BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF 1/9 Vinatex completes 65% of yearly revenue target      Viet Nam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) has completed 65 per cent of the yearly target set for total revenues with its eight-month result (excluding VAT) reaching over VND31.45 trillion (US$1.34 billion). This figure also represented a rise of 7 per cent against the same period last year, the textile group reported in a filing to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. In August alone, it earned VND4.48 trillion in revenue, down 5 per cent year-on-year, of which turnover of the parent company and subsidiaries with its holdings of over 50 per cent capital reached almost VND1.74 trillion. Revenues from other affiliate companies in which the group holds less than 50 per cent capital reached a combined VND2.74 trillion. Vinatex attributed the growth in total revenues to increases in sales of fibre products (96,051 tonnes, up 9.5 per cent year-on-year), fabric of all kinds (100.7 million m3, up 18.6 per cent) and garments (168 million products, up 2.2 per cent). In terms of import-export activity, it increased imports while exports declined. Vinatex exported goods worth nearly $246 million in August, down 4.5 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, its export value rose by 4 per cent to $105.5 million. After eight months, export value is estimated at $1.81 billion, growing 6 per cent year-on-year, while the import value also increased 4 per cent to $838.8 million. Cao Huy Hieu, Vinatex CEO, predicted exports of textile and garment products of Viet Nam will hit $35 billion by year-end, $1 billion higher than the target of $34 billion set for the whole year. Many garment companies have received buy orders to the end of the year, including Vinatex, Viet Tien Garment Corporation, Regent Garment Factory Co Ltd, Regina Miracle International Vietnam Co Ltd and Worldon (Vietnam) Co Ltd, Hieu said. Vinatex is trading shares on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) at around VND10,000 per share. Chemical firm cancels listing      Duc Giang-Lao Cai Chemicals JSC will cancel its listing on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) on September 5, according to the northern market regulator. The company will remove its nearly 100 million shares, listed as DGL on the HNX, after its last trading date on September 4. The HNX said in its statement that the cancellation came after Duc Giang Chemical and Detergent Powder JSC (HNX: DGC) on August 8 announced it would issue nearly 58 million shares at a share swap ratio of 1:1 to convert DGL shares. DGL shares will be converted into DGC shares. The list of beneficial shareholders was finalised on August 22. The share swap deal was approved by the two firm’s shareholders and market regulators in mid 2017. The post-merger company will also cancel its listing on HNX to move to the HCM Stock Exchange. DGL shares rose 0.4 per cent to close Wednesday at VND40,000 (US$1.78) per share.  Viet Dragon Securities joins derivatives market      Viet Dragon Securities Corporation (VDSC) on Tuesday became the newest trading member of the derivatives market. Viet Nam’s derivatives market has been operating for more than one year but it has made some great achievements with rising trading liquidity, which proves the market has quite high development potential. According to VDSC general director Nguyen Hieu, the company has done a lot of work to meet requirements on financial status, risk management, and consultancy and management personnel. The company has also upgraded its IT infrastructure and improved its partners’ derivatives trading systems. The company would also provide investors with internet-connected devices and applications to make their trading activities more convenient and less risky, he said. The participation of VDSC in the derivatives market has raised the total number of trading members to 10. Other derivatives trading members included BIDV Securities Corp (BSC), Saigon Securities Inc (SSI), MB Securities JSC (MBS) and HCM City Securities Corp (HSC). VDSC is listing more than 100 million shares on the HCM Stock Exchange with ticket VDS. Its shares have rallied total 26.6 per cent since August 16 to close Wednesday at VND10,000 (US$0.44) per share. In the first six months, VDSC earned VND54.3 billion ($2.4 million) worth of post-tax profit, down 5 per cent year on year. The company has fulfilled 38 per cent of its full-year profit target.  RDP to issue 5.66m bonus shares      Rang Dong Plastic JSC plans to issue nearly 5.66 million bonus shares due to its 2017 performance at the ratio of 20 per cent. This means each shareholder will receive 20 new shares for every 100 shares they own, with the share issuance worth nearly VND56.6 billion (US$2.5 million). The company is listing more than 28 million shares on the HCM Stock Exchange under code RDP. Its shares soared 6.7 per cent to close Wednesday at VND14,300 ($0.63) per share. The company recorded VND1.32 trillion of net income in 2017, a yearly increase of 12 per cent. RDP reported losses of VND55 billion from its business activities last year due to sharp increases in sales and corporate governance costs. However, the company’s financial statement reported its undistributed post-tax profit for 2017 reached VND69 billion as RDP sold a part of its ownership in a subsidiary.  Binh Phuoc hands over land for Thaigroup cement plant      The People’s Committee of Binh Phuoc Province has issued Decision No. 1875/QD-UBND to hand over to Thaigroup JSC for the construction of the Minh Tam Cement Plant. Accordingly, the provincial People’s Committee decided to reclaim 42,431.9sq.m of land managed by the People’s Committee of Hon Quan District, for Thaigroup to begin construction. The total area of 430,612.4sq.m, including 42,431.9sq.m above and 388,180.5sq.m of other land, is from households which have been compensated for the construction site of the Minh Tam plant. Under the decision, agencies and units, including the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, shall direct the Land Registration Office to compile dossiers for the determination of cadastral information on land plots and send it to competent authorities to determine Thaigroup’s financial obligations and adjust the cadastral file in accordance with the regulations. In early 2017, Thaigroup started the construction of Minh Tam Plant after purchasing the Minh Tam Cement project from its former owner, Mien Dong Joint Stock Company, which was facing financial difficulties. The Minh Tam cement plant uses advanced European methods, ensuring environmental standards are maintained. The project covers an area of ​​400ha with total investment capital of VND12 trillion (US$515 million) and a total capacity of 4.5 million tonnes of cement per year. Construction is estimated to take two years, of which, the first phase will produce 2.6 million tonnes of cement per year with investment of nearly VND6.8 trillion.  Yuan payment allowed in VN, China border areas         Chinese yuan will be allowed for payment in the border areas between Viet Nam and China. The announcement was part of Circular No 19/2018/TT-NHNN, which will take effect from October 12 this year. Besides the yuan, traders and residents in the border areas of Viet Nam and China, can also use Vietnamese dong or fully convertible currencies, such as the US dollar, Euro or Yen, for payment of goods and services. In addition to individuals, some other organisations will be subject to the new regulation. They include commercial banks and branches of foreign banks licensed to conduct foreign exchange transactions in Viet Nam; branches of banks located in border areas and border-gate economic zones of Viet Nam and China; organisations trading in duty-free goods; organisations providing services in isolated areas at international border gates; organisations engaged in bonded warehouses in border regions; the Viet Nam-China Border Gate Economic Zone; and other organisations and individuals conducting payment activities in Viet Nam-China border trade. Payment can be made through banks or in cash in dong or yuan, according to the circular. Economic and trade co-operation between China and Viet Nam has become increasingly close in recent years, and there is huge demand and an increasing trend toward yuan settlement in Viet Nam. Viet Nam has overtaken Malaysia to become the largest trade partner of China in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Total trade revenues between Viet Nam and China were estimated at US$66 billion in the first half of 2018, with the average monthly trade turnover between the two countries having exceeded $10 billion for the first time in history.  Large firms boost transparency      Some large-cap firms have replaced the board of supervision with independent members in the board of management to improve the quality of corporate governance and reduce expenses. Additionally, such actions may improve a company’s transparency to investors and shareholders so it is able to draw more capital from both domestic and foreign investors. The firms include Viet Nam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk), Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE), Coteccons Construction JSC (CTD) and property developer Novaland (NVL). However, many other listed companies have not followed suit. Starting from 2015, a listed company can replace the old-fashion board of supervision with an independent audit agent that is appointed among other members of the management board. Most enterprises do not have a board of supervision in their structure, however Viet Nam is among few countries where a majority of businesses do. According to Pham Ngoc Hoang Thanh, CEO of financial-accounting training service provider Smart Train, the formation of a supervision board may come from the old business model of the Soviet Union. Though professional licences were required for all members of the supervision board, it had remained unclear so far, Thanh said, adding that was the reason why the supervision board in each company had not made a great impact on business performance. Therefore, the removal or replacement of the supervision board may help reduce expenses for the company and improve the role of the management board, Thanh said. According to the world’s top-four audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), internal audit may help a business save 5 per cent of revenue losses. That ratio may be higher for a Vietnamese business if it was courageous enough to get rid of the supervision board, Thanh said. Hiring an audit company from the outside may only help review the financial reports to find financial violations, so it was necessary for a firm to establish its own internal audit unit, he added. Independent members of the management board, or internal auditors, would protect the rights and benefits of shareholders and help business leaders develop their strategies, Thanh said. However, the legal framework had remained unclear regarding the function, appointment and responsibility of the internal auditors so local companies were hesitant to remove their supervision boards, according to Thanh. The quality of the employees was another issue as internal auditors should have worked at the company for a long time, thus having a strong voice among company members, Thanh said. But such employees were also required to quickly adapt to the economic and financial changes, and be responsive to Industry 4.0, he said, adding that Viet Nam still lacked high-quality young employees to resolve the problem.  Doosan starts work on power plant      Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction (DHIC) and Doosan Heavy Industries Viet Nam (Doosan Vina) – two subsidiaries of South Korea’s Doosan Group, began construction of the Nghi Son 2 Thermal Power Plant project in Thanh Hoa Province on Monday. A source from Doosan Vina said the two firms will build two supercritical boilers, high efficiency turbines and generating units for the 1,330 megawatt (MW) Nghi Son 2 Power Plant, slated for completion in 2022. The thermal power plant, invested in by a joint-venture of Marubeni of Japan and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) with total investment US$2.79 billion, will supply power for 6.8 million households. Earlier, Doosan received an advance payment of $170 million from Marubeni and KEPCO to commence construction of the two turbines and boilers. Since 2012, DHIC has won more than $6 billion in orders in Viet Nam that include the contracts for the Mong Duong 2, Song Hau 1 and Vinh Tan 4 power plants. The Doosan Group is a global multinational focusing on power, water and infrastructure developments worldwide. The company is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and has operations in 38 countries and $22 billion in annual revenue. Doosan Vina, based in Quang Ngai Province, provided rail mounted quay cranes and a high-tech pressure equipment for the Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical project in 2014-15. It exported made-in-Viet Nam boilers, heat recovery steam generators and desalination, crane and chemical processing equipment valued at US$2.4 billion in 2017.  Coastal province eyes ways to boost tourism, protect environment The southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau held a workshop on August 29 to seek ways to develop tourism in tandem with environmental protection as part of the sea festival now underway in the province. At the event, participants delivered presentations on how tourism impacts the marine environment and proposed solutions to develop plastic-free tourism, apply new technology in marine environment management and enhance Vietnam’s marine environmental protection to foster sustainable sea-based tourism. The Ba Ria – Vung Tau Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the local Tourism Association briefed attendees on the strengths of the province’s marine tourism and steps it has taken to build its tourism brand. Ba Ria – Vung Tau has worked to make the province a regional hub for tourism and entertainment, said Pham Ngoc Hai, President of the Ba Ria – Vung Tau Tourism Association. It has heavily invested to develop five key tourism clusters, including Vung Tau City, Long Hai – Phuoc Hai, Dinh Mountain, Binh Chau – Ho Coc and Con Dao Island, he noted Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies Tran Anh Tuan suggested that the province should sustainably develop the tourism industry by promoting cultural values, tourist attractions and historic relics, and protecting the environment.  The province must also diversify tourism products and strengthen supply chain and services, while local schools and enterprises need to provide tourism workers with necessary skills, particularly in foreign languages, information technology and international regulations. The Ba Ria-Vung Tau Sea Festival opened in the southern province on August 28 as part of activities marking the country’s 73rd National Day (September 2). Themed “Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Aspiration, Love and Sea”, the festival aims to bolster investment, trade, tourism and economic development of the province and connect it with other coastal localities. The festival has attracted more than 400 businesses and cultural organisations from 26 provinces and cities to participate in economic, cultural and sports activities during the seven-day event. It includes a trade fair, a kite performance, a beer festival and a series of seminars and workshops on trade and tourism promotion as well as environmental protection. An outdoor electronic dance music concert titled “Sea Run” will also take place, featuring pop star Son Tung M-TP alongside a parade of classic Vespa scooters. Exhibitions will be organised to showcase calligraphy works, orchid flowers and sand statues. Some 500,000 visitors are expected to flock to the festival, which ends on September 3. HCM City’s CPI up 0.48 percent in August The consumer price index (CPI) of Ho Chi Minh City in August increased 0.48 percent against the previous month and 3.51 percent compared with the same period last year, the municipal Statistics Office reported on August 30.  Eight of 11 groups of commodities saw their prices go up in the month, with the highest rise recorded in food and catering services at 0.84 percent month-on-month.  Other groups with hikes were housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials, up 0.75 percent; goods and other services, 0.46 percent; transport, 0.27 percent; household utensils, 0.21 percent; culture, entertainment and tourism, 0.13 percent; and education, 0.1 percent.  Some groups experienced a drop in their prices such as clothing, hats and footwear, down 0.77 percent; post and telecommunications, 0.05 percent; and medicine and health services, 0.12 percent. Beverages and tobacco remained stable.  In August, the gold price declined 0.19 percent while that of the US dollar went up 1.18 percent against last month.  The country’s CPI in the month inched up 0.45 percent month-on-month, and 3.89 percent from the same time last year, pushing up the eight-month figure to 3.52 percent year on year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). The GSO forecasts a rise in September’s CPI due to price surge in education service, pork price, gas and gasoline. HCM City to hold second annual trade event in Laos Ho Chi Minh City’s Investment and Trade Promotion Centre will organise the second HCM City Trade-Service-Tourism Promotion Conference in Savannakhet, Laos, in October to help Vietnamese businesses tap the Lao market and enhance co-operation between the two countries, a workshop heard on August 28. According to Pham Thiet Hoa, director of the centre, several promotions to encourage collaboration between Vietnamese and Laos enterprises had been launched in HCM City and Laos in recent years. They included the Laos Goods Week held in HCM City last January and the 2018 Vietnam-Laos Trade Fair in the Lao capital Vientiane in July. Last year, the centre held the first conference showcasing HCM City-made products in Savannakhet, Laos, which attracted more than 100 Vietnamese and 25 Lao enterprises who signed 50 contracts and four Memorandum of Understandings. This year it will organise a similar event from October 19 to 26 at the same location. Hoa said participating enterprises would be fully subsidised for booths, decor, freight and import tax payable for the event. According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, trade between Vietnam and Laos was worth 522.2 million USD in the first half of 2018, a 14.5 percent increase year-on-year. Vietnam mainly exports steel and iron products, cement, plastic products, electrical cables, and fruit and vegetables. It buys fertilisers, wood and wooden products, ores and minerals from Laos. Figures from the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency show that Laos is the biggest of Vietnam’s 24 foreign investment destinations. In the first five months of this year Vietnam’s investment in Laos was worth 80.12 million USD, or 43.4 percent of its total foreign investment. Somxay Sanamoune, Lao Consul General in HCM City, said the Lao government always encouraged and gave priority to Vietnamese investment. “The two countries are very close in terms of geography, which is a great advantage to boosting cross-border trade, export-import activities and exchange of workers.” He said Laos had great potential waiting to be tapped by Vietnamese businesses including industrial crops, mining, mineral processing and agri-forestry products, among others. He said to attract foreign investment, the Lao government had reduced red tape and the time required to set up new businesses, cut tariffs and invested in infrastructure. A survey conducted by the centre at last year’s trade event found there was a big market in Laos for Vietnamese products, especially mid-priced goods. Products that were popular at the event were electrical and mechanical domestic appliances, food, snacks and processed foods, and textile and apparel. Le Tan Minh, deputy head of the centre’s trade promotion department, said Vietnamese businesses should pay attention to packaging to attract Lao consumers. Businesses should also consider earmarking some space for consumers, especially young people, to take photos since they were fond of sharing them on social media, and this would help publicise the event, he added. According to Nguyen Quoc Dung, CEO of the Sai Gon Plant Protection Joint Stock Company which has been selling its products in Laos, Vietnamese enterprises who wanted to tap the Lao market should first ensure they had a licence and their products were registered. “You have to show your business registration certificate or at least have a big agent in Laos who can represent you in order to meet with a business there.” He said for products like crop protection chemicals and fertilisers, enterprises should make samples and hold workshops to convince consumers of the quality of their products. Besides, it was very important to have product information and instructions on the packaging in Lao, he added. 732 domestic firms get FSC Chain of Custody Certification As many as 732 domestic businesses have obtained the Forest Stewardship Council Chain of Custody (FSC/CoC) Certification, taking the lead in Southeast Asia. Of the number, 49 firms gained the certification of sustainable forest management with a total area of 226,500ha, according to the Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The cooperation between wooden processing firms and forest growers has helped to ensure materials and output, thus stabilising prices of wooden products. Amid the increasing demand for wood with legal and clear origins, exporters have worked to complete production management system and enhance cooperation with farmers to access to materials meeting international standards, said VNFOREST. The export value of forestry products is projected to hit 5.85 billion USD between January and August this year, increasing 13 percent on year and accounting for 23 percent of Vietnam’s total agro-forestry-fishery export. According to estimations of VNFOREST, during the eight-month period, the trade surplus of forestry products will amount to 4.39 billion USD, of which 4.09 billion USD are contributed by the shipment of timber and wood products. VNFOREST forecast forestry export to rise in the remaining months of the year, particularly to traditional markets like the US, China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the EU. Incentives needed for agriculture sector Though the Vietnamese government and Ho Chi Minh City’s administration offer many incentives and have favourable policies to encourage businesses to invest in agriculture, they often remain on paper, heard a conference held in the city on August 27. For instance, a government decree issued last April reduces land rents for agricultural companies and provides subsidies for research, buying machinery, human resource training, and construction. However, many firms, and authorities, are waiting for a circular that will guide implementation of the decree. There are also government policies for agriculture insurance against natural disasters and diseases in the case of certain crops and animals, credit, vocational training in rural areas, and financial aid for building fishing ports, ships and fish farms. HCM City has its own policies to encourage businesses to invest in agriculture, including subsidies for acquiring office facilities and adopting VietGAP standards. One such was Decree 655 issued last February, which was hailed by businesses for meeting their needs, having simple procedures and waiving interest on loans for buying machinery, seeds, breeding animals and animal feed and paying salaries. However, the benefits often do not percolate down to businesses. Owner of a cantaloupe farm in Hoc Mon district Le Nguyen Cam Tu said he has been applying to lease some public land for a year but has not received any response from authorities despite the plentiful availability of land. Renting private land could be risky since it depends on the whim of the lessor, he said, calling on authorities to make it easier to lease public lands. Le Ha Mong Ngoc, Director of Nam Viet Biotechnology Joint Stock Company, said she has been unable to get a food safety certificate for her lingzhi mushrooms despite applying for years.  “Though our food processing procedures are strict, without proper certification we cannot sell the mushrooms despite the high demand for the product. Many farmers we are working with have had to stop growing the lingzhi mushrooms.” She also called for better market and product origin surveillance to keep out fraudulent and low-quality products and protect high-quality brands and consumers. The HCM City’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, which organised the conference, said it would pass on the complaints to relevant departments for action. Vinh Phuc presents investment licence to Japanese firms Authorities of the northern province of Vinh Phuc have granted an investment licence to investors of Kowa Global project in Binh Xuyen district’s Binh Xuyen Industrial Park (IP).  The project, totaling over 136 billion VND (nearly 5.86 million USD), is invested by Japanese firms - Kowa Kasei JSC and Kowa Rubber Industries JSC.  This project will specialise in processing and conducting technical analysis and verification of rubber products, with a capacity of nearly 140 tonnes of products per year. It will also provide related consulting and trading services. It is scheduled to be completed and officially put into operation in the second quarter of 2019, contributing 10 billion VND (430,700 USD) per year to the State budget.  Kowa Global is the 23rd secondary project wholly invested by Japan in IPs in Vinh Phuc.  The project is in line with the locality’s policy of encouraging the development of support industry. It will create new products with high competitiveness in the market, contributing to promoting the province’s socio-economic development. At present, IPs in Vinh Yen city and Phuc Yen town of Vinh Phuc have been fully filled. Investment projects in the province in the near future will be mainly allocated in IPs of Binh Xuyen district. Industrial parks in the district have so far attracted 35,000 labourers, mainly young workers.  Their average per capita income is between 6 million VND (258 USD) and 8 million VND (345 USD) per month. Experts said that Binh Xuyen will become really bustling in the time ahead as businesses are flocking to the district to land their investments. Thai Nguyen looks for IC infrastructure investors To keep up with the burgeoning investor demand, the north-eastern province of Thai Nguyen is asking investors to build local industrial clusters through the public-private partnership format, paired with a raft of investment incentives. Investors are being welcomed to 11 newly planned industrial clusters (ICs) covering 283.5 hectares, focusing on seven locations in the province, namely the city of Song Cong, Pho Yen town, and Dong Hy, Dinh Hoa, Phu Binh, Phu Luong, and Dai Tu districts, according to the Thai Nguyen Department of Industry and Trade. The investors are encouraged to build the ICs under the public-private partnership (PPP) model to reduce reliance on the state budget. Significantly, most of the ICs offer convenient transport connections. For instance, the 48.5ha Ba Xuyen IC (Song Cong) connects to Road 262 and is 18 kilometres from Thai Nguyen’s city centre, while the 20ha Kim Son IC (Dinh Hoa district) links to National Highway 3C and the Ho Chi Minh Highway. When taking part in building these ICs’ technical infrastructure, businesses will receive financing for 10 per cent of total site clearance costs or 10 per cent of total investment cost put into building IC technical infrastructure and wastewater treatment facilities, up to but not exceeding VND6 billion ($265,487) for each IC. In addition, in light of the government’s current regulations on land rental and corporate income tax (CIT) incentives, seven out of nine districts in Thai Nguyen belong to areas entitled to investment encouragement policies. Accordingly, these seven districts are subject to a CIT exemption in the first two to four years and a 50 per cent reduction in the subsequent four to nine years, depending on their locations. A new development, touted as a fresh move in wooing investors to build Thai Nguyen’s ICs, is that under a decision of the Thai Nguyen People’s Committee, the Centre for Industrial Promotion and Industrial Development Consultancy belonging to the Thai Nguyen Department of Industry and Trade was assigned to act as the developer for building the infrastructure for several ICs, primarily the 52ha Son Cam 2 IC. The move attests to the provincial leadership’s commitment to courting investment into local IC development. Centre director Nguyen Dinh Hung said that the IC investment proposal has been submitted to the local management authorities for approval and investors are encouraged to advance their capital for site clearance and building IC infrastructure. Economists say that infrastructure investment plays a vital role in making IC projects appeal to investors. In fact, despite having detailed plans, many ICs fail to lure investors due to incomplete investments into infrastructure works such as power, water, and wastewater treatment. To address this bottleneck, Thai Nguyen has reviewed its IC development plan to remove underperforming ICs and supplement new ICs with favourable locations and advantages in local labour or natural resources. Seven ICs covering 162ha were removed from the provincial IC plan and more than 250ha were cut from five other ICs, while 10 new ICs were added to the plan. The Thai Nguyen Department of Industry and Trade has proposed to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to raise the capital support volume from the central budget through an industrial promotion programme and has asked the State Bank of Vietnam to offer concessionary credit packages for investors in ICs located in remote, mountainous areas. In the words of Tran Anh Son, head of the Industrial Management Division under the Thai Nguyen Department of Industry and Trade, to attract investors, ICs need convenient access to material supply sources and the consumer market as well as favourable transport infrastructure. In light of Thai Nguyen’s revised IC development plan for 2020 with a vision towards 2030, the number of local ICs will increase from 32 to 35, covering 1,259ha in total area. Investment will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, from now until 2020, efforts will be geared towards building infrastructure for 28 out of 35 ICs covering 731ha, with an expected occupancy averaging 60-65 per cent. In the second phase, from 2021 to 2030, efforts will be put into finalising the infrastructure construction of these 28 ICs, matching the detailed IC plan, striving to reach 100 per cent occupancy, and building infrastructure for the remaining seven ICs covering more than 202ha. The province is set to raise $79.6 million in total investment capital in the first phase and $98.9 million in the second, with the amount sourced from the non-state budget to surpass $44.2 million in each phase. Second edition of HortEx Vietnam set for March 2019 The 2nd International Exhibition and Conference for Horticultural and Floricultural Production and Processing Technology (HortEx Vietnam) will take place at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center (SECC) in Ho Chi Minh City from March 13 to 15, 2019. Topics demonstrated via presentations include “Vietnam - Overview of the Horticultural and Floricultural Industry” by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD); “Business Opportunities between Thai and Vietnamese Enterprises” by the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit); and “Experience Sharing on Doing Horticultural and Floricultural Business in Vietnam” by Thai companies. HortEx Vietnam is the only international exhibition and conference for horticultural and floricultural production and processing technology in Vietnam. It was held for the first time in this year by the Minh Vi Exhibition and Advertisement Services Co. from Vietnam, with the Netherlands’ Nova Exhibitions BV as co-organizer. The first edition attracted 110 participants from 20 countries and welcomed 4,530 trade visitors. Besides Vietnamese visitors the exhibition also welcomed a large number of visitors from overseas, such as Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, China, the US, and India. HortEx Vietnam 2018 received a great reception from exhibitors, with 92 per cent saying it met their expectations. Based on positive feedback and growing interest in the Vietnamese market, the decision was made to increase the exhibition space by two-fold for this next edition in order to meet the increasing demand from companies worldwide. HortEx Vietnam aims to support the rapid growth of the Vietnam’s horticulture and floriculture industry. According to figures from MARD, horticulture and floriculture production and processing is one of the most promising segments in the country. Vietnam earned over $2.3 billion from exporting fruit and vegetables in the first seven of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 12.6 per cent. Horticulture and floriculture are set for steady growth and to become a leading export industry in Vietnam. HortEx Vietnam has received strong endorsement from MARD, the Lam Dong Tourism, Trade and Investment Promotion Center (TIPC), Vinafruit, the Dalat Flower Association, and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Vietnam. The event is anticipated to connect worldwide providers with local businesses and experts from related industries in Vietnam. Nearly 2,000 new FDI projects licensed in 8M There were 1,918 new FDI projects granted investment licenses in the first eight months of 2018, with total newly-registered capital of $13.48 billion, up 736 projects and 0.2 per cent over the same period of 2017, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) at the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Additional capital totaled $5.58 billion, or 87.2 per cent of the figure in the same period last year. Total new and additional capital and share purchases by foreign investors was $24.35 billion, up 4.2 per cent. FDI projects had disbursed $11.25 billion as at August 20, a 9.2 per cent increase. Manufacturing and processing attracted the most attention from foreign investors, with total capital of $10.72 billion, accounting for 44 per cent of all registered capital. Real estate followed, with total capital of $5.9 billion, accounting for 24.2 per cent. Third was wholesale and retail, with $1.87 billion, or 7.6 per cent. Japan was the largest investor in the period, with total capital of $7 billion, accounting for 28.8 per cent of all capital, followed by South Korea with $5.16 billion and Singapore with $3.47 billion. Foreign investors invested in 59 of Vietnam’s cities and provinces, in which Hanoi attracted the most, with $5.93 billion, or 24.4 per cent, then Ho Chi Minh City with $4.42 billion or 18.2 per cent and Ba Ria Vung Tau with $2.17 billion or 8.9 per cent. PVN may postpone divestment of PV GAS to 2020 The State-run Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam, or PVN) previously planned to reduce its ownership in PV GAS from 95.76 per cent to 65 per cent in the 2018-2019 period, under Document No. 1182 / TTg-DMDN on approving a list of enterprises belonging to PVN to be restructured, equitized, or divested in the 2017-2020 period. It recently, however, sent an official letter to the Ministry of Industry and Trade on supplementing and finalizing its restructuring plan for the 2017-2025 period, including the divestment from PV GAS. The group will actively consider the time of divestment from now until 2020. For the moment, it will focus on withdrawing capital from subsidiaries such as PV Drilling (PVD), PetroVietnam General Services (PET), PetroVietnam Engineering (PVE), and the PetroVietnam Drilling Mud Corporation (PV-DMC). PV GAS is a leading company at the top of the listed market. When oil prices declined in the 2015-2017 period, despite earning lower profits, PV GAS always paid a cash dividend of 40 per cent of charter capital, outlaying VND7.5 trillion ($322.1 million). State capital withdrawal in the 2018-2019 period is 30 per cent of PV GAS’s charter capital, equivalent to 587 million shares. At a current price of VND100,000 ($4.3) per share, the transaction could reap VND58.7 trillion ($2.5 billion). Post-divestment, PVN will still have a controlling interest in GAS but 30 per cent is a significant holding for strategic investors, according to local insiders. Any sale is expected to attract many foreign investors, similar to what has been seen in the divestment of Vinamilk and Sabeco. Leaders at PV GAS expect that, this year, the company will look for opportunities to cooperate more deeply with shareholders, especially strategic investors. It posted revenue of VND37.45 trillion ($1.6 billion) in the first half of this year, representing 66 per cent of the annual target, and pre-tax profit of VND6.6 trillion ($283.4 million), or 82 per cent. PHI Group partners with Hanoi MHD Invest PHI Group, Inc., a diverse holding company from the US focused on merger and acquisitions (M&A) and investments in natural resources, energy, agriculture and special situations, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hanoi MHD Invest JSC over real estate investment and development activities in Vietnam. “As we continue to focus on number of key long-term programs in Vietnam, we are delighted to have MHD as our partner in the real estate investment and development sector,” said Mr. Henry Fahman, Chairman and CEO of PHI Group. “We are highly impressed with MHD’s talented, professional and disciplined management and look forward to building a mutually rewarding association that will contribute to a new phase of growth and expansion for both companies and beyond.” PHI will assist MHD to become a publicly-traded company in the US and/or international stock markets. It will engage with the Vietnamese partner in the execution of building projects, including but not limited to the under-consideration Asia Diamond Exchange in the Free-trade Section of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone in central Quang Nam province. The two will also cooperate in the establishment of and investment in a real estate sub-fund under the master Reserved Alternative Investment Fund (RAIF) set up by PHI in accordance with the Luxembourg Institutional Bank Fund Laws. It is expected that the size of the real estate sub-fund will increase substantially over time to meet the growing needs of investment and development in Vietnam’s real estate market. MHD and PHI will cooperate to jointly develop and implement various real estate projects in Vietnam. They will also coordinate with international partners to develop and provide innovative construction materials with new technologies to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian markets. MHD and PHI will cooperate to finance or invest in other third-party real estate and hospitality projects in Vietnam as opportunities arise. “We are very pleased to partner with PHI Group on a comprehensive basis to participate in the development of the real estate sub-fund as well as other business opportunities that can capitalize on our expertise and experience to create significant value for stakeholders that would otherwise not be possible,” said Mr. Tung Thanh Nguyen, Chairman and General Director of MHD Hanoi Invest. MHD has an excellent track record and vast experience in the fields of construction, project management, and real estate investment and development in Vietnam and is currently building two 40-story towers in Hanoi, among other prominent projects. PHI Group was instrumental in taking the first Vietnamese company public on the US Stock Market in the past (i.e. Cavico Corporation, which used to be listed on Nasdaq), and is currently engaged in the areas of agriculture, renewable energy, real estate, consumer goods, and M&A in Vietnam. It will assist in taking MHD public in the US Stock Market and creating a platform for MHD’s growth and expansion in the future.   VNN