BUSINESS IN BRIEF 20/5 HCM City needs VND630 billion for LPG distribution upgrade The HCMC government will find about VND630 billion (US$28.2 million) for a major project to improve the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution system by 2025, according to a new development plan for LPG trading in the city. To execute the project, the city will encourage local and foreign firms to invest in upgrading LPG distribution and prioritize allocation of zoned land for construction of storage facilities, ports and LPG bottling stations. HCMC will build a modern LPG distribution system comprising storage facilities, bottling and distribution stations, and LPG facilities of wholesale traders, general agents and agents in line with the plan submitted to the city government last week by the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade. The department expects the LPG distribution system will meet local demand for LPG, which is forecast to increase from the current 300,000 tons (or 35 kilograms per person) a year to 391,600 tons (43 kilograms per person) in 2020 and about 445,000 tons (45 kilograms per person) in 2025. The city will restructure LPG transshipment facilities with capacities of below 2,500 tons and encourage the development of LPG distribution chains for the existing outlets of wholesale traders, general agents and agents. LPG business households will be backed to become firms or branches of wholesale traders and general agents. Wholesale traders, general agents and agents will be given priority to open new LPG stores meeting the conditions set out by Decree 19/2016/ND-CP. Land allocation is prioritized for the LPG outlets that need to be relocated and new stores. New LPG stores must be situated at least 100 meters away from schools, hospitals and public buildings. Around 470 new LPG stores will go up in HCMC by 2020, taking the total to 1,410 by that year and 1,620 by 2025. Thailand becomes Vietnam's biggest car exporter   Thailand has surpassed China to become Vietnam’s biggest car exporter, with rising truck sales in the first quarter of the year. Statistics from General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that Vietnam imported over 29,054 cars and trucks worth over USD732.7m in the first quarter, including 10,155 were imported from Thailand. South Korea followed with 5,369 cars and China stood third with 4,261. 2,300 trucks and cars were imported from Thailand in April alone, an increase of 130 percent compared to three months ago. Most of them are pick-up trucks which have low import taxes in accordance with the agreements reach in the ASEAN Economic Community. In addition, pick-up trucks are favoured in Vietnam due to lower registration fees, including special consumption tax. Vietnam imported USD1.8bn of goods from Thailand and exported USD836m in the first three months. The trade deficit increased to nearly USD1bn making it the highest trade deficit Vietnam has with an ASEAN country within the last two years. High turnover imports include electric applicants, spare parts and automobiles. Last year, Vietnam imported 125,600 cars and trucks that worth USD3.5bn. China was the biggest customer with 40,000 vehicles while Thailand ranked fourth with 25,140. German Investments ranked 17/75 in HCMC The German Business Association in Vietnam (GBA) held the “Meeting between Leaders of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee” on May 16 in HCMC. Vice Chairman Le Thanh Liem of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and Heads of Ho Chi Minh City Departments with more than 90 representatives from our German members corporations, associations and partners attended the event. The Open Dialogue focused on the main topic of “Economic Update and Development of Ho Chi Minh City in 2016 – 2017, Business Opportunities and Investment Cooperation for German Companies in Vietnam.” Vice Chairman Le Thanh Liem affirmed that the Germany-Vietnam relations have been strengthened and developed over the years and Germany is always the most important business partner of Vietnam amongst EU. Ho Chi Minh City is striving to regain its top one as main economic-, financial-, trading-, scientific-, and technological hub in South East Asia and thus openly welcoming more foreign investments to achieve this goal. According to Ms. Le Thi Huynh Mai, Deputy Director of Department of Planning and Investment, by end of April 2016, German investments are at 17/75 in Ho Chi Minh city-wide with 114 FDI projects and more than US$ 200 million registered capital. To improve the business investment climate, most concerned topics revolved around the City’s measures to reduce traffic congestion including the prevention of flooding and air pollution, to face environmental challenges, to improve vocational training and enhance labor skills, as well as to contribute to more efficient administrative management. The City Leaders listened to the ideas, suggestions and constructive criticism of the German companies in the city and provided fruitful feedbacks. Ho Chi Minh City is now focusing on 7 programs for groundbreaking developments to be implemented in the years 2015 – 2020. This will set to bring Ho Chi Minh City to the right direction of becoming a Smart city in the near future. The Board of the German Business Association in Vietnam affirmed to lead the active role for further strengthening bilateral ties and trade exchange between Germany to Vietnam in general and to Ho Chi Minh City in particular. Mekong Capital fund to invest US$112 million Mekong Capital's fourth fund Mekong Enterprise Fund III Limited Partnership (MEF III) plans to invest US$112 million in Viet Nam. This was announced on May 16. In the first three years, the fund is expected to make a total of 12 investments of between US$8 million and $15 million over a period of 10 years in Viet Nam. The investment objective is to make a high profit on the capital recovery rate from local firms in the fields of retail, restaurant, consumer product and service. The fund also invests in firms which carry out their businesses both online and offline, especially in the retail sector. So far, Mekong Capital has been investing in firms with the fastest growth rate in Viet Nam, such as Mobile World (MWG), Phu Nhuan Jewelry (PNJ), Traphaco (TRA) and Golden Gate, as well as Masan Consumer and ICP. Chris Freund, founder and CEO of Mekong Capital Fund, said removing ownership limits for foreign investors will help MEF III carry out intensive investment in the local consumer sectors. JICA helps boost PPP project implementation in Vietnam The Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam, Yasuo Fujita, has proposed several measures to help the Vietnamese Government use official development assistance for public-private partnership (PPP) projects. At his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung in Hanoi on May 18, he pledged to do his utmost to intensify the two countries’ relations and share with the host specific mechanisms to boost the public-private partnership, particularly in infrastructure building. He also made recommendations to help speed up the progress of several JICA-funded projects in Vietnam. Deputy PM Dung, in turn, stressed that Vietnam continually considers Japan its leading partner in trade and investment cooperation. Speaking of new cooperation mechanisms proposed by JICA, he said that Vietnam currently has huge demands of mobilising resources for infrastructure in order to boost growth. He affirmed that the involvement of the Vietnamese Government in PPP projects will help better the implementation of these projects. Future of domestic retail sector amid foreign acquisitions The future of the Vietnamese retail sector was extensively discussed at a seminar held in Hanoi on May 18, in the context of serial acquisitions by foreign retailers. Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai said Vietnam is hailed as one of the world’s most attractive emerging retail markets thanks to its strong economic growth and a number of incentives for foreign investors. Vietnam has been listed among the top five retail markets in Asia and is ranked 28 th in the global retail development index, he stated, adding that the country recorded 386 supermarkets in 2008 and the figure has since soared to nearly 800. As scheduled, Vietnam will boast 1,200-1,500 supermarkets, 180 shopping malls and 157 outlets by 2020, as more consumers are switching to shopping at supermarkets instead of wet markets. At the event, a majority of opinions expressed concern over the domination of foreign retailers in the market, as evidenced by the recent acquisition of Big C and Metro by giant Thai rivals, who have recently posed strict requirements for Vietnamese goods and distributors to enter its shelves. Le Huy Khoi, an expert from the Vietnam Institute for Trade, suggested tapping niche markets such as developing a chain of specialised supermarkets – a model successfully applied by several firms. Deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Domestic Market Department Nguyen Duy Hung, said small and medium-sized enterprises should refer to a map of distribution in 63 cities and provinces nationwide while developing several priority manufacturing fields and support industry, making it easier to improve their manufacturing capacity. Hanoi Customs Department sets up hotlines Hanoi Customs Department has set up several hotlines to receive complaints and petitions from businesses and citizens. The hotlines include those connecting to the Director and five Deputy Directors of the Department, as well as the phone numbers of the heads of 12 sub-departments. All the numbers are made public at the offices of the department and sub-departments, and on the website http://www.hanoicustoms.gov.vn/Default.aspx . The Department also announced on May 18 that it will receive citizens at its headquarters at No. 129 Nguyen Phong Sac Street, Cau Giay Ward, Hanoi, during normal working hours on all working days. The department has renewed its determination to accelerate administrative procedure reform, tighten administrative discipline and erase negative phenomena in order to facilitate import-export activities while ensuring State management in the realm. Logistics firms seek growth The logistics industry in Viet Nam, which is expected to develop strongly in coming years, needs a new legal framework that would address future growth and its participation in a more competitive international environment, an official of the Viet Nam Institute of Logistics said at a seminar held in HCM City yesterday. Bui Quoc Nghia, director of the institute, said that Viet Nam had become a global manufacturing and processing hub by signing more free trade agreements (FTAs) in recent years. Last year, the volume of exports going through the country's seaports reached an estimated 427 million tonnes. The volume is expected to hit 470 million tonnes this year and about 560 million by 2020. Speaking at the seminar, Vo Tan Thanh, director of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in HCM City, said that FTAs would lead to an increase in both imports and exports, furthering the need for professional logistics services. Enterprises from mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and the US in recent months have visited Viet Nam to seek investment opportunities in a bid to take advantages of FTAs, he said. Local enterprises are also implementing restructuring to improve competiveness both in domestic and foreign markets, increasing demand for logistics services, according to Nghia. In recent years, the logistics sector has been growing at a rate of more than 20 per cent per year. Foreign players, however, dominate the market, particularly the international transportation segment, with 80 foreign logistics firms accounting for more than 70-80 per cent of market share, Nghia said. The country has nearly 2,000 domestic companies involved in the logistics sector, yet most of them are small- and medium-sized and lag behind their foreign counterparts in resources, human resources, management and IT use. The domestics companies account for a modest ratio of total market share, he said. According to experts, most Vietnamese enterprises usually sign import contracts under the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) form, and export contracts under Free on Board (FOB). As such, the majority of these goods are transported through foreign shipping companies. Nghia said the logistics industry still has underdeveloped infrastructure and a shortage of qualified human resources, as well as high costs. In recent years, the Government has invested more in infrastructure to improve freight transport, the seaport network and logistics services. However, the poor connection between infrastructure and commodity centres has led to high logistics costs in Viet Nam compared to other countries like Thailand and China, he said. The legal and institutional framework for logistics is also complex and in need of closer coordination between agencies. He said the Government should devise a national strategy for development of the logistics industry. Delegates at the seminar agreed that the Government should create a legal framework that would help to standardise services, upgrade infrastructure and improve the quality of human resources. Domestic logistics enterprises should also work together to better compete with foreign players. Thanh, the director of VCCI in HCM City, said that Vietnamese logistics firms must improve their competitiveness to expand their market share, particularly in an era of international integration. Retail firms see pressure to compete The pressure from growing foreign investments into the Vietnamese retail sector is forcing local retailers to improve their competitiveness in order to take on foreign rivals, a conference heard yesterday. At the conference held by the Viet Nam Institute for Trade in Ha Noi, experts said that 2016 was a year full of opportunities and challenges for the Vietnamese retail sector, which was opened fully to wholly foreign-invested firms since the beginning of 2015 following commitments to the World Trade Organisation. The landing of foreign retailers on Vietnamese shores was inevitable, given the large untapped potential of the market with a population of more than 90 million, 60 per cent of whom were young consumers with high shopping demand and improving purchasing power. The retail market was expected to scale from US$102 billion in 2015 to $179 billion by 2020, making it a fertile land for investments. "If domestic firms do not improve their competitiveness, they can hardly afford to compete with foreign retailers," Ngo Tuan Anh from the National Economics University, said. He said that the retail market was undergoing a clean-up and also offering opportunities to Vietnamese firms to participate in the global supply chain. However, it was critical to develop a distribution network with competitive prices and appropriate planning in order to protect market shares and promote the distribution of locally-produced goods. Le Huy Khoi from the trade institute said that Vietnamese retail firms should focus on developing supermarkets specialising in distributing certain products such as the electronics store chains of FPT, Tran Anh or The Gioi Di Dong. Khoi said that local retailers should not ignore the traditional market which remained an important shopping channel for the Vietnamese due to their age-old habits. At the conference, Nguyen Duy Hung, deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Domestic Market Department, said that the ministry proposed to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc that he approve a programme to support small- and medium-sized firms in using the distribution network throughout 63 provinces and cities. Fifty firms set to pay cash dividends in second half of May Some fifty firms announced they will pay dividends to shareholders in cash in the second half of May. Foodstuff Safoco (SAF) will pay cash dividend of 28 per cent, share dividend of 7 per cent and bonus shares at a rate of 27 per cent. Asian Mineral JSC (AMC), DHG and Lix Detergent (LIX) will pay cash dividend of 35 per cent on the second batch of 2015, while Western Bus Station (WCS) plans to pay cash dividend of 30 per cent. Service Real Estate Hoang Quan (HQC) will issue 31.6 million shares as dividend. Other firms will also pay dividend in shares from 6 per cent to 25 per cent to shareholders. Quang Ngai petitions for more incentives for VSIP The People’s Committee of Quang Ngai has just sent a document to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance asking for more incentives for Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), investor of VSIP Quang Ngai. According to the document signed on May 12 by Pham Nhu So, Deputy Chairman of the committee, VSIP should enjoy heightened corporate tax incentives because Quang Ngai is a poor region. “Dung Quat economic zone is located in a region that is especially poor from a socio-economic standpoint and the highest available incentives apply to the zone. Although the zone attracted more than 100 projects, besides the Dung Quat refinery and some heavy industrial projects, it is difficult to attract investment into industrial park infrastructure and in light industries,” the document said. “In this context, VSIP invested in building VSIP Quang Ngai in 2012, which as of now has attracted 11 projects with a combined registered capital of US$166 million. The province highly appreciated this. And yet, VSIP’s income from renting infrastructure to investors did not enjoy any corporate income tax incentives, as the activity is classified as real estate renting,” it said. The committee thus requested government agencies to provide VSIP with more incentives. “The current corporate income tax policy is not encouraging enough to industrial park infrastructure investors in poor regions,” he said. In Vietnam, industrial park infrastructure is classified as real estate. Besides corporate income tax, investors in industrial park infrastructure have also bemoaned the lack of credit incentives and the complicated payment procedures of land rental fees to the government. Thai Amata VN to spend $200 mln on industrial estates in Vietnam Thailand's developer Amata VN Pcl said on May 18 it planned to spend $200 million this year on developing two industrial estates in Vietnam to meet robust demand for investments from foreign investors. The two sites are Amata City Bien Hoa, its first project in Vietnam and a high technology industrial park called Amata City Long Thanh near Ho Chi Minh City. Amata VN, one of top three foreign-owned industrial park developers in Vietnam, has spent US$60 million on Bien Hoa, chief executive officer Somhatai Panichewa told reporters. The company has signed contracts to sell 7.4 hectares of land in the first quarter, or 30% of this year's target, she said. The company received a licence in 2015 to develop the second estate Long Thanh on 410 hectares of land, which is expected to be ready for investors in 2017, she said. Vietnam is one of major investment destinations in Southeast Asia with foreign direct investments of $4 billion in the first three months of 2016 and rising to US$5 billion in April, the Thai firm said referring to data from the Vietnam government. Amata VN also applied for another two licences to develop two projects and is expected to receive the licences in the third quarter, the company has said. In a separate development, Siam Commercial Bank officially opened its branch in Ho Chi Minh City this week, the second Thai bank operating in Vietnam, Thailand's third-largest lender said in a statement on Wednesday. SCB received a 99-year license from the State Bank of Vietnam, it said. (US$1 = 35.6000 baht) Masan sees bright future in tungsten Optimism among experts and producers on the prospects for global tungsten prices returned as market activity points to a faster than expected rebalancing of demand and supply dynamics. Built up excess inventory over 2014 and 2015 is being drawn down faster than expected partly on the back of suspended mining activity in North America and production cut backs at Chinese mines. Underestimated growth in the end use markets of tungsten also allowed consumption to eat into the stockpiles built in recent times. Prices of tungsten fell sharply in 2015 to $150 per mtu (metric tonne unit) with the market oversupplied on account of global demand uncertainty and slowing economic activity in China. Since the start of the year, prices have surged 34 per cent from $160 per mtu to the present price of $215 per mtu. Compounding the positive sentiment, while global growth prospects may remain uncertain for most, robust growth projections for end use markets of tungsten has led industry observers to call the recent price rise as a sustained long-term recovery towards 2011 to 2014 averages of $380 per mtu. The depressed oil, gas and mining industry is expected to grow as prices for oil stabilize at levels above $30/bbl. The aviation industry, which consumes tungsten for jet turbines, expects a 31 per cent rise in the passenger demand by 2017. Tungsten is essential in cutting tools used in the automobile industry which is estimated to grow 2.8 per cent in 2016. Lastly, the global construction equipment sector, again for which tungsten is an integral raw material, is expected to grow 4 per cent this year.    The idea of a sustained price recovery is a welcomed respite for current and potential producers of the commodity. Besides for projected demand growth, further credence is given to the idea from supply side events. The collapse in prices from 2014 onwards resulted in mining projects, which were undertaken earlier in the decade and touted to be at full production today, struggling to break ground as the ability to secure funding fell away. Moreover, mines in China, that account for over 70 per cent of the global supply, have more or less entered in to their twilight years, a period typically burdened by increasing production costs.    As such, there will only really be a select few who stand to substantially benefit from a fundamental recovery in the price of tungsten – owners of fully operational low cost mines. These ‘diamonds in the rough’ are hard to come by, moreover, even harder for the investing public to participate in. Most of the ‘few’ are either private enterprises in South America, or part of a much larger Chinese conglomerate that is carrying the weight of aging mines and the costs associated with underutilised downstream processing plants. It’s not all for naught. Vietnam’s Masan Resources (MSR) presents an option for the investing public. Listed on Hanoi’s UPCOM exchange, and proclaimed as a fully operational and low cost producer of tungsten (one of the lowest), MSR weathered the pricing storm over the last year through increasing operational efficiencies and adhering to strict cost management – principles that it states it will continue to focus on. More interestingly, despite the treacherous commodity market of 2015, which witnessed commodity majors shutting down their mines in an effort minimise losses, MSR’s management was strategically leveraging its low cost base to increase production in an effort to capture market share. Which today it states is 36 per cent of ex-China supply. MSR’s core principles coupled with its management’s strategic thinking has yielded results. In 2015, the company reported its net attributable profit more than tripling to VND152 billion ($6.9 million) and expects this to increase to VND220-660 billion ($10 million-$30 million) in 2016 despite stating at the time that a number of its markets will ‘continue to see downward pricing pressure.’ Singaporean sugar factories up to the chin in debts The difficult situation of Asian sugar producer Indo China Food Industries is being revealed through the huge refractory debts shouldered by its factories throughout Vietnam. Earlier this month, a group of nearly 25 sugar cane farmers and traders were reported to gather at the gate of NIVL JSC Company a subsidiary of Indo China Food Industry in the southern province of Long An to publicly demand payment for sugarcane sold earlier. NIVL is known as the first foreign owned sugar factory to start production in Vietnam, since December 1996. According to newswire Vietnamnet, NIVL owes a sum up to over VND80 billion ($3.67 million), which has not been settled since 2013. Besides, this is the third time since June 2014 that local farmers and traders have had to come directly to the factory to urge payments in vain. The crowd was not settled until NIVL’s leaders (including production manager Nguyen Thanh San and financial manager Jalakam Sreenivassulu) pacified them with solutions to pay the sum as soon as possible. Accordingly, NIVL committed to pay in two instalments, the first due on May 16 and the second on June 30. Suffering from NIVL’s late payments, farmer Le Van Luat said, “They still owe me nearly VND3.8 billion ($174,312),” destabilising his financial security. “I owe banks VND2.5 billion ($114,679) at 9 per cent interest rate per year and now I have to use payday loans to be able to pay the interest.”   Likewise, trader Nguyen Thi Thu Ha is equally worried, “I need the company to pay me the VND4 billion ($183,486) they owe.” Ha said that her financial imbalance got to the point when her lenders may foreclose her house at any time. The local authorities said that they had been working with the company, holding several meetings and consultations, to protect farmers’ rights but have yet to solve the problem.   At the same time, another factory of the Singaporean company, Binh Dinh Sugar Factory (BISUCO), saw its commercial invoices invalidated for failing to pay its tax debt of VND13 billion ($596,330). The debt sum is mainly attributable to land use fees and value-added tax arrears. According to Binh Dinh authorities, BISUCO’s financial problems started in 2013, as was mirrored by late payments to farmers and the local tax authorities. BISUCO’s financial difficulties are a result of heavy investments to rapidly expand the factories’ production capacity during the past few years, which put pressure on their capital management activities. Retail revenue to reach $179 billion by 2020 By 2020 Vietnam will have 1,200-1,500 supermarkets, 180 business centers, and 157 shopping centers, with retail revenue totaling $179 billion, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai told a seminar on the opportunities and challenges for Vietnam’s retail sector, held by the Vietnam Institute for Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on May 18. The sector is forecast to grow by 11.9 per cent in the 2016- 2020 period, with modern retail channels to account for 45 per cent by 2020. The forum heard of the great potential Vietnam’s retail market holds. “According to A.T.Kearney, a US- based research firm, Vietnam is ranked at 28th on the list of attractive retail markets in the world,” said Dr. Le Huy Khoi from the Vietnam Institute for Trade. MoIT figures show that Vietnam’s retail market recorded an average growth rate of 7.3 per cent in the 2010-2015 period. Modern retail accounted for about 25 per cent of total retail sales, increasing 12 per cent on average from 2010 to 2015. He noted, however, that retail networks remain sparse given Vietnam’s sizeable population. Dr. Khoi also identified a number of difficulties and challenges facing the country’s retailers. Under a number of free trade agreements Vietnam must open up its market and domestic retailers will face fierce competition from foreign investment. According to MoIT figures, sales at foreign-owned supermarkets were three to four times or even seven to eight times higher than at local supermarkets due to the former’s large-scale investment. Consumption has also declined due to the economic uncertainties and many businesses have been forced to cut production. Some people have lost their jobs or suffered pay cuts and so tightened their belts. “The biggest difficulty for local retailers is a lack of capital,” Dr. Khoi told the gathering. “While foreign retailers can afford to incur losses for five to seven years because of the strong financial position of their parent company, Vietnamese retailers will exhaust their available capital if they incur losses for two or three years.” High inputs and operational costs at modern retail facilities have led to inefficient business operations, difficulties in accessing credit, and a low capacity to dominate the market. Petrolimex's Q1 profit $61.4 million Petrolimex has released its business results for the first quarter of the year. Consolidated net revenue from all subsidiaries was VND27.540 trillion ($1.23 billion), equal to 72.6 per cent of the result in the first quarter of 2015. Total pre-tax profit was VND1.371 trillion ($61.47 million), equal to 34.6 per cent of the plan, while net profit was VND1.134 trillion ($50.8 million). Pre-tax profit from its petroleum business was VND658 billion ($29.5 million), equal to 47.9 per cent of consolidated profit. In its non-petroleum business, pre-tax profit was VND713 billion ($31.97 million), equal to 53.1 per cent of consolidated profit. Petrochemicals and asphalt brought profit of VND195 billion ($8.743 million) and gas VND32 billion ($1.43 million). Profit from maritime transport, river transport, and road transport was VND104 billion ($4.66 million), while profit from remaining sectors was VND382 billion ($17.1 million). Petrolimex’s total contribution to the State budget in the first quarter was VND8.237 trillion ($369.34 million), equal to 117 per cent of the contribution made in the first quarter of 2015.   Mr. Luu Van Tuyen from Petrolimex said that profit in the first quarter was considered stable. The group has also identified shorter road transport routes to cut costs. Petroleum production in the first quarter increased 3 per cent year-on-year. In 2015 Petrolimex’s consolidated revenue was VND146.9 trillion ($6.58 million), equal to 70 per cent of the target. Its pre-tax profit was VND3.75 trillion ($168.1 million), 53 per cent higher than planned and an increase of ten-fold compared to 2014. Foreign businesses seek Thanh Hoa investments A group of foreign investors, led by Prince Abdul Qawi of Brunei, met with authorities in the central province of Thanh Hoa on May 18, looking for investment opportunities. Prince Qawi said the delegation wants favourable conditions for operations in renewable energy and oil refinery. The investors are also interested in local Nghi Son deep-water port, he said. Secretary of the provincial party committee Trinh Van Chien said Thanh Hoa is calling for investment in infrastructure, particularly in industrial parks within the Nghi Son economic zone, which is one of the 8 key coastal economic zones with highest investment incentives. The province is committed to ensuring favourable conditions for foreign investors, he stated. On May 19, the delegation is scheduled to visit Lam Son and Sao Vang high-tech industrial parks and Nghi Son economic zone. Thanh Hoa is the third largest province in Vietnam in terms of population with 3.7 million people. The province’s economy grew 11.8 percent in 2015. Foreign investors, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan (China), and Singapore, have so far injected 12.7 billion USD into 60 local projects on heavy industry, oil refinery, thermoelectricity and textiles. Local tourism is also thriving, with 5.5 million tourists coming to the province in 2015. TH Group to launch organic milk products Milk producer TH Group will launch a new line of organic milk products that are free of residues of pesticides, fertilizers, growth hormones, antibiotics and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The group plans to obtain a certificate for European-standard organic milk in December and have the new products verified as organic that meet the US Department of Agriculture (USAD)’s National Organic Programme (NOP) standards in June 2017. Production of its organic milk products will be monitored under the ISO 22000:2005, 9007:2008 and Global Standard Food Safety (BRC) quality management systems. TH Group, one of Vietnam's leading milk suppliers, owns the biggest fresh milk factory in Southeast Asia. The group inked a deal with the authority of the Moscow region, Russia in October to invest 2.7 billion USD in hi-tech cattle farming and dairy production projects here. Last year, it won three gold prizes at the Tasting Contest as part of the World Food Moscow 2015 exhibition held in September. The crowned products included a nutritious supplemented Topkid Chocolate milk, Phytosterol-supplemented fresh milk and pasteurised milk. Nature preservation in Central, Central Highlands needs overhaul Changes are needed to make the nature preservation in the Central and Central Highlands regions more effective, according to experts at a May 18 conference on the increase of coordination in nature preservation in the Central and Central Highlands regions in Da Nang city. According to Nguyen Manh Hiep, from the Nature Preservation Department under the Vietnam Administration of Forestry, Vietnam has three natural preservation systems – forest reserves, sea reserves and wetland reserves. According to Hiep, because reserves are of a small size in terms of area and scattered across the country, it is necessary to agree on the importance of major reserves to preserve the natural ecology, gene resources and variety of species, particularly endangered ones. Hiep said it will be more effective to have an agency to manage all natural reserves because it will provide consistency in organisation, staff and resources. Vietnam currently has six national reserves managed by the central government while the provincial governments manage 158 national parks and reserves. Prof. Dang Huy Huynh, Chairman of the Vietnam Zoological Society, highlighted the value and benefits of forests and diverse ecology with the development of ecological-green, exploration-adventure and spiritual tourism. Huynh also expressed his concerns about the deforestation and called relevant authorities to take specific and practical actions in line with investment policy on science, technology and farming practices to preserve and make the most the forests and diversity of cultures in the Central Highlands. Delegates at the conference also called for the effective implementation of the national strategy for preservation and ecology through 2020 with a vision to 2030 according to the decision on protecting the natural ecosystem and precious native species approved by the Prime Minister. Investment in science and technology and reform of financial mechanisms are needed, as well as the encouragement of the linkage of policy, management, enterprises, science-technology and local community via building green economic model and green products. Public communications campaigns to raise awareness and capability for the community in protecting and enriching the forests and biology in natural forested areas, as well as in forest land allocated to households and organisations for protection and maintainance. ICAEW, Kaplan launch new auditor programme The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and Kaplan Financial Training Company on May 19 launched a new blended training programme for auditors in Viet Nam. The training is for ICAEW's chartered accountant qualification and certificate in finance, accounting and business. This is the first programme in the country that permits participants to use online learning, self-study and in-class learning in one course. Participants can study with foreign professionals and take classes with others from around the world. They can take part in the class at any time, when on a business trip or abroad. The course aims to contribute to the development of accounting, auditing and financing careers by helping young people develop their professional skills in a time of international integration. MOCA lauches mobile payment service MOCA Technology and Service Joint Stock Company this week launched its mobile payment service after three years of development. The service, a free app on smartphones, enables card owners to pay online transactions Founded in 2013, MOCA provides a free payment application on iOS and Android platforms for Vietnamese consumers. After installing the app, consumers can use their cards to conveniently pay their online transactions anywhere at any time via their smartphones. Since its founding, MOCA has cooperated with VPBank, ACB, OCB and Visa, MasterCard and JCB in collaboration with Sacombank. The service can be used at many merchants, including dining, shopping, travelling and entertainment sites. In another matter, MOCA has received the Payment Intermediary Service License given by The State Bank of Viet Nam. It has received certification for the international PCI-DSS standard for safety in card payment security. The MOCA Technology and Service Joint Stock Company was founded and operated by a team of experts on finance and banking technology with experience from Google, Microsoft and other leading banks in Viet Nam. Weak infrastructure – biggest aviation problem The biggest problem facing the Vietnamese aviation sector is the infrastructure of airports, especially Tan Son Nhat International Airport, heard a conference in Hanoi on May 17. Lai Xuan Thanh, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said airports nationwide are capable of accommodating a total of 75 million passengers annually. In the first four months of this year, 63 million were accommodated, adding more pressure on the country’s aviation infrastructure, he said. During the reviewed period, the sector grew by nearly 25 percent, ranking fifth in Southeast Asia, Thanh noted, adding that the speedy development, has challenged domestic airlines and aviation businesses. The CAAV has submitted plans to upgrade aviation infrastructure, ensure safety for flights and create the best possible conditions for airlines. The Ministry of Transport plans to expand Tan Son Nhat International Airport and raise its capacity to receive 40 million passengers each year, Thanh said, expressing his worry that the number is still moderate compared with the growth rate. His views were shared by Vu Pham Nguyen An, Deputy Director of the Airport Operation Department under the under the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), who said most airports, excluding Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat and Da Nang International Airports, are making losses. The ACV faces financial difficulties as it has been in charge of all operation costs of the failed airports, he said, suggesting air carriers use auxiliary ports in a bid to ease overloads in Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Duong Chi Thanh, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Airlines, proposed the CAAV give airlines their own locations in airports to ensure equality and healthy competition. Luong The Phuc, Deputy General Director of VietJet Air, suggested the CAAV create conditions for air carriers to upgrade aviation infrastructure and coordinate with each other in programmes to improve flight management. IDJLand launches sale of shophouses in Quang Ninh Property developer IDJLand will open the sale of the Tran Hung Dao Building shophouses and apartments in Ha Long City on May 21. These segments have recently witnessed a race among developers. Tran Hung Dao Building, located at the centre of Ha Long City's Hon Gai Ward, is well connected with the neighbouring areas and facilities. It takes only some 10 minutes to reach the school, the market, the shopping areas, the recreational centres and the travel spots. The building is developed on nearly 3,800 sq. m. area, including two 24-storey buildings with parking space and a security system, part of the modern facilities aimed at providing high-quality living standards to the people. The project is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2017 and the shopping centre should be operational in the first quarter of 2017. On the sale's opening day on May 21, IDPLand is offering attractive promotions for buyers, including a three per cent discount on pretax price, free service charge for two years, and support in loans of up to 70 per cent of the apartment price. Tran Hung Dao Building shophouses are also an attractive investment opportunity, following the improved infrastructure and the large tourism potential in Ha Long, which is becoming a popular destination for tourists in the northern region. VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR