa is home to the largest salangane population in
The
Khanh Hoa Salangane Nest Company, tasked with developing and harvesting
salangane nests, now owns 169 salangane caves on 32 islands.
In 2014,
it harvested more than 3.38 tonnes of salangane nests, the main ingredient in
a number of products that are exported to 21 countries and territories around
the world.
RCEP
agreement impacts on
Impacts
of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on the Vietnamese
economy were unveiled at a conference held in
RCEP is
a free trade agreement among the ASEAN bloc and six other partners:
Speaking
at the conference, Vice Director of the Central Institute for Economic
Management (CIEM) Vo Tri Thanh highlighted that RCEP is relevant to
Pham
Binh An, Director of the WTO Integration Support Centre in Ho Chi Minh City,
said the RCEP pact stipulates drastic reductions on trade tariffs, which will
have major positive influences on Vietnam as the country is experiencing a
trade deficit with some of the regional nations.
Vietnamese
enterprises need to map out effective import-export strategies, he
underscored, saying RCEP commits to cut down a raft of tariffs, restructuring
trade among well-developed countries in the region.
He added
that RCEP is a crucial institution in international economic integration,
affecting 48 percent of the global population and 30 percent of the
international economic productivity.
Experts
at the conference agreed that
Apart
from 10 signed free trade pacts,
Livestock
farming efficiency promoted
Authorities
and experts came together in
The
event, organised by the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development,
reviewed the implementation of the restructuring of livestock production and
discuss future action points.
Director
of the Ministry’s National Institute of Animal Sciences Nguyen Thanh Son
highlighted the sector’s challenges in terms of productivity, quality and
price, and called for the application of technology in stockbreeding.
Son also
pointed out the lack of linkages between farmers and businesses, poor food
safety and hygiene, and cumbersome administrative procedures.
Meanwhile,
President of the Vietnam Animal Feed Association (VietFeed) Le Ba Lich
underlined the financial difficulties businesses in the sector faced, and
suggested more demand-oriented research be conducted.
Director
of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Agricultural and Rural Development
Nguyen Phuoc Trung stressed the significance of the quality of stockbreeding
and production scale in improving productivity and product quality.
The city
offered a number of incentives for farmers to apply science and technologies
in order to reduce costs in livestock production, Trung said.
Minister
Cao Duc Phat called for a change in mindset among stakeholders to boost the
sector’s restructuring process, thus enhancing its competitiveness and integration
into regional and global markets.
The
sector should focus on productivity and quality in order to meet consumption
and export demands, the Minister said, adding that the application of science
and technology should also be fostered in the production process to reduce
costs, while also ensuring food safety and hygiene.
Statistics
published by the Ministry’s Department of Livestock show that the sector has
grown by 4.8% over the past six months, meeting domestic demand in full and
partly fulfilling its export targets.
Hong
Kong enterprises want to cooperate with
The
announcement was released by Shirley Wong, Director, Indochina, Hong Kong
Trade Development Council (HKTDC) at a seminar in
Shirley
Wong said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region always strongly
supports the development of creative industries. This is the strength of
The
country is also among top four largest footwear producers, trailing by
A number
of free trade agreements which are likely to come into effect soon will also
open more opportunities for the footwear and handbag industry of
Lefaso
said that after Vietnam joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement,
current taxes of 3.5-57.4% will be cut down to zero, helping footwear
businesses boost their exports.
However,
the biggest challenge for the sector is that the product quality of some
businesses does not meet export requirements. Other obstacles include low
qualification of human resources and shortage of a material area.
Lefaso
will hold an export promotion conference on July 15 with the aim of raising
production and export capacity of domestic businesses.
The
conference is within the framework of the 2015 national promotional programme
to introduce the capacity of
Modern
industry in
Duong
told delegates at a workshop on July 8 in
The
event was held to collect inputs for the development of a national strategy
for industry development.
Duong
said since "doi moi" was initiated in 1986, Vietnamese production
had risen 24 times.
However,
he said, lack of a complete development plan after the country's official
integration into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007 and conflicts
between the different development strategies for different sectors had
hindered industrial growth.
Duong
said in industry, production of materials boosted the growth of other
industries, especially manufacturing, information technology, electronics,
culture, services, tourism, agriculture-forestry-animal husbandry and
export-oriented farm produce processing.
He added
that developing industry would help lower trade deficit, help stabilise the
macro-economy, reduce exports of unprocessed natural resources, including raw
minerals, and increase the added value of products.
Further,
it would also help attract foreign investment, create employment and
encourage the taking of initiatives to protect the environment.
At the
workshop, participants discussed what materials should be selected for
focused development in
They
also analysed the needs and demand for materials for industrial production in
both local and foreign businesses.
Scientists
at the workshop made several recommendations for a policy to develop the
materials industry from now to 2025 with a vision to 2035, underscoring the
important roles of State-owed businesses, scientific-technological research
institutions and banks.
Dr. Doan
Dinh Phuong, from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, called for
increased investment in research and development and training.
He said
the Government should select a number of research institutions and producers
to develop strategic materials that could serve both military and civil
purposes, including titanium and steel compounds, special alloys, and
photonic and electronic materials.
The
Government should also give preferential treatment to producers who made
advanced materials, he added.
Professor
Dinh Van Phong from Hanoi University of Technology said if there was
sufficient investment,
Phong
suggested long-term training programmes should cover everything in the
process of making goods - from research to final production.
He also
suggested a link between universities and research institutes and producers.
"This
link will bring researchers down to earth, learning about real issues,"
he said.
Recommendations
made at the workshop, Vietnam materials industry - dynamics, needs and supply
capacity, will be collected as inputs for a report the committee will send to
the Political Bureau, Party Central Committee Secretariat and related
agencies to help in producing a strategy to develop industry.
New
challenges require livestock overhaul
This was
the subject of meeting by Government officials and experts about
restructuring the sector in the final months of the year in Ha Noi on
Thursday.
Despite
meat productivity increasing by at least four per cent this year compared to
2013, many obstacles remain unresolved.
The
biggest are productivity and the cost of meat.
"We
have the second largest number of farm ducks in the world and the fifth
biggest number of pigs, yet productivity is nowhere close to the
international average," said the Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Cao Duc Phat, at the meeting.
"The
fear is that when the trade agreements come into effect and the tariff rate
is brought down to zero, imported meat products will instantly flood our
market," he added.
One of
another three major challenges threatening domestic animal raising include
the loose co-operation between authorities, enterprises and farmers in the
production chain, said National Institute of Animal Sciences Director Nguyen
Thanh Son.
"Antibiotics
and growth stimulants are still found in domestic meat, limit the chances of
exporting meat products," Son added.
The
overly complicated red tape was also blamed for the sluggish development of
the breeding sector.
Recently,
a report that farmers had to pay up to 14 different kinds of taxes to raise a
single chicken made the headlines throughout
The
taxes cover quarantine work on the chickens and even on the trucks that
deliver the birds. There are also taxes on the number of eggs laid and on the
meat produced.
"Such
red tape is very disturbing to the development of the sector," Son said.
To solve
all those challenges, the livestock sector should restructure to produce
competitive, high-quality products for the global market, said Minister Phat.
He added
that the restructuring should begin with a change of mindset.
The
chairman of the Viet Nam Animal Feed Association, Le Ba Lich, agreed, adding
that authorities at all levels still thought the breeding sector was meant to
serve domestic demand only.
"This
mindset should be changed, especially when Viet Nam is signing numerous
free-trade agreements," Lich added.
The
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) are
trade pacts that aim to fully eliminate tariffs on many imported goods,
including those from Viet Nam.
"If
the husbandry sector wants to join the global stage following the signing of
these agreements, its products have to compete in quality and price,"
said Lich.
Deputy
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam suggested that the
Department of Livestock (DoL) and the Department of Animal Health (DoAH) be
more active in promoting development of the sector.
He said
DoL had to build a market database for farmers and enterprises so that they
make timely adjustments to their production.
Meanwhile,
the DoAH was asked to make efforts not only in disease prevention in
livestock, but also in reducing farming costs.
Meanwhile,
Lich criticised the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for being
ignorant about reality.
"It
kept repeating that enterprises should be the leading force in
reconstruction, yet no Vietnamese enterprise was strong enough to do
this," Lich said.
He said
that most domestic enterprises in the breeding sector had the capital of only
about VND5 billion (US$227,000) compared to the $100 million animal feed
factory backed by a foreign company in Hai Duong.
Additionally,
a lack of co-operation in the production chain was long acknowledged by the
Ministry, yet the question of how to further link parts of the chain remained
unanswered.
"The
Ministry should research the mechanisms to promote co-ordination between
production and distribution," Lich said.
Provincial
hospitals adopt hi-tech tools
Many
provincial general hospitals have successfully adopted advanced techniques
learnt from major HCM City hospitals in the two years since a programme for
the purpose got underway.
The
first phase of the programme aimed at improving the diagnostic and treatment
capacity of provincial-level hospitals began in 2013, Nguyen Tan Binh,
director of the city Department of Health, said.
In the
south, six major hospitals in HCM City have been entrusted with providing
training and transferring medical techniques to 14 hospitals in southern
provinces.
The
Hospital for Traumatology and Orthopaedics, Gia Dinh People's Hospital, Tu Du
Obstetrics Hospital, Children's Hospital No.1, Children's Hospital No.2, and
Oncology Hospital have transferred 250 medical techniques in the two years.
The
provincial hospitals now perform most of these techniques, Binh told a
meeting held in HCM City yesterday.
The
number of people treated at these hospitals has increased significantly,
easing the overload at HCM City hospitals, he said.
A
shortage of medical officials and doctors at hospitals around the Cuu Long
(Mekong) Delta hindered their learning of new techniques.
While
there are an average of seven doctors per 10,000 population in Viet Nam, the
delta has only 4.6.
Health
of Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said the programme would be expanded to
another 13 cities and provinces that have yet to join the programme.
In all,
14 major hospitals – the other eight being in Ha Noi and Hue — have
transferred to 48 hospitals across the country medical techniques in five
fields in which patient demand is overwhelming, she said, listing cardiology,
traumatology, oncology, obstetrics, and paediatrics.
"Teaching
these techniques plays a key role in improving the quality of diagnosis and
treatment at provincial hospitals and easing crowding at major hospitals."
People's
Hospital 115, Binh Dan Hospital, Eye Hospital, and the Hospital of
Haematology and Blood Transfusion in HCM City will be added in the second
phase of the project between 2016 and 2020, according to the city Department
of Health.
Cement
consumption up
Domestic
cement consumption has improved even as Vietnamese cement exports have been
faced with competitive pressure from neighbouring countries.
Statistics
from the construction ministry showed that in the first half of the year, the
country's cement consumption was estimated at 34.16 million tonnes, posting a
6 per cent year-on-year rise and meeting 47 per cent of the whole year's
target. Of this, domestic consumption was 5 per cent higher than the same
period last year, reaching 25.97 million tonnes. Viet Nam shipped 8.19
million tonnes of cement to foreign markets, representing 8 per cent
year-on-year increase.
Last
month alone, cement consumption was estimated at 5.68 million tonnes, or 12
per cent higher than the corresponding period last year, including 4.63
million tonnes in local market and 1.05 million tonnes for exports.
The
ministry said the exports of cement and clinker in H1 decreased in comparison
with the previous years due to difficult conditions in some import markets,
especially Bangladesh. However, domestic consumption has been on an
increasing trend.
Nguyen
Quang Cung, chairman of Viet Nam Cement Association, observed that there was
no concern about the cement consumption in the 2015-16 period thanks to a
rising domestic demand.
This
year alone, domestic cement consumption was estimated to increase to 5
million tonnes, Cung said.
Cung
said cement consumption in the domestic market has risen thanks to
improvement in the real estate market, while rural infrastructures have been
actively developed.
The
ministry calculated that cement consumption this year will reach 72-74
million tonnes, increasing 1.5-2 per cent over last year. Of this, local
consumption will be 53-54 million tonnes, while 19-20 tonnes will be
exported.
This
year, the country will have two new projects, including Song Lam 2, with the
capacity of 0.6 million tonnes a year, and Cong Thanh Cement, with 3.6
million tonnes a year capacity. This will bring the country's total cement
production lines to 76, with 81.56 million tonnes designed capacity.
Viet
Nam's cement sector has been listed as one of top 5 in the world in terms of
capacity, after China, India, Iran, and the US.
Cement
supply next year is expected to meet domestic consumption demands and 15-16
million tonnes for exports each year, in addition to a reserve of 10-15 per
cent to stabilise the market, especially the southern region.
He added
there would not be any new cement project in 2016. However, a number of major
projects would be carried out during the 2017-18 period.
Viet
Nam to gain from regional FTAs
Viet Nam
would gain substantially from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP), which is still under negotiation, a workshop heard in HCM City yesterday.
Pham
Binh An, director of the HCM City WTO Affairs Consultation Centre, said that
10 ASEAN countries and six countries with which ASEAN has existing free trade
agreements (Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India and China) were
negotiating the content of the RCEP, which may be finalised by the end of
this year.
RCEP
would create the world's largest trading bloc, he said.
It would
be a comprehensive, high-quality economic cooperation model and would remove
barriers to establish a favourable environment for investment and trade
activities in the region, he said.
Unlike
the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), RCEP focuses primarily on trade,
including trade in goods, and trade in services and investment. TPP also
includes provisions on public purchases and intellectual property, for
example.
The RCEP
targets creating a broad and deep engagement with significant improvements
over the existing ASEAN+1 FTAs. It also seeks to achieve a modern and
comprehensive trade agreement among members.
An said
that more trade barriers would fall, helping Viet Nam, which has a rather
large trade deficit with this region.
Dinh Thu
Hang from the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) said, like
other FTAs, RCEP would open new opportunities for Viet Nam to expand export
markets via tariff reductions, import input materials, and machinery and
equipment at cheaper costs.
Vietnamese
firms would be able to participate in the region's value and production
chains and exchange technical expertise with other countries.
However,
competitive pressure from countries that have similar export structures to
Viet Nam will pose challenges to companies, as Viet Nam still mainly exports
raw products at a low processing rate.
An
increase in non-trade barriers with partner countries had caused difficulties
for local exporters, she said.
Vo Tri
Thanh, deputy director of the CIEM, said overall, the country would enjoy
more benefits than losses, noting that the level of benefits also depend on
commitments under the free trade agreement.
As the
FTA is still under negotiation, there is still no information about how the
16 parties of RCEP would open their markets.
He
suggested that businesses kept up to date about FTAs so they could capitalise
on new opportunities and prepare to cope with challenges.
They
should also understand the mechanisms for solving trade disputes to protect
their legitimate interests.
Firms
must focus on improving competitiveness of their products and be more active
in taking part in the region's value chain.
The
workshop was organised by the HCM City WTO Affairs Consultation Centre, in
collaboration with the EU-MUTRAP project and the Central Institute for
Economic Management.
Binh
Duong adopts online tax payments
The southern
province of Binh Duong plans to organise programmes to show local companies
how to pay their taxes online, officials said at a regular meeting with local
Japanese companies yesterday.
The
commitment was made after many Japanese companies raised concerns about the
new tax payment method.
Most of
the companies said they were worried that they did not have enough time to
apply the new method.
Tran Van
Nam, chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said that a seminar on
online tax payments would be organised from now to the end of July so that
local officials could understand the difficulties that companies faced when
using online tax payments.
Companies
would also be guided on how to correctly pay taxes online.
Online
tax payments are scheduled to be implemented nationwide in September.
According
to Binh Duong's Tax Department, between 50 per cent and 90 per cent of
companies in major cities like Ha Noi and HCM City are paying taxes online.
The scale in Binh Duong, however, is only 15 per cent.
The
province is ranked 57th out of 63 provinces and cities implementing online
tax payments.
In
addition to online tax payments, Japanese companies also raised concerns
about the new Enterprise Law and other issues including customs, social
insurance, labour, infrastructure and investment.
Most of
their concerns would be resolved soon, the province's authorities said.
In an
attempt to improve the local investment environment, Binh Duong Province
holds regular meetings with companies.
In the
first half of this year, the province attracted over US$1 billion,
representing 101 per cent of the annual target.
Of the
total, 102 projects are new and 66 projects have added capital.
Japan is
the biggest foreign investor in the province with 231 projects, worth a total
of $4.86 billion.
To
attract more investment, the province has improved infrastructure and human
resource training.
Viet
Nam Railway to equitise subsidiaries as part of reforms
More
than 20 Viet Nam Railway companies will be equitised this year, marking the
key provision of the corporation's efforts to complete its comprehensive
restructuring plan.
The
equitisation is aimed at creating a self-motivating business model and
mobilise financial resources to update the sector.
The
companies, including Ha Noi and Sai Gon railways, railway infrastructure
management companies and Di An and Gia Lam train companies, will officially
operate under the joint stock model beginning January 1, 2016.
According
to the restructuring, Di An Train Company will be the first to be equitised
on September 30. Meanwhile, the value of Ha Noi and Sai Gon railways and Gia
Lam Train Company will be set in March, while the remaining companies' values
will be determined in December.
The
domestic railway has operated for more than 100 years, though it is
struggling due to out of date technology and services, in comparison with
other industries in Viet Nam. Officials note that its great advantage is its
nearly 40,000 workers.
In a
recent talk show on television, Chairman of the Viet Nam Railway Corporation
Tran Ngoc Thanh said the renovation of trains, stations, bridges, roads and
signal information systems should be carried out at the same time.
"We
have determined that the equitisation will seek to become a
transparently-operated business and an equal environment for the various
economic sectors that take part in this transport," said Thanh.
Small
brokers fear intra-day trading will lose them clients
The
requirement that securities brokers must have equity/charter capital of at
least VND800 billion (US$36.7 million) to be eligible to provide intra-day
trading services is troubling small brokers who are afraid of losing
customers to the big ones.
A draft
circular, which is prepared to replace Circular No 74/2011-TT-BTC dated June
1, 2011, on the guidelines of securities trading, will allow investors to buy
and sell a single share listing in the same trading day (intra-day trading).
However,
the draft also stipulates strict conditions for securities companies who are
permitted to provide this service.
The
broker company must have equity capital or charter capital of VND800 billion;
full appropriate reserves to hedge share declines; and a working capital
ratio of at least 220 per cent in the last 12 months.
Also, it
must not have incurred losses in the previous two years.
The
companies must also not have undergone any process related to mergers,
consolidation or dissolution or have been placed under control, special
control status or suspension by a competent authority.
Under
these conditions, there are about 15 companies qualified to provide this
service. Leaders of small brokers are raising concerns about losing clients
to bigger ones if they are not permitted to offer the intra-day trading
service.
The big
15 occupy about 80 per cent of brokerage market shares. However, about 80
other brokers are at risk of losing the remaining 20 per cent of market
shares if their customers flee.
At a
recent meeting of the Vietnam Association of Securities Business, Hoang Hai
Anh, chairwoman cum CEO of PetroVietnam Securities Inc (PSI), said the draft
should give priority to risk management of companies rather than
equity/charter capital condition.
She
suggested removing the equity/charter capital requirement and focusing on
conditions of financial safety standards and financial statements.
Phan
Quoc Huynh, deputy chairman of the association, said the State Securities
Commission could make regulations that allowed securities businesses to
support each other to implement intra-day trading.
"Banks
also need merger and acquisition to raise capital, let alone securities
brokers," Huynh said in the meeting.
The
State Securities Commission is collecting opinions from market participants
regarding the draft.
International
Dairy Products to use SAP-ERP solution
The
International Dairy Products Joint Stock Co. (IDP) has signed a cooperation
agreement with CSC Viet Nam, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and SAP Company to
implement the SAP-ERP integrated solution running on HANA platform.
It will
also use the Vistex price management solution to maximize the company's
operations and improve productivity.
IDP is
the first company in Viet Nam to use the solution. It will begin
implementation in December.
SAP HANA
combines database, data processing, and application platform capabilities
in-memory.
The
platform provides libraries for predictive, planning, text processing,
spatial, and business analytics.
Firm
fined for providing games without approved content
The Ministry
of Information and Communications has fined VTC Online Co. Ltd VND60 million
(more than US$2,700) for providing online games with unapproved content.
The
multiplayer games were provided on the servers of the company. The penalty
was imposed in line with regulations in Decree 174, issued in November 2013,
on handling administrative violations related to the post,
telecommunications, technology and radio frequencies.
On June
30, the ministry had sent letters to provincial departments and online game providers
asking them to ensure that the management, provision and use of online games
in Viet Nam was in compliance with the law.
Savills
Vietnam: 60,000 new apartments to enter city market
Savills
Vietnam has projected that the HCMC real estate market will have nearly
60,000 more apartments in the next two years.
In the
second quarter of this year, 11 new projects and new phases of eight
operational projects were launched, providing a total of over 9,700 units for
the market. This represented an increase of 47% quarter-on-quarter and 138%
year-on-year, said Nguyen Thi Van Khanh, associate director of Savills
Vietnam’s Advisory Services in HCMC.
Khanh
gave the figures at a news briefing held in HCMC on Wednesday to announce the
property service provider’s report on real estate in the city in the second
quarter.
The
second quarter had the highest amount of newly-launched supply in the last
five years, according to the report.
By the
end of the quarter, there were around 26,000 available apartments in the primary
market, surging 27% quarter-on-quarter and 72% year-on-year.
Quarter
two saw District 2 achieving the most sales with 28% of total transactions,
followed by Binh Thanh District with a 15% share. Grade B sales volume had a
strong rise of 44% quarter-on-quarter while Grade C maintained stable
performance.
Recently-launched
housing projects have offered a wide range of products such as options in
terms of size, bedroom and use. There have been more projects with good
standards, sufficient facilities and infrastructure.
Savills
Vietnam said end-users are encouraged by competitive mortgage rates and good
payment schemes, while small investors are confident in the good rental yield
in HCMC.
The
company predicted there would be 59,200 new units from 90 existing and future
projects are expected enter the market from the second half of this year to
2017.
Experts
warned that the property market in HCMC would face an oversupply if the new
apartments were not distributed properly.
At a
recent meeting of the HCMC Real Estate Association (HoREA), Le Huu Nghia,
director of Le Thanh Commercial Construction Co., said the number of
homebuyers had increased 50% compared to the years when the real estate
market was in difficulty. But the supply of luxury apartments has been up to
500% higher than demand.
However,
Khanh of Savills Vietnam said demand has recovered significantly compared to
more than a year ago.
The
report of Savills Vietnam revealed the overall absorption rate was 19%, a
fall of two percentage points quarter-on-quarter but up two percentage points
year-on-year. Last quarter, some 5,000 units were sold, rising by17%
quarter-on-quarter and 96% year-on-year, the highest transaction volume since
the fourth quarter of 2010.
A report
of Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam on the property market in the second
quarter showed that low-cost apartments remained attractive to buyers and the
demand for luxury and medium-cost units is forecast to increase owing to the
participation of more real estate investors in the market.
The
revised Housing Law that eases conditions for foreigners to own apartments in
Vietnam and loosened credit with reasonable interest for homebuyers will help
the market attract more buyers.
Property
investors said they have signed contracts to sell apartments to expatriates
since the new law came into force on July 1.
A
Singaporean man, who has lived in HCMC since 2011 in District 2, told the
Daily that he wants to buy an apartment in District 7 or in Thu Thiem Urban
Area in District 2 to lease it out to foreigners in HCMC.
Speaking
at a business luncheon of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam
(EuroCham) in HCMC on Wednesday, CBRE Vietnam’s director of office services
Greg Ohan said foreign property investors are keen to follow new
infrastructure developments such as metro lines and airport projects.
Apartments
near metro lines are attractive to foreign investors, Ohan stressed.
But many
foreigners fear that they would have trouble if regulations on foreign
property ownership in Vietnam change in the future.
Korean
firm acquires Nam An Securities
South
Korea-based Shinhan Investment Corporation has become the owner of Nam An
Securities Company after it got approval of the State Securities Commission
of Vietnam (SSC) to buy 100% of the brokerage, according to the Hochiminh
Stock Exchange’s website.
The
seven biggest shareholders of Nam An including chairwoman Huynh Kim Thong
sold all shares of the company to Shinhan Investment Corporation. The SSC
allowed the Korean investor to transform Nam An into a one-member limited
liability company.
Nam An
has registered capital of VND140 billion and is the second securities firm in
Vietnam wholly owned by a foreign enterprise.
In
February, Que Huong Liberty Corporation and shareholder Tran Hong Van
offloaded their entire stakes of 14.46% and 28.4% respectively at Nam An to
two other shareholders, Huynh Kim Toi and Huynh Kim Thong.
At
present, as many as 90 securities companies are operating in Vietnam and 40
of them have been invested by foreign shareholders. Over 10 firms have 49%
foreign ownership while Maybank Kim Eng Securities Company is a 100%
foreign-invested firm.
The
Government’s Decree 60/2015/ND- CP 1 allows a foreign ownership increase to
100% at domestic securities firms from September.
Foreign
investors wanting to raise their holding at local brokerages to 100% can
submit applications to the SSC for consideration. The agency will approve
applications meeting requirements when the decree takes effect.
Compared
to Decree 58, Decree 60 removes many barriers to foreign investors keen to
own shares of domestic securities companies.
Decree
58 only allows foreigners to either hold a 49% stake at a Vietnamese
brokerage or set up a 100% foreign-owned company. The old decree does not
permit foreign investors to hold stakes of over 49% to 99% at local
securities enterprises.
High
interest rates hit local firms
Higher
inflation and interest rates in Vietnam than many other countries have placed
local businesses in a disadvantageous position, according to a report of the
Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission.
The
report showed Vietnam’s inflation has averaged out at 7.9% per annum in the
past 14 years compared to 2.32% in China and 2.60% in Thailand.
Despite
woes in 2008, China and Thailand have quickly curbed inflation at around 2%
in the past two years. Last year, Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) rose
1.84% as in Thailand and China.
Therefore,
inflation control should be one of the priorities for Vietnam in the coming
years, the committee noted.
Lending
rates in Vietnam have surged in recent times, higher than 10%, compared to
the 2-4% range enjoyed by China and Thailand in the past 10 years.
Though
lending rates have been adjusted down to 8.5-9.5% since 2013, they are still
higher than those in the two countries. The difference in interest rates will
undermine foreign exchange rate stabilization.
In the
coming time, monetary stability in Vietnam requires interest rate reductions,
inflation controls and foreign exchange rate stability.
Fiscal
policy is vital for monetary stability. Effective controls on budget revenue
and spending are the key to the effective implementation of fiscal and
monetary policies.
The
committee noted fiscal policy should not be haphazard.
Source : VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VIR
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Chủ Nhật, 12 tháng 7, 2015
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