BUSINESS IN BRIEF 30/6 Refinery expansion set to clear land hurdles The project on expanding Vietnam’s first oil refinery, Dung Quat, is fine-tuning its progress targets and is in the final stages of its land acquisition work. Dung Quat refinery’s expansion is progressing smoothly, but is still far from completion According to Nguyen Van Hoi, deputy general director of Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company (BSR) which operates and manages the central province of Quang Ngai-based Dung Quat refinery, to date 94 per cent of compensation work has been completed, with 1,533 out of 1,632 compensation claimants receiving payment. In a recent working session with BSR and the Project Management Unit, Deputy Chairman of the Quang Ngai People’s Committee Pham Nhu So asked the relevant management agencies and the Dung Quat Economic Zone Management Authority to speed up the project’s evaluation and appraisal and join forces to tackle any problems related to site clearance and compensation. “Compensation must be completed by the end of June this year. In addition, efforts must be sped up for the completion of resettlement blocks to accommodate relocated people. Also, measures must be taken to avoid land encroachment by some residents in cleared land space,” said Le Manh Hung, deputy general director of PetroVietnam, which is BSR’s parent group. The project to expand the capacity of Dung Quat refinery was approved by the government in 2015 and is expected to be completed in 2021. According to Hoi, it has been 13 months since the invitation for tenders for the design drawing consultancy bidding package. The work has been progressing smoothly, with the geological and topographical surveys encompassing the overall design already completed. BSR chairman Nguyen Hoai Giang said that overall design played a crucial role in the project’s preparation phase as it would lay the groundwork for contractors’ detailed design work, as well as  machinery procurement, and the installation and construction in later phases. On June 13, 2016, BSR and the Project Management Unit with the project’s overall design consultant, Amec Foster Wheeler Energy Limited from the UK, held a meeting in the UK to review the implementation of the overall design drawing consultancy contract. They assessed that about 26 per cent of the work volume has been completed over the ten months since the signing of the contract. The process to select contractors for technology copyright supply has also been completed. This relates to seven new workshops to be supplemented during the expansion process. Cutting-edge technologies are coming from developed countries like the US, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. The UK consultant (Amec Foster) is working on a strategy to select the project’s engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) contractor, while drawing up a total cost estimate, and expediting other design activities, such as the design of auxiliary and ocean-based facilities. The contract for consultancy on the overall design has a total value of $25 million, with implementation set to take place between August 2015 and November 2016. Amec Foster was also selected as the consultant for the original overall design of Dung Quat Refinery in the past. Giang also revealed that BSR was in the process of selecting the consultant for the project’s financial arrangement. The winning tender is due to be announced shortly. Under the approved capital structure, 30 per cent of the project’s total capital will come from the investor equity and 70 per cent will be financed through loans. VNREA: Housing prices up in May The real estate market saw a substantial increase in housing prices in May, according to a report of the Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA). The report said there were no new housing supplies, leading prices to rise significantly last month. Particularly, prices on the primary market edged up 5-7% in HCMC, compared to the first months of this year, while prices on the second market rose by 10-15%. Sales in the HCMC market declined in May, with 6,400 houses sold, an 18% fall over the same period last year. Consumption of apartments priced at VND2-4 billion per unit dipped a sharp 30% over the same period of last year. The market also saw strong sales of land lots and townhouses. Buyers of homes in districts 9 and 2 rose significantly, thus causing home prices to leap.   Limited land and soaring housing prices will prompt land and house transactions to rise in the next few months, according to VNREA. Housing prices in downtown HCMC inch up almost on a daily basis. Last month, prices of homes in big alleys soared over 15% against the same period last year. The number of buyers increased sharply while the number of successful transactions grew slowly as sellers did not need to be in a hurry. In Hanoi, demand edged up slightly compared to the previous month as a series of projects were launched for sale. Transactions in the Hanoi market have shown signs of picking up as banks have reduced interest rates. According to VNREA, there were many condo projects with prices standing at VND1 billion or below per unit, which middle-income people could afford to buy. In Danang, around 3,000 transactions have been done successfully since the beginning of this year, up 75% compared to the same period of last year, according to VNG Real Estate Company (VNG Land). Tran Duc Hien, director of sales and development for VNG Land project, said the real estate market in Danang has remained attractive to consumers in terms of both apartments and land lots. According to May data of CB Richard Ellis Vietnam (CBRE), Danang ranked third after HCMC and Hanoi in terms of project number with 79 projects in all segments. In the first half of this year, Danang has witnessed the supply of serviced apartments equaling to the total supply in the past five years. Customers from Hanoi and other northern provinces account for 75-85% of the transactions in Danang with successful deals making up 63%. Danang has many advantages such as good climate and beautiful beaches and is near famous tourist destinations like Hoi An town, My Son sanctuary, and the former imperial capital of Hue, Hien said. Danang’s transport infrastructure has improved considerably. The Danang International Airport receives dozens of international flights from Bangkok, Singapore, South Korea, and China and hundreds of domestic flights a week. This is an edge of Danang over other destinations like Nha Trang and Phan Thiet. Unclear home sale contracts put buyers at risk Apartment sale contracts are always prepared beforehand by developers but mostly not transparent, thus putting buyers at risk, experts said. At a seminar on solutions to improve management of apartment projects held by CafeLand real estate magazine last week, experts said up to 90% of apartment projects have been mortgaged, but buyers care more about home prices than legal matters. Nguyen Thanh Hien, director of ATIM law firm, said the law allows investors to use their projects as collateral for bank loans but loan repayments must be made before they sell homes to customers. Economic expert Ho Ba Tinh said buyers are not comprehensive knowledgeable about legal issues, such as when to get home ownership certificates, so they need protection from authorities. However, Le Huu Nghia, general director of Le Thanh Real Estate Company, said customers are now smart as they often do careful research on projects before making a buy decision. He ascribed the lack of transparency to speculators. Nguyen Manh Khoi, deputy head of the Housing and Real Estate Management Department under the Ministry of Construction, said buyers should learn about investors and laws and regulations on mortgages and secured transactions before engaging in a transaction. Vietnam firms warned of trade fraud in Brazil The Vietnam Trade Office in Brazil has recently got a couple of urgent requests for help from Vietnamese firms that import meat from Brazil, according to a news report on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. These local firms have bought beef, cow and pig intestines, pig legs, and chicken wings and legs from Brazil for local consumption or transshipment to China. High demand of Vietnamese importers has prompted fraudsters to impersonate well-known Brazilian food processors like Real Alimentos, BRF and Sadia and sign export contracts with Vietnamese companies. The contracts of these fraudsters often come with lax terms but guarantee high quality yet low prices, about one-third of market levels. Vietnamese importers are normally required to place deposits in bank accounts in the U.S. or African countries. The trade office advised Vietnamese importers to carefully examine business partners and do their due diligence before making deposits. Local importers can contact the office to enquire information about Brazilian exporters before any transaction. The office can be reached by phone +55 11 32766776 or +55 11 9928 33668 and by email br@moit.gov.vn or ecoviet@terra.com.br. Quality improvement key for farm produce exporters to EU Meeting the EU’s quality standards and demands in corporate social responsibility are key for Vietnamese exporters of agricultural products to succeed in the European market, heard a conference held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in Hanoi on June 28. Many economists at the event agreed that so far, domestic firms have yet to make good preparation to tap all benefits from the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA), including advantages in tariff. According to Nguyen Tuan Hai, deputy head of the VCCI Department for International Relations, held that Finland and Northern Europe, with long winters and high demands for agricultural products and seafood, are promising markets for Vietnam . Furthermore, the governments of Finland and Northern European countries consider Vietnam as one of the few countries that should receive support and encouragement in exporting activities to their markets, said Hai, who is also director of a project to support businesses in Finnish and Northern European markets (Project FLC 14-04). Currently, the EU is one of the top markets of Vietnam ’s agricultural and fishery products, including coffee, cocoa, peppercorn, cashew and shrimp. Vietnam ’s export makes up nearly two thirds of the total trade between the two sides. The EU is also a potential market with high and stable consumption. However, many Vietnamese farm products are experiencing a drop in volume, price and market share. For instance, the percentage of Vietnamese tea exported to the EU fell to seven percent in 2014 from 20 percent in 2007, due to a lack of an origin certificate and high chemical residues. Participants at the event noted that many enterprises have stayed confused in expanding marketshare in the EU. Many firms are still exporting raw products, thus decreasing added value as well as job opportunities for Vietnamese labourers. Cao Thanh Diep, deputy head of the ASEAN Desk under the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Multilateral Trade Policy Department, emphasised that Vietnamese farm produce exporters should build trademarks for their products to raise competitiveness. Also, they need to study the EU market carefully, as it requires high product quality as well as corporate social responsibility, she added. Real estate market faces imbalanced growth The domestic property market is forecast to face opposite ends in late 2016 with a lack of mid-tier housing and an abundant high-end segment. The Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department explained that a majority of local customers have demands for affordable apartments with medium or small areas. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have the biggest housing supplies, mostly luxury and mid-end projects. However, transactions have remained flat recently in the two major cities. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Construction has asked the two localities to reassess housing demands before giving the nod to housing development projects to ensure a balance in supply-and-demand and to stabilise the market. Housing prices in the first half of this year experienced less changes than in 2015. Prices of apartments of a number of completed or soon-to-be-operational projects in downtown Hanoi rose by 3-5 percent against the previous year. Also in the capital city, projects with good locations, modern design and suitable surrounds or those in the pipeline hold more advantage than adjacent houses and villas. In Ho Chi Minh city, prices of the affordable segment in the suburbs remained stable while those of the high-end segment expanded by up to 15 percent compared with the same period in 2014. The Prime Minister has recently signed a decision allowing low-income earners who want to buy houses this year to access loans at the Vietnam Bank for Social Polices with an annual interest rate of just 4.8 percent, even lower than the rate offered in the 30 trillion VND package. In another effort to ensure the supply-demand balance, the Construction Ministry has asked localities to promptly draw up housing development plans in line with the Housing Law, which will serve as a basis for licensing housing projects. Investors have also called on localities to shorten the duration of dossier ratification in order to make it easier for their operation. Property inventory sees sluggish fall Real estate inventory continues to fall but the pace is slowing down, mostly in suburban projects with poor infrastructure facilities, according to the Agency for Management of Housing and Real Estate Market under the Ministry of Construction. Vietnam’s real estate inventory had an estimated value of 37.49 trillion VND (1.68 billion USD) as of the end of June, down 26 percent or 13.4 trillion VND (603 million USD) from the end of December 2015. Real estate inventory in Hanoi is at about 5.89 trillion VND (265 million USD), a decline of 858 billion VND (38.61 million USD) from last December. This equates to a 13 percent reduction in units available; mainly in residential apartments, with only 171 units worth 191 billion (8.6 million USD) left, and low storey-houses with 1,939 units, worth nearly 5.7 trillion VND (256.3 million USD) unsold. HCM City saw a higher property inventory of over 6.8 trillion VND (306.6 million USD), yet with a better decline of nearly 3.3 trillion VND (148 million USD), or 33 percent from last December. The city recorded the highest inventory in residential apartments with 2,588 unsold units, worth over 4.4 trillion VND (198.3 million USD), followed by 264,629 square metres of residential land, approximately 1.2 trillion VND (54 million USD); 275 units of low-rise houses, worth 770 billion VND (34.65 million USD); and 34,318 square metres of commercial land worth 437 billion VND (19.6 million USD). The property market has seen a stable growth in the first half this year, in various sections from low-price to high-end and tourism resorts. A slight increase in price and demand has been seen in medium-sized apartments in favourably located projects with well developed infrastructure facilities, according to the Agency. Breakthroughs needed to lure investment in infrastructure Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has asked ministries and localities to make breakthroughs in attracting investment for Public Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects. The ministries and localities need to redefine PPP projects of priority, which will be screened by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) before proposing the amount of capital to be supported by the State. The MPI was asked to work with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other sponsors to build a mechanism to mobilise Official Development Assistance (ODA) sources for the PPP projects based on the calculations of disbursement of the committed agreements and the suitable loan limit in accordance with law on public debt management. The MPI should collaborate closely with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies to implement the role in managing JICA’s loans along with selecting PPP projects. The two ministries were requested to conduct research on other forms of state capital contribution to PPP projects. The Deputy PM also asked the MPI to submit to the Prime Minister a summary report on mechanisms to support state capital to PPP projects within this month. Ben Tre Province asks government to help salt farmers The People’s Committee of Ben Tre Province has asked the government to buy 92,000 tonnes of salt in stock in Binh Dai and Ba Tri districts. More than 100,000 tonnes of salt were produced in 2015-2016, but only 8,000 tonnes have been sold. Even though it was a productive salt season, farmers were not able to sell their products. Nguyen Thi Thi from Ba Tri district told Dan Tri that due to low demand nine out of 10 farmers could not sell their salt. Many had to take on other work to earn money to support their families. Ben Tre has 2,000 households and more than 4,000 salt farmers. Hanoi reports growth in first six months Hanoi has recorded robust economic performance in the first half of 2016, with its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) gaining 7.3 percent, said the municipal People’s Committee. The capital’s agro-fishery sector grew 2.1 percent year-on-year in the period. However, unfavorable weather conditions inflicted crop cultivation, making the sector’s value added yet to fulfill its quota. The industry and construction sector secured an annual growth of 7.8 percent, with investments poured into local industrial parks soaring 4.2 times. Sub-industries producing food, apparel and pharmaceuticals gained momentum, in contrast to timber processing and chemical production. The service sector grew 7.5 percent. Hanoi welcomed six million tourists in the six-month period, up 9.4 percent year on year. Of the total, 1.5 million were foreigners, mostly from China, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and France. Meanwhile, development projects in the city got 140 trillion VND (6.3 billion USD) in capital, which saw State funds reducing and foreign investment rising three-fold. Hanoi attracted almost 72 trillion VND (3.24 billion USD) worth of foreign direct investment. There were 11,000 companies established in the first half of the year, registering a total investment of more than 92 trillion VND (4.14 billion USD), an annual surge of 52 percent. Hanoi is now calling for further investment in urban infrastructure development, particularly in green spaces and social housing. The hub is also prioritising high-tech application in heath, energy and agriculture. First shrimp specialised exhibition opens in Bac Lieu Shrimp foodstuff, bio-products as well as machines and equipment used in the shrimp breeding sector are being showcased at the Vietshrimp International Fair 2016 – the very first specialised shrimp exhibition hosted on large scale in Vietnam, which opened in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu on June 24. The three-day event, jointly organised by the Vietnam Fisheries Society and the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, drew the participation of 100 domestic and foreign enterprises. Vietshrimp 2016 will serve as an opportunity to introduce the achievements, opportunities and risks to Vietnam’s shrimp industry, promote Vietnamese shrimp to the world market, distribute new and qualified aquatic products and seek connections for business development. At the event are workshops covering different topics regarding the shrimp industry and a photo exhibition displaying more than 100 selected photos reflecting the working life of fishermen in Vietnam, as well as some typical domestic shrimp production models. With a 60km shoreline, good processing factories and shrimp breeding facilities, Bac Lieu has solid advantages to develop the saltwater shrimp industry. The province is currently home to 120,000 hectares of shrimp cultivation area. However, local shrimp breeders are still vague about shrimp farming techniques. The exhibition will offer a chance for local people to get access to high-tech applications in shrimp breeding. Vietnam’s annual shrimp export value stands at 4 billion USD, making up over 50 percent of the country’s total aquaculture shipments. Dragon fruit exports to enjoy robust growth Shipments of Vietnamese dragon fruit abroad are expected to shoot up after Taiwan (China) agreed to reopen its doors to Vietnamese white flesh dragon fruit from June 2016, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In March 2009, Taiwan completely suspended the import of Vietnamese dragon fruit over fear of being infected with melon fly disease. It was said the flies that eat guava could inhabit the fruit and enter Taiwan. At that time, Vietnam exported around 15,000-16,000 tonnes of dragon fruits to Taiwan annually. Dragon fruit is favoured for exports thanks to its long preserving term (40 days) and low cost of transportation by sea route (0.2-0.3 USD per kilogramme). Australia has officially commenced a review to import fresh dragon fruit from Vietnam into its market. According to a press release published by the Australian Embassy in Vietnam on April 27, fresh dragon fruit is one of the agricultural products given top priority to access Australia. In the first six months of the year, Vietnam sold 4,610 tonnes of fruit in foreign markets, 72 percent of which was dragon fruit. Vietnam exported over one million tonnes of dragon fruit in 2015. Small car makers to expand production in Vietnam on tax cuts The planned cuts in luxury tax on cars with small engines are expected to spur demand, encouraging auto manufacturers to expand production. On July 1 the tax on cars with engines of less than 1.5 liters will drop from 45% to 40%. It will go down further to 35% in 2018. Thaco, which controls nearly 45% of the Vietnamese market, plans to invest VND30.11 trillion (US$1.33 billion) to expand its manufacturing and retail activities over the next three years. It will spend two-thirds on two new lines in its manufacturing base in the central province of Quang Nam. One of them will be able to annually churn out 100,000 units of Mazda 2, Mazda 3, and CX3 for the Japanese automaker. The first two models have engines of less than 1.5 liters Its current Mazda plant has a capacity of 25,000 units. The other plant will make trucks and buses and also have a capacity of 100,000 units. Thaco also plans to expand its retail and showroom network. It expects sales to rise by 40 percent to more than 112,000 units and VND71.73 trillion (US$3.17 billion) this year. Its sales had risen by 90% last year. The rates on cars with engines of 1.5-2.5 liters will remain unchanged at 45-50%. But for vehicles with engines of 2.5-3 liters, it will rise from 50% to 55%, while for those above three liters, it will rise sharply to 90-150%. Hyundai Thanh Cong, which assembles and imports Hyundai cars, has completed construction of the first stage of a plant in the northern Ninh Binh Province and accelerated work on the second. The factory assembles small cars like the Huyndai i10 and Huyndai i20. Another reason for the expansion by automakers is the increasing demand in Vietnam, industry insiders said. Rapid urbanization and rising incomes allow more Vietnamese to afford the comfort and safety of a car, they said. Auto sales between January and May soared 31% to 111,4000 units, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA). Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Honda reported solid increases. The number of households in Vietnam with financial assets of US$100,000 to US$2 million would soon be among the fastest growing in the world, fuelling luxury vehicle sales in a country where gross domestic product per capita is still only about US$1,500, Reuters quoted the Economist Intelligence Unit as saying. Sales of small cars are expected to increase sharply when the new tax amendments take effect, cutting the prices of cars with engines smaller than 1.5 liters by up to US$1,000 each. Popular small cars like Huyndai i10 and i20, Kia Morning, Toyota Vios, Ford Fiesta and Mazda2 currently cost VND300-700 million in Vietnam. The cars will become even cheaper from January 1, 2018, when the tax is cut further to 35% and tariffs on cars imported from ASEAN members are scrapped. Vietnam mainly imports small cars like the Mitsubishi Attrage and Mirage and Toyota Yaris from Thailand. Many importers have already moved to capitalize on the new policy. Euro Auto, which imports and distributes BMW cars, recently unveiled a new 1.5-liter seven-seat car. At their recent auto shows, Mercedes Benz and Audi have displayed many small cars, hoping to expand their market share in the segment in the coming time. The market share of small cars would soon exceed 50%, industry insiders said. Vietnam is enjoying a surge in interest among automobile makers as sales saw a record growth of 55% last year, following growths of 35% and 23% the previous two years. Sales growth will continue to be strong this year, albeit slightly slower than in the last few years, according to industry insiders. BMW AG said its car sales in Vietnam are expanding at the fastest pace in Southeast Asia as the nation’s economic growth spurs demand. The company estimates sales to grow at 30-40% through 2017, Bloomberg quoted Axel Pannes, managing director of BMW Group Asia, who heads 13 Asian markets, as saying. BMW said it sold just over 1,500 cars last year in Vietnam, which it entered in 1993 and has been its top growth market in Southeast Asia for the last few years. “It’s always depending on the political situation that’s quite volatile in some of the markets, but at the moment I’m very positive about Vietnam,” Pannes said in a recent interview, referring to the markets under his charge. Assuming Vietnam remains stable, he said, “I would see continuous double-digit growth.” Bui Kim Pha, deputy CEO of Truong Hai Auto Corporation, said the market is stabilizing and so its growth would not be as high as last year when sales saw a six-year high of nearly 245,000 units. Mercedes-Benz Vietnam plans to invest 11 million euros (US$12.2 million) this year to set up two new assembly lines, according to Dirk Adelmann, its sales director. The company sold 3,600 units last year, its 20th in Vietnam. A 50% growth meant Vietnam was one of Mercedes-Benz’s five fastest growing markets in the world, Adelmann said. Rolls-Royce and Bentley recently opened their first dealerships in Vietnam. Car makers’ positive outlook for Vietnam comes as the government targets economic growth of 6.7% this year, industry insiders said. Trade deficit widens on rising imports Despite a modest contraction of the Vietnam trade deficit in the five months leading up to May, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) forecasts a wider shortfall for the full fiscal year. At a recent teleconference, Vu Ba Phu, director general of the MoIT Planning Department, said the trade surplus for the nation calculated for both the foreign and domestic sectors combined was US$1.36 billion. The foreign sector posted a US$9.10 billion surplus for the five-month period January-May while the domestic sector registered a US$7.74 billion deficit. However, Mr Phu was quick to point out that the combined surplus has already started to turn out of the black and drop back down into the red. He said in May the foreign and domestic sectors posted an estimated US$400 million shortage on the back of a rising import bill, which is expected to continue to soar through the remainder of the fiscal year. Mr Phu said the nation’s planned massive infrastructure projects and related capital purchases for items such as machinery and equipment are fuelling the trade imbalance, yet the overall arrearage is within acceptable limits. Nguyen Bich Lam, general director of the General Statistics Office (GSO), a participant in the conference, agreed with the proposition that there is no cause for alarm over the magnitude of the projected deficiency for the current year. Given the large number of foreign direct investment projects in the queue, said Mr Lam, the import bill was bound to rise as they require the importation of capital goods that the country does not have the wherewithal to produce. Most of the projects are expected to be constructed over the next several years, so we need to look at the trade figures over a much longer window – such as the next five years – to get a clearer picture of the health of the economy. The investment in capital goods is, he said, expected to pay huge dividends in the future, especially by lowering the cost of doing business in Vietnam for the manufacturing segment of the economy, whose competitiveness has been hampered, in particular, by lack of transport and manufacturing infrastructure. However, it is clear, given the magnitude of the domestic deficiency and its relative size in comparison to the foreign sector’s surplus, that the government needs a clear strategic long-term programme on import reduction augmented by an increase in the competitiveness of domestic companies. The current imbalance between the foreign and domestic sectors obviously can’t continue on ad infinitum without a serious long term deterioration of the nation’s economy, he said. Minister Tran Tuan Anh of the MoIT underscored the government’s strategy of developing the manufacturing support segment of the economy to sharpen the competitiveness capacity of the domestic sector. Mr Anh stressed the importance for domestic businesses to import only essential goods and purchase Made-in-Vietnam products wherever and whenever feasible. “Developing the support industry is a sure-fire way to curb the trade deficit,” said Mr Anh, adding that “the government targets to have a sustainable import-export balance by 2020.” Sacombank named ASEAN most valuable brand The Mekong Times Newspaper in collaboration with the Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia Economic Cooperation Development Association have ceremoniously honoured Sacombank as one of the most valuable 100 brands in ASEAN. Since Sacombank’s inception, it has consistently been recognized as a most valuable bank brand in Vietnam and ASEAN, said a bank representative in accepting the award at the ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand. The bank has exponentially magnified its brand value over recent years, said the representative, expanding to 564 current locations and is the first Vietnam bank to have opened branches in both Laos and Cambodia. Microsoft and Kenan team up in ICT training The Kenan Institute Asia officially launched the second year of the Microsoft TechSpert program on June 24 at the Hanoi Daewoo Hotel, following on from the success of the first held last year. With financial and technical support from the Microsoft YouthSpark initiative, Kenan will provide communications, basic entrepreneurship and career planning skills, technical training sessions on Microsoft solutions and IT, and an apprenticeship program to support young Vietnamese students interested in the field of information communication technology (ICT) to capture career opportunities. “Through the program, young Vietnamese will be trained with the necessary skills and knowledge to enhance their ability to succeed in the ICT sector,” said Ms. Phan Kieu Anh, Program Manager of Kenan in Vietnam. The Microsoft TechSpert program will create a more skilled workforce in technology trading and sales as well as offer ambitious young people the opportunity to start their own IT businesses. “This project is part of the Microsoft Philanthropies program in Vietnam to empower every Vietnamese people to achieve more,” said Ms. Le Hong Nhi, Citizenship and Community Affairs Manager of Microsoft Vietnam. “TechSpert has demonstrated a special training model in which a partnership between schools, a non-profit, a technology corporation, and retail enterprises has been developed and strengthened to give young people a comprehensive and practical training program to pave the way for students from schools to enter the labor market with job-ready skills.” The program will deliver knowledge of Microsoft’s products, such as Office 365 and Windows 10, sales skills and other soft skills so that students can become technology sales experts. In addition to the training, program participants will have the opportunity to take internships at three major IT retail stores: Media Mart, Pico and Phuc Anh. Microsoft will invest $3 million in Vietnam over three years as part of the company’s global YouthSpark commitment to empower young people with opportunities for education, employment, and entrepreneurship. The investment will be used to provide technology skills training, along with connections to employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people throughout Vietnam. The Kenan Institute Asia is a knowledge and capacity building organization implementing results-oriented, social and economic development programming on a not-for-profit basis and is headquartered in the Thai capital of Bangkok. It conducts activities in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam as well as regional activities in Southeast Asia. Pan Pacific Hotels arrives in Hanoi Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG) will launch its Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts brand in Vietnam in the fourth quarter of this year with the introduction of Pan Pacific Hanoi. The property, which is already a city icon, was acquired by PPHG in 2001 through a joint venture with the Hanoi Construction Corporation and has been operating as the Sofitel Plaza Hanoi in a prime location by West Lake.   From October 1 it will be re-branded Pan Pacific Hanoi after refurbishments to its lobby, lobby bar, all-day dining restaurant and meeting space. Besides imparting a sense of space and a feeling of calm, the renewed Pan Pacific Hanoi seeks to deliver its brand promise of “Your Refreshing Pacific Experience” by providing an invigorating blend of the culture and heritage of the Pacific Rim. Featuring 273 guestrooms and 56 serviced suites, the hotel is located minutes away from the historic Old Quarter and commands a picturesque view overlooking West Lake and the Red River. Its central location also offers convenient access to the business district. “We are very excited to be bringing the Pan Pacific brand to a city like Hanoi, where personalized service and attention to detail perfectly complement our brand positioning,” said Mr. Bernold Schroeder, CEO of Pan Pacific Hotels Group. “Having a brand-defining hotel in Hanoi is part of our strategy to establish our presence in key gateway cities in the Asia Pacific region. We are committed to Vietnam as a strategic growth market as it ushers in a new phase of exciting developments in travel and tourism.” Pan Pacific Hanoi will be the Group’s second property in Vietnam, after the award-winning Park Royal Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City. Pan Pacific Hanoi will be a valuable addition to PPHG’s collection of luxury and upscale hotels, resorts and serviced suites in Indochina, which in addition to Park Royal Saigon, Park Royal Yangon and Park Royal Nay Pyi Taw, as well as Pan Pacific Yangon which opens in 2017, will further augment the Group’s growth plans in the region. Pan Pacific Hotels Group is a wholly-owned hotel subsidiary of the Singapore-listed UOL Group Limited, one of Asia’s most established hotel and property companies with an outstanding portfolio of investment and development properties. Based in Singapore, Pan Pacific Hotels Group owns and/or manages over 30 hotels, resorts and serviced suites with more than 11,000 rooms including those under development in Asia, Oceania, North America and Europe. The Group comprises two acclaimed brands: Pan Pacific and Park Royal. Pan Pacific is a leading brand in Asia and the Pacific Rim, with hotels offering premium accommodation and services. Park Royal is a collection of comfortable leisure and business hotels and resorts located in the heart of cities and interesting locales across Asia Pacific. Vietnam to export 5, 7 million tons of rice in 2016 According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), Vietnam is expected to export 5, 7 million tons of rice this year. Rice export volume in June is expected to reach 450, 000 tons which will raise total number of rice export up to 2, 732 million tons and total turnover of VND 1, 2 billion in the first six months of the year The purchase price as well as rice export price will strong growth if Vietnam receives many export contracts. VFA predicted rice demand from Chinese, Philippines and Indonesian markets being stable growth. Accordingly, total number of Vietnam rice in summer- autumn and autumn- winter crops only reaches 3, 9 million tons in six last month of this year. Firms want clear customs rules Representatives of businesses have expressed expectations that regulations in a draft decree amending Decree 08/2015/ND-CP on customs procedures to be clear. The draft decree was put forth for enterprises in the south to comment at a conference held by the General Department of Customs in HCMC on June 23. Representative of logistics firm ALC said regulations in the draft decree should be made clear to help enterprises avoid being harassed by customs officers. For example, the tax refund period should be clarified in cases of excess tax payments as tax payers have to supplement certificates of origin of goods. In reality, the customs often finds reasons to delay tax refunds for enterprises. Enterprises have suffered a lot from unclear regulations on time for relevant agencies to return results of special tests to enterprises. Pham Thi Thuy Van, deputy director of marketing at Saigon Newport Corporation, said the department should listen to enterprises to improve regulations in the draft decree to minimize losses for enterprises. Dang Thi Binh An from the Governance for Inclusive Growth Program under the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID GIG) asked whether there would be circulars or customs procedures for enterprises to follow in addition to the draft decree. She said a new point in the draft decree is that an inspection agency will be formed under the department. Enterprises wanted to know the role and function of the planned agency as well as mechanisms of coordination among Government agencies as it is possible that the quality of imported products is certified by the General Department of Customs but is not approved by others. Many firms bemoaned they have to spend a lot of time and money due to inconsistency and different interpretation of laws and regulations by customs officials. They are also concerned that there will not be enough time for comment on the cumbersome points of the draft decree to be collected before it is issued. Vu Ngoc Anh, deputy head of the General Department of Customs, said enterprises’ feedback will be weighed and used by the drafting committee to improve the draft decree. Foreign firm buys into Petrolimex JX Nippon Oil & Energy Vietnam Co Ltd has acquired more than 103.5 million shares, or a 9.09% stake, in Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex). The subsidiary of Japan-based JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation was introduced at the general shareholder meeting yesterday of Petrolimex, which currently holds a lion’s share of the local fuel market. The stake is higher than what Petrolimex said at its extraordinary meeting on March 30. The group confirmed at the meeting that it would sell an 8% stake totaling 103.5 million shares at no less than VND38,000 each to the Japanese investor. Petrolimex said in a statement that JX Nippon Oil & Energy became its foreign shareholder on May 28 after buying shares at the fuel trading and importing enterprise. Issue and payment procedures have been completed and approved by the State Securities Commission and Vietnam Securities Depository. JX Nippon Oil & Energy purchased 103.5 million common shares of Petrolimex at a price of VND39,017 per share, higher than the lowest price of VND38,000 per share approved by shareholders at the March 30 extraordinary meeting. The shares have a lock-in period of five years. Petrolimex collected over VND4.039 trillion (US$182 million) from the share sale, which pushed up the enterprise’s chartered capital to VND11.4 trillion. Earlier, the firm introduced a plan to issue a total of 1.138 billion shares to finance restructuring of its member companies, including its subsidiary in Singapore which racked up huge losses in 2014 due to the world oil price plunge. Currently, the State holds an 86% stake in Petrolimex, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Vietnam owns 9.09% and other shareholders possess the remainder. Petrolimex plans to gradually reduce State ownership to 65% through new share issues. Lychee week kicks off in Hanoi The 2016 Luc Ngan - Bac Giang Lychee Week in Hanoi kicked off at the Big C Thang Long Supermarket on June 24 and will run through June 30. It was jointly organised by the provincial Industry and Trade Department, Luc Ngan District’s People’s Committee, Hanoi’s Industry and Trade Department, Big C Supermarket and Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro). The event aims to get the northern province of Bac Giang’s farm produce to Hanoi consumers more easily during 2016-20. The lychees are displayed with packing labels showing origin information at 10 booths at the event. Prices run from 35,000 VND to 45,000 VND per kilogramme. Bac Giang lychees are cultivated in a concentrated lychee-growing area. VietGAP and GlobalGAP cultivation standards are applied, ensuring clean produce that meets food safety and hygiene requirements, according to Tran Quang Tan, Director of the Bac Giang’s Industry and Trade Department, who spoke at the opening ceremony. Nguyen Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi’s Industry and Trade Department, said the event created opportunities for lychee businesses to meet and seek partners to sign trade contracts and boost lychee consumption. A lychee consumption signing ceremony between Luc Ngan District’s People’s Committee and six supermarkets and wholesale markets in Hanoi also took place at the event. Guillaume Sénéclauze, General Director of Big C Vietnam, said Big C was willing to support Vietnamese farm produce consumption in general and lychee consumption in particular. “We expect lychee consumption at Big C will increase by more than 30 percent year-on-year in our supermarket chain this year”, the director said at the event. Right after the launch of the Bac Giang Lychee Week in Hanoi late last week, the lychees had been attracting a lot of attention from capital citizens and consumption had spiked, a Big C representative told Vietnam News on June 27. “At Big C supermarkets in Hanoi, we have consumed more than 15 tonnes of fresh lychees granted VietGAP and GlobalGAP certificates in just the last three days”, the representative added. From this year’s crop, Bac Giang’s total lychee production was estimated to reach 130,000 tonnes, including 59,450 tonnes meeting VietGap standards. So far, 54,200 tonnes, or 39 percent of the total lychee crop, have been harvested. Luc Ngan District, the largest “thieu” lychee producer in Bac Giang, has 158ha of land dedicated to producing some 1,000 tonnes of lychees to the GlobalGap standard. Irradiation facilities benefit fruit exporters The provision of irradiation services for fresh fruit exports in Hanoi has created many benefits for enterprises, experts have said. The Hanoi Irradiation Centre (HIC) on June 23 for the first time irradiated two tonnes of lychees destined for Australia. The centre was expected to help lychee exporters save on storage and transportation costs as well as time, as they did not need to ship the lychees to the south for irradiation treatment, said Dam Quang Thang, Director of Agricare Vietnam, one of the two companies getting their lychees irradiated at the HIC. In working with the HIC, the company had reduced its irradiation costs by 20,000 VND per kilogramme of lychees compared with having them irradiated in HCM City, so the move was better for the business in terms of corporate benefits, he said. On the same day, Rong Do Manufacturing, Commerce and Services Company also brought lychees to the HIC for treatment. Nguyen Quang Thieu, Director of the HIC, said the irradiation time for each batch of products was some 1.5 hours and the irradiation capacity at the centre had reached 20-30 tonnes per day. After the irradiation process, all products reaching export standards are transported to the airport. Thieu said the centre was scheduled to irradiate 10 tonnes of lychees for Rong Do Company for export to Australia. In addition, some six other companies have registered for irradiation services at the centre for their export products. The centre expects to provide irradiation services for 100 tonnes of export-bound lychees this year, he said. Hoang Trung, Head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s Plant Protection Department, said Australia was currently one of the most demanding export markets. However, in recent years, Vietnam’s lychees have entered the market, and these exports have brought high income for farmers and enterprises. On June 20, 2016, the HIC received official certification from Australia’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, he said. This would be an advantage for lychee exporters because the northern region supplies most of the country’s lychees for export. Irradiation is a safe technology that helps kill bacteria and micro-organisms and keeps fruit fresh for longer periods, even up to a few months. Turkish Airlines opens direct air routes from Istanbul to Hanoi and HCM City Turkish Airlines officially opened direct air routes from Istanbul to Hanoi and HCM City with frequency service of five flights per week on June 27. It was released at an inauguration ceremony on June 27, which has attracted representatives from relevant ministries and tourism companies. The average flight time from Hanoi and HCM City to Istanbul is 15 and 12 hours respectively. These flights will be operated by Airbus 330-300 with 288 seats. Turkish Airlines plans to increase the number of weekly flights to seven as from October 31. With the opening of the new air routes, Turkish Airlines will bring more options to Vietnamese visitors and mark a new milestone in expanding its network in the Asia-Pacific region. The new air routes are an important transport link to boost long-term cooperation between the two countries and help Vietnamese tourists discover heritages of Istanbul. It has also brought lasting benefits to tourists with regular flights to famous destinations in Europe. The airlines unveiled a strategy to expand its network to Russia, Central Asia and other nations in the Far East, Middle East, Africa, Northern and Southern America. First Fusion Suites hotel makes debut in Saigon Serenity Holding has unveiled its Fusion Suites Saigon, the first hotel of the brand in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. The hotel boasts 71 suites with in-room facilities and an integrated kitchenette, and complimentary wifi is available throughout the property. All rooms feature large floor-to-ceiling windows, offering plenty of natural light and views of the city or across the park. Corner Suites are for those staying a few nights or needing additional space while Family Suites have a second bedroom for small families. All rooms include tea and coffee making facilities, microwave, fridge and cutlery. For every night stayed, guests will receive a tailor-made spa treatment from the hotel’s therapists. Treatments will center around the use of light therapy in relation to the guests current mood, energy level and general well-being. Spa therapy rooms are located on each guest room floor and are also available to in-house guests along with complimentary yoga and tai chi classes. Dining options at Fusion Suites Saigon includes the all-day café, offering eat in or take away options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are salads, juices and traditional Asian dishes. Zen rooftop provides a chic, casual atmosphere to while away the hours over lunch, sundown cocktails or BBQ tapas dishes. Guests will enjoy an up to 40% discount of the hotel’s opening promotions. For further information, call 08 3910 1000. The hotel is located at 3-5 Suong Nguyet Anh in HCM City’s District 1. VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR