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BUSINESS IN BRIEF 24/9
VMI
to issue $1.3b of bonds
Visaco
Mineral and Investment Joint Stock Company (VMI) will issue VND30 billion
($1.3 million) of convertible bonds with a maturity of 24 months.
The
interest rate for the bonds is 11 per cent for the first year and will be
adjusted within four per cent compared to the bank's interest rate in the
second year.
Bondholders
may convert these bonds into company's shares or receive cash on two
occasions: 50 per cent of the bond yield after the first year or 100 per cent
of the bond yield on the maturity date.
If
bondholders decide to convert all the issued bonds, VMI will have to issue
three million shares at the price of VND10,000 per share for bondholders.
VMI
now has VND86 billion ($3.82 million) in the company's charter capital after
issuing an additional 2.7 million to the market.
VMI
yesterday rose 8.6 per cent to close at VND23,900 per share.
BIDV
Securities lowers foreign stake
The
BIDV Securities Corporation (BIC) has reduced the foreign ownership limit in
the company's capital from 49 per cent to 21.5 per cent.
The
decision aims to ensure that foreign investment in the company will not
exceed 49 per cent of the capital after the Ministry of Finance asked BIC to
issue additional 41 million shares – equal to 35 per cent of the company's
capital - for Hong Kong-based Fairfax Asia Limited.
The
share issuance was made in order to raise the company's chartered capital
from VND762.2 billion (US$33.8 million) to VND1.17 trillion ($51.9 million)
and the foreign investor will be able to join the company's board of
directors.
Fairfax
Asia Limited is an insurance firm founded in 2002 in
BIC
rose 0.4 per cent to close at VND23,600 at the end of yesterday trading
session.
Investment
opportunities in Vietnam discussed in Belgium
A
workshop on
Vietnamese
Ambassador to Belgium Vuong Thua Phong presented the country’s socio-economic
situation and business policies while underscoring potential boasted by the
upcoming signing of the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA).
Phong
said he hopes for a greater flow of Belgian and European investors to
Francois
De Maeyer, Head of the Belgium-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(CCIBV) , lauded contributions made by Belgian enterprises in stimulating
economic cooperation with Vietnam and expressed his belief in the bright
outlook of the EVFTA for both sides.
CCIBV
Deputy Head and General Director of the Menart company Berengere Menart told
Vietnam News Agency correspondents that all four waste treatment projects
that her company has carried out in
The EU
is one of the large import markets for Vietnamese commodities, particularly
footwear, garments, farm produce and aquaculture. After signing the trade deal,
90 percent of Vietnamese goods being exported to European markets will go
enjoy tariff of zero percent.
In
2014, trade between the two countries experienced a year-on-year growth of
27.4 percent to reach over 2.3 billion USD.
Hanoi
boosts trade, tourism promotion in Moscow
Opportunities
to support and speed up bilateral investment, trade and tourism between
The
event, jointly held by the Hanoi People’s Committee and the Vietnamese
Embassy in
Participants
were briefed socio-economic development of
On the
same day, the
Earlier,
a
Construction
of work park starts
The
FLC Group started the construction of the FLC Hoang Long Industrial Park (IP)
in the central Thanh Hoa province on September 22, earlier than scheduled.
The
FLC Hoang Long IP is located in the communes of Hoang Anh, Hoang Long and
Hoang Quang of Thanh Hoa city and Hoang Minh, Hoang Thinh and Hoang Dong of
Hoang Hoa district.
Covering
an area of about 300ha, the 2.3-trillion VND (102.9 million USD) project is
expected to be completed and handed over to several businesses this year. As
planned, the IP will be one of the province's multi-sector industrial parks.
Once it becomes operational, it is expected to attract domestic and
international investors, especially enterprises from
Speaking
at the groundbreaking ceremony, FLC Chairman Trinh Van Quyet said the
development of IPs had helped localities to attract foreign direct investment,
thus promoting socio-economic growth.
"We
aim to complete the IP's phase 1 target by 2017," he said.
Nguyen
Dinh Xung, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said the IP would
be the model for future IPs in the province that meet international
standards.
Besides
its prime location, FLC Hoang Long also benefits from the large populations
of Hoang Hoa district and Thanh Hoa city. The industrial park will create
jobs for 60,000 to 80,000 people.
At the
ceremony, the FLC Group and
It has
invested about 200 million USD in
The
province is seen as an attractive investment destination, with diversified
technical and social infrastructure. In the provincial competitiveness index
(PCI), the province is in the second best group. Thanks to incentives, Thanh
Hoa has become an attractive investment destination, with several billion
dongs being invested by large groups such as FLC and Vingroup.
FLC is
the largest domestic investor in the locality, with a total investment of 15
trillion VND (666.7 million USD). The group's projects include FLC Samson
Golf and Beach Resort, FLC Complex, FLC Hoang Long IZ and Lam Son hi-tech
agricultural area.
"Thanh
Hoa has taken drastic measures to take advantage of its favourable location,
natural resources and business environment to attract investment,"
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said.
Phuc
said the province should also call for investment from multi-national groups
as well as new industries, especially hi-tech sectors.
The
province aims to achieve an average per capita income of 3,650 USD by 2020.
Regulation,
market research key to export to Australia
Participants
at a workshop held in
The
event was held by the Vietnam Sydney Business Association in collaboration
with the Vietnam Trade Representative Office in
According
to Hoang Vi Cao, owner of an export company in Sydney, Vietnamese companies
need to carefully study
Nguyen
Hoang Thuy,
Despite
the challenges,
They
also need to build long-term business strategies focusing on building
consumer confidence in Vietnamese products, creating brands and diversifying
and improving product quality, she added.
Toyo
Ink Group prepares for Song Hau 2 thermal power project
According
to the firm’s managing director Song Kok Cheong, Toyo Ink has nearly
concluded its deals in land rent, coal supply, BOT (build-operate-transfer)
and power plant.
The
firm has diversified its business portfolio for eight years by investing in
the power sector and seeking opportunities in
In
2012, the group was allowed to invest in the 2,00MW plant in the form of BOT
for 25 years starting from 2021.
Song
said that he hopes his company will receive an investment licence in three
months so a joint venture will be set up to gather investments as the firm
can afford only 20 percent of total capital.
According
to the group’s calculation, the 3.5 billion USD project will generate a
revenue of about 970 million USD when it becomes operational in 2021.
Int’l
experience related to venture investment funds shared
The
Ministry of Science and Technology in collaboration with the Vietnam-Finland
Innovation Partnership Programme (IPP) held a workshop in
Deputy
Minister Tran Quoc Khanh said that the issue is new and complicated in
Ta
Doan Trinh, Head of the National Institute for Science and Technology Policy
and Strategy Studies, delivered a report on his research results which
clarified shortcomings and challenges facing
Mikko
Seppala, an expert from
He
stressed the need to pay attention to innovative ideas during the policy
design process as innovative ideas will decide the efficiency of venture
investment funds.
Collective
economy needs more momentum: official
Politburo
member and permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Le
Hong Anh has highlighted the need to roll out incentives for collective
economic organisations and cooperatives to consolidate their operations.
Anh
was speaking at a conference to review the three-year implementation of the
Political Bureau’s Conclusion No. 56-KL/TW on accelerating the actualisation
of the Resolution of the ninth Party Central Committee’s fifth plenum on the
collective economy in
He
urged improved State management capacity over the collective economy, thus
creating consensus from central to grassroots levels.
The
Vietnam Cooperative Alliance was asked to well execute its role as a representative
body of cooperatives while fulfilling tasks stipulated in the 2012
Cooperative Law.
Apart
from joining hands with research institutes and schools in personnel
training, the alliance should take the initiative to boost international
affiliations to promote the economic model, said the Politburo member.
He
called on the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF); associations of farmers, women,
youths and war veterans; and other organisations to take a more active role
in collective economic development.
Cooperatives
need to renovate themselves, improve their management capacity and revamp
their operations, thus turning the collective economy into an important
economic sector, he noted.
At the
meeting, President of the VFF Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan delivered a
speech on new-style agricultural cooperative development, which he considered
a breakthrough in restructuring agriculture and raising farmers’ sustainable
income.
While
pointing to lingering bottlenecks hindering the country’s agricultural
development, Nhan emphasised the need for the Fatherland Front, its member
organisations and all-level authorities to coordinate with each other in
establishing cooperatives in communes and districts.
Event
participants agreed on missions and solutions to continue fostering the
development of the collective economy and cooperatives moving forward.
A
report presented at the meeting showed that after the three-year
implementation of Conclusion No. 56, the collective economic sector has seen
positive changes.
By the
end of 2014, the country had 143,000 cooperative groups with nearly 1.5
million members and nearly 19,000 cooperatives with a 7-million-strong staff.
The
sector’s growth rate ranged from 3.3 to 3.5 percent last year, contributing
some 5.15 percent to the nation’s GDP.
The
agricultural restructuring process has given birth to new-style cooperatives
that are connected with businesses and scientists to carry out modern farming
methods, improve product competitiveness and create production chains in
association with processing and consumption.
The
collective economy, which covers various fields such as industry,
agriculture, service, transport and banking, has contributed markedly to the
country’s socio-economic development, the report said.
Among
the 11 main goods and service categories, six reported price falls with the
sharpest decrease seen in the transport sector (3.48 percent), attributed to
a drop in petrol prices during the month.
The
others included housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials
(0.83 percent); restaurant and catering services (0.25 percent); post and
telecommunications (0.25 percent); culture and entertainment (0.07 percent);
and garments, footwear and hats (0.01 percent).
On the
contrary, the prices of other commodities and services, education, beverages
and tobacco, and home appliances rose by 0.34 percent, 0.25 percent, 0.09
percent, and 0.02 percent month-on-month, respectively.
The
medicine and health service category was the only one to report stable
prices.
Gold
and US dollar prices in September increased 3.68 percent and 3.12 percent,
respectively, compared to those in August.
The
September Hanoi index fell 0.1 percent against the previous month but was up
0.34 percent from the same period last year.
Vietnamese
rice to have a national trademark
An
established national trademark is needed for Vietnamese rice products to
build their image and gain shares on the global market.
Deputy
Minister of Science and Technology Tran Viet Thanh made the statement during
a workshop held in
Currently,
However,
according to the Department of Processing and Trade for
Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Products and Salt Production,
There
are 200 medium- and large-seized Vietnamese enterprises engaging in rice
transactions but their trademarks have received limited promotion.
Sharing
experience in building the national trademark for Indian Basmati rice,
Director of the Basmati Export Development Foundation AK Gupta underscored quality
control and consumer demand as the foundation of a strong name.
Vu
Trong Binh from the Party Central Committee Commission for Economic Affairs
said it is necessary to build relevant policy frameworks and a detailed
coordination mechanism for the building of the national trademark for rice.-
Taiwanese
firm to build smart phone plant in Vinh Phuc
The
Compal Vietnam Co., Ltd (Compal), a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, has
announced its plan to re-invest in the
During
his recent working session with representatives from the provincial People’s
Committee, Deputy General Director of Compal Vincent Lee said his firm is
preparing infrastructure facilities for its upcoming project in the locality.
He
urged local authorities to continue assisting the firm to implement its
project successfully.
The
provincial People’s Committee granted an investment certificate to Compal
eight years ago to build a plant for manufacturing laptop and computer parts
and peripherals and other electronics with a total investment of 500 million
USD.
However,
the project, which was expected to generate jobs for 35,000 employees, was
not implemented on schedule because of economic downturns and a shrinking PC
market.
Vice
Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Chuc said the local
authorities have enacted policies for the investor.
He
affirmed that the locality is willing to support the business to swiftly
implement its project, which will now focus on manufacturing smart phones.
Workshop
discusses ways to help enterprises approach capital
Many
mechanisms and solutions to help enterprises gain access to capital were put
forwards at a workshop held in
The
event was organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)
and was attended by leaders from relevant ministries, sectors and banks.
Despite
being one of 30 countries with the best capital accessibility in the World
Bank’s ranking, Chairman of the VCCI Vu Tien Loc said enterprises still face
difficulties in acquiring capital.
One of
the pressing requirements at the moment, according to Loc, is to turn macro
policies into actions within commercial banks.
Nguyen
Thi Hong, Deputy Governor of the State Bank of
Hong
said that the government implemented many measures to resolve difficulties
for enterprises such as carrying out monetary and exchange rate policy
flexibly to stabilise the value of VND, control inflation and promote
economic growth.
In
addition, measures were implemented to help enterprises access capital by
reducing interest rates, rescheduling debt-payment deadlines and increasing
loans without required collateral.
The
Deputy Governor urged ministries to establish a more open and transparent
investment environment and business community to improve their production
capability, competitiveness and market expansion.
A
nationwide programme connecting banks with enterprises was implemented with
458 trillion VND (20.8 billion USD) pledged as of the end of August.
According
to Vo Tri Thanh, Deputy Director of the Central Institute for Economic
Management (CIEM), signs of recovery were seen in exports and foreign direct
investment flow but enterprises remain weak.
Keeping
the interest rate stable is a success of the SBV in the context of the rising
USD value, bank interest rate reduction and growing USD speculation.
Fung
Kai Jin, Deputy Director of the VP Bank, said the government has been
assisting small- and medium-sized enterprises with trust-based lending
policies without collateral.
Loan
procedures have been simplified and applied across sectors.
Trademark
development centre established
The
Vietnam Association for Anti-counterfeiting and Trademark Protection (VATAP)
announced the establishment of a consultancy centre for business support and
trademark development on September 22.
Besides
advising enterprises on business laws and regulations, the centre will serve
as bridge between consumers and producers, according to Director Tran Mai
Khanh.
The
centre will actively support businesses in building, developing and protecting
their trademarks and intellectual property, helping avoid brand name
repetition and counterfeit products.
The
centre has designed two websites, hanghoavacongluan.com.vn and
sieuthihangthat.vn, to help enterprises introduce their products.
According
to Chairman of the association Le The Bao, counterfeit goods are exceedingly
common in the local market and threaten businesses’ development .
The
centre is expected to intensify the fight against counterfeit goods and
intellectual property infringement, he added.
Among
the 11 groups of products and services in the CPI bracket, the highest
increases were seen in education (1.39 percent), culture and entertainment
(0.69 percent) and home appliances (0.22 percent).
Restaurants
and catering services, beverages and tobacco, textiles and footwear, medicine
and health services, and other commodities and services rose by 0.13 percent,
0.11 percent, 0.09 percent, 0.08 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile,
housing, electricity, water and construction materials dropped 0.7 percent
due to price cuts of gas and kerosene.
Transportation
tumbled by 3.28 percent as a result of adjustments to petrol prices twice
during the month.
Gold
and US dollar prices in September increased 3.36 percent and 2.77 percent,
respectively, compared to those in August.
Vinalines
to slash stakes in two major ports
The
Prime Minister has given the green light to the Vietnam National Shipping
Lines, or Vinalines, to withdraw its capital from the Hai Phong and
As
such, Vinalines’ stakes in Saigon Port Company Limited and Hai Phong Port
Company Limited will be slashed to 20 percent.
Previously,
the Prime Minister agreed to let Vinalines hold 50-65 percent of the
Currently,
Construction
begins on Vung Ang port No 3
Construction
began on the over 999-trillion-VND (45.4 billion USD) Vung Ang port No 3 in
the central
The
port, invested by the Vietnam–Laos Vung Ang Port Joint Stock Company, is
designed to accommodate ships of up to 45,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage).
When
operational, the port together with existing ports No 1 and No 2 will serve
import-export activities, ensure water transport and marine security as well
as facilitate cargo transport both at home and with other regional countries
including
Addressing
the ceremony, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Quoc
Khanh highlighted the significance of the port’s construction as helping spur
economic development of Ha Tinh and northern
Port
No 3 covers 4.39 hectares with a 225m long pier and a 250m long dock. The
port also has 9,000 square metres of storage, an internal road system, a
technical system and auxiliary facilities.
Ministry
says costs prevent milk prices from dropping
The
prices of milk products for children under six cannot be reduced because of
increase in salaries, electricity prices and the exchange rate, the Ministry
of Finance said on Monday.
According
to the ministry's price management department, the domestic market has milk
products for children under six, which are made in
The
prices of domestic milk products have suffered the impact of world prices of
milk and input costs, including fuel, sales and labour, while the price of
imported milk products includes import price and distribution costs.
The
department said the selling price of finished milk products for children
under six was stable because, according to the General Department of Customs,
import prices of those products to
Regarding
domestic milk production, offer prices for some varieties of raw material for
milk in Western European and Australian markets had reduced from April after
an increase in the first three months of this year, according to the Ministry
of Industry and Trade.
The
material is imported to produce finished-milk products for people, including
children under six, and also to process confectionary products.
On the
local market, the selling price of domestically-made milk products for
children under six includes price of material, salary, and advertising cost,
apart from electricity prices and distribution cost.
Minimum
salaries, according to region, increased 14 per cent and electricity prices
surged 7.5 per cent from March. The ceiling cost of advertising had been
abolished and the trading band for the inter-bank exchange rate was expanded
by 5 per cent since June 2014.
Due to
these factors, the selling prices could not be reduced, the department said.
In
addition, the prices of milk products for children under six had fallen
between 0.1 per cent and 34 per cent since June 2014 after the state
implemented solutions to stabilise prices.
The
prices are expected to remain stable till 2016 if the market does not
experience unexpected changes, according to the department.
Now,
the Ministry of Finance is following closely any changes in prices of raw
materials required for milk production in the world markets and the list of
selling prices from dairy firms.
The
ministry has asked firms to make reasonable calculations for the selling
price of their milk products.
Enterprises
urged to get creative
Besides
the important role of the government in creating a favorable, transparent
business environment, local enterprises should become more active and
creative in preparing for more intensive global integration.
During
a recent conference held in
Most
foreign-invested companies in
"The
benefit of integration is finding out actual success or failure, and the
capacity, of enterprises. Things that develop due to special protection or
priority will not exist. The areas in which we have an advantage include
agriculture, aquaculture, garments and textiles, footwear, furniture, and
others," Thanh said.
The
logistics sector has a great deal of potential for the future. In Hai Phong,
for example, thousands of enterprises have been established in this sector
recently.
The
service sector also has potential, as the Samsung factory alone, for example,
needs 2,000 security guards, Thanh said.
Regarding
the role of creativity and technology in enhancing competitiveness, he said
that simple low-tech equipment and solutions still held possibilities, such
as a wastebasket opened with feet, scissors for left-handed people, or paper
used to wrap toothpaste tubes (instead of plastic) in hotels.
Thanh
said that after the
But
one year later, the
"There
is still a lot of room for Vietnamese enterprises to export to the market as
Vietnamese goods contribute only one percent of the
Local
companies must make adjustments and examine their strategies carefully in
order to survive, he said.
As for
the upcoming Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), local enterprises should be
more active in seeking information about the FTA as the negotiating countries
have been reluctant to disclose details about the ongoing negotiations.
Economic
expert Bui Van said he had tried to asked governments of some countries for
information but had been turned down as the countries had committed to not
revealing negotiation details.
"However,
enterprises have a right to guess with the assistance of consulting
organisations. We are able to make guesses about TPP according to the ‘rule'
of the
Thanh
said that
Many
enterprises still do not know much about the FTA between ASEAN and
Dang
Duc Thanh, chairman of the Vietnamese Economist Club, said after studying 30
successful enterprises in
He
said Vinamilk was equitised in 2004 with total investment fund of VND1.5
trillion. Now, the State-owned capital at the company totals US$2 billion
(VND40 trillion).
Kinh
Do Company was founded in 1993 with VND1.4 billion. Recently, a part of the
company was sold to an American investor for US$270 million, Thanh said.
Experts
eye sliding tax scale for power
Experts
in pricing and economics said yesterday that they preferred pricing for power
to be based on a sliding system of tariffs as at present rather than a flat
rate proposed by Electricity Viet Nam (EVN). At present, rates are based on
six levels of consumption.
This
was revealed at a conference held in Ha Noi yesterday by EVN to consider a
Ministry of Trade and Industry order to seek new ways of fixing prices.
Last
week, EVN announced three different ways to calculate power consumption.
The
first option is to keep the current six tariff-level scheme, in which tariffs
vary between VND1,484 and VND2,587 (6-11 cents) per kWh.
Consumers
who use more than 400 kWh per month would pay nearly VND 2,600 (11 cents) for
a KWh, about VND1,100 (4 cents) more than for the first 50 kWh used.
However,
this scheme is said to be too complicated and is blamed for doubling and
tripling power bills of thousands households in May and June. This upset many
consumers.
The
second plan is to apply a flat rate to the pricing, with a suggested charge
of VND1,747 (7 cents) per kWh, which is the average of the six level
electricity price in the current pricing scheme.
The
third plan is to keep a level pricing mechanism, but with fewer levels.
The
flat rate of VND1,747 (7 cents) per kWh would upset consumers who use less
than 240 kWh a month as they would no longer be able to enjoy the low prices
of VND1,484 and VND1,533 (roughly 6 cents) a kWh.
Such
pricing would benefit large power consumers, but cost more for 80 per cent of
consumers who are low-income earners and use less than 200kWh per month.
For
the third proposed pricing scheme, there would be either three or four levels
for electricity prices, and EVN has five different scenarios for this
mechanism.
One of
the five is that the first level would be VND1,501 (6 cents) per kWh for
consumption of less than 100 kWh a month, while the second and third levels
would be VND1,907 (7 cents) per kWh (less than 200 kWh a month) and VND2,557
(10 cents) per kWh (less than 300kWh a month).
Nguyen
Tien Thoa, a representative of Viet Nam Development and Management
Consultation Ltd Company, which EVN hired to design its new power pricing
scheme, said that consumers would find it easy to calculate the sums they had
to pay for power, but poor, low-income earners or small consumers would pay
more than currently.
The
three-or-four- tariff scheme would have minimal impacts on consumers while
still encouraging them to use power economically, Thoa said. Thoa is former
head of the Pricing Management Department under the Ministry of Finance,
which is in charge of proposals.
Director
of the Viet Nam Economics Institute, Tran Dinh Thien, said that fewer tariff
schemes were better and that the first tariff should be extended to 100 or
150 kWh instead of 50 kWh as currently. Vice chairman of National Assembly's
Economic Committee, Nguyen Duc Kien, said that every option should be for the
benefit of the majority. Consumers who used over 400 kWh per month account
for less than five per cent of total consumer number while those who use less
than 100 kW are usually low-income earners.
Vice
president of Electricity Association, Tran Dinh Long said that it was right
to impose higher rates on this group.
EVN
Deputy General Director Dinh Quang Tri said the tariff-based scheme was good
as it was based on the principle "use more, pay more" and
encouraged energy saving.
Kenda
to invest US$160 million in Dong Nai tyre factory
Taiwan-based
Kenda Rubber Industrial Co. Ltd plans to invest around US$160 million in
building a factory at Giang Dien Industrial Zone (IZ) in Trang Bom district,
Dong Nai province.
The
Dong Nai IZ management board on September 22 handed over an investment
licence to Kenda
After
it is put into operation, the factory is expected to generate 4,000-5,000
jobs and earn an annual export revenue of US$200-300 million.
It
will use rubber materials from Dong Nai and other areas in
Ha
Noi's Transport Hospital to launch IPO
Ha
Noi's
HNX
said the hospital would sell 4.952 million shares in the IPO, with a starting
price of VND10,000 (US$0.43) each.
The
21,200sq.m general hospital, located in
The
seven-storey building, built on nearly 17,000sq.m, has advanced healthcare
facilities and 200 beds. It was built with capital sourced from the OPEC Fund
for International Development's official development assistance.
After
its equitisation, the hospital is expected to have a charter capital of
VND168 billion ($7.8 million), equivalent to 16.8 million shares.
Under
the pilot plan for equitisation, the state will hold 5.04 million shares or
30 per cent of the charter capital, the hospital workers will own 1.768
million shares or 10.52 per cent of the charter capital, while 4.952 million
shares or 29.48 per cent will be sold at the IPO.
Earlier
this month, more than 5.04 million remaining shares or a 30 per cent stake,
were sold only to strategic investors of the T&T Group JSC.
HNX
also said securities firms that wanted to be agents of the IPO should
register before 4pm on September 22.
Moody’s
rates VIB outlook “positive”
As of
September 18, 2015, Moody's has changed the credit rating outlook of Vietnam
International Bank’s (VIB) long-term bank deposits and issuer ratings to
“positive”.
Earlier
in June this year, Moody’s assigned VIB the “stable” outlook in the
Counterparty Risk Assessments Report covering nine Vietnamese banks. The
change is said to have been driven by improvements in the bank's standalone
credit profile.
Specifically,
the bank's asset quality metrics have improved, and it has demonstrated a
conservative growth appetite underpinned by aprudent capitalisation strategy.
VIB's
nonperforming loans ratio has decreased to 3.77 per cent of total gross loans
as of June 2015, from 4.14 per cent in December 2014. The proportion of other
problematic assets also decreased to 1.6 per cent from 2.2 per cent on-year.
According
to Moody’s, these improvements, to some extent, were driven by VIB’s sale of
loans to the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) against special VAMC
bonds. Such VAMC transactions have improved the transparency of its asset
quality metrics, and forced banks to create 20 per cent provisions per year.
Also,
the bank continued to channel a large, 50 per cent part of its pre-provision
income into loan loss reserves, scoring further positive remarks in the
report.
The
bank's credit growth appetite remains conservative. VIB reported an 8 per
cent increase in gross loans in the first half of this year, which falls
largely in line with the banking system average.
VIB's
equity to assets ratio has improved to 10.8 per cent as of June 2015, from
10.5 per cent in December 2014, providing it with the highest capital buffer
among the nine Vietnamese banks rated by Moody's.
HCMC
proposes PM help to project land buyers
The Ho
Chi Minh City People’s Committee has proposed the Prime Minister to assign
the Ministry of Justice and the State Bank of Vietnam to work with related
agencies and find a solution for customers of land and housing projects,
which investors have mortgaged ‘red books’ or land use right certificates to
banks.
Thousands
of people have purchased land lots from projects, built houses and lived
there for many years but the properties are still in names of investors, who
have mortgaged red books to the bank for capital to implement the projects.
Recently,
tens of households in Le Minh residential area in Tan Thoi Nhat ward,
District 12 has suddenly seen tens of people who are representatives from
banks, courts and law enforcement bodies come to work with them about a
compulsory sale of their properties.
Ms.
Nguyen Thi Nga said that she purchased a parcel of land from Le Minh Company
under a financial contribution contract, in which the company hands over land
to customers to build houses and will do procedures for them to get land use
right certificates after house construction is completed.
Although
Ms. Nga has built her house for many years, the land use right certificate is
still in the company's name.
The
company has failed to keep its words to do construction completion procedures
and make a land sale contract, and moved its headquarters to unclear places,
she added. It has been impossible to contact the company’s leaders by phone
too.
According
to documents collected by Sai Gon Giai Phong, Le Minh Company has authorized
some individuals to mortgage tens of land lots of the above project to a
branch of the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development in HCMC.
Of
these, some credit contracts have been outstanding but the borrowers have
failed to pay up the loans and interest. Therefore, the bank has filed a
lawsuit at the People’s Court of District 12, where the jury has pronounced
compulsory sale of the mortgaged properties.
Similarly
at many other projects, customers have fulfilled their obligations to
investors and received properties like apartments, houses or land lots but
can not take their property ownership right certificates, which investors
have mortgaged to banks.
In a
report the Prime Minister, the HCMC People’s Committee said that both
investors and banks must take responsibilities for that.
Right
after singing contracts with customers, the investors must take the
initiative to contact banks and do necessary formalities to withdraw
collaterals. The banks must be responsible for supervising the investors and
prompting them to abide by regulations.
Customers
have been at a disadvantage for signing financial contribution or investment
contracts to receive land lots and apartments. These transactions have not
been legally recognized.
HCMC
authorities have organized a lot of meetings to solve this issue without
results.
Representative
of the State Bank in HCMC said that it must be considered specifically for
each project and each investor. If investors have other properties to
guarantee loan payment, they might be discharged from the obligatory sale of
collaterals.
If the
investors have a single project which has been mortgaged, foreclose will be
unavoidable unless bank officials who have approved loans will face criminal
charge for irrevocable debts, it added.
Mr.
Pham Ngoc Lien, director of the Land Use Right Registration Office in HCMC,
said that the Civil Law does not recognize the sale or mortgage of
collaterals.
Therefore,
it is necessary to make clear if investors mortgage the land lots first or
sell to customers first to tackle the issue. If they mortgage after selling
the property, the case must be transferred to authorized agencies to consider
whether the investors have defrauded customers or abused their position to
appropriate the property or not.
Experts
said that it necessary to solve the triangle relation between banks,
investors and residents and local authorities could not help being involved
in this case because they had licensed the projects.
Those
investors breaching regulations must face heavy sanctions, they said.
Euromoney
returns to Vietnam
Euromoney
will officially return to
The
Forum will feature a range of sessions: general economic outlook, attracting
foreign investment, reforming the banking system and capital markets,
equitization of State-owned enterprises, development of the real estate
market, and development of the agricultural sector.
Hundreds
of entrepreneurs and leading economic experts will be in attendance, as will
leaders from the government, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI),
and other agencies.
Established
in 1969 and headquartered in the
For a
decade it coordinated with MPI to hold many important conferences in
The
Vietnamese Government, however, said that no such request had been made.
The
only Euromoney conference in
Minister
of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh met with Mr. Tony Shale, Chief
Executive Officer, Asia, of Euromoney Institutional Investor in May, where he
expressed his appreciation of a Euromoney idea to hold a workshop on calling
for investment in
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR
|
Thứ Năm, 24 tháng 9, 2015
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