BUSINESS IN BRIEF 14/7
Vietnam’s industrial production index declines
The country’s industrial Production Index (IIP) increased
7.5 percent in the first half of this year, much lower than the rate of 9.7
percent during the same period last year, reported the Ministry of Industry
and Trade.
The index decline was due to continuous output
reduction in mining industry in the wake of crude oil price plunge. Crude oil
extraction dropped by 6.1 percent in the second quarter.
The inventory index of processing and manufacturing
industry hiked 9 percent over the same period last year. The highest
inventory levels were of motor vehicle manufacturing, electronic products,
computers, paper and paper products.
Vingroup secures $300 million syndicated loan
Vingroup, a major player in Vietnam’s property sector,
has secured an additional international syndicated loan of $300 million to
finance its real estate project developments and reorganize its debts,
following its first international syndicated loan of $150 million in 2013.
A representative from Vingroup’s Public Relations
Department preferred not to disclose to VET which projects would receive
funding from the loan. “We cannot reveal at this time the projects to be
invested in, as Vingroup has a series of projects in place,” he said.
The loan will be implemented as soon as Vingroup
converts the $300 million into its shares. It will pay a floating rate with a
margin of 5 per cent compared to the current Libor rate of 0.75 per cent.
Apart from investment, the loan will fund Vingroup’s
debt restructuring. “The group’s cash flow is fine and repaying liabilities
will only account for a minor part of the loan,” the representative told VET.
With a five-year term and a lower interest rate than
the previous loan, this loan will help the company not only balance its local
and foreign capital flows but also stabilize its internal finances, reducing
risks due to interest rate fluctuations.
The term is double the 2013 loan, with Vingroup being
the first Vietnamese real estate company to manage such financing.
Vingroup was also the first in Vietnam to issue
offshore convertible bonds valued at $400 million through 2009 and 2012,
followed by a $200 million investment by the Warburg Pincus consortium in the
company’s retail unit in 2013. The deal put Vincom Retail at a $1.1 billion
valuation.
The Warburg Pincus private equity firm from the US
injected $100 million in follow-on funding into the company in 2015. Recent
Vietnamese media reports have indicated that Vingroup has acquired a land
plot in western Hanoi from VinaCapital’s VinaLand Limited for $16.2 million.
Vingroup’s projects real estate projects include
Vinhomes Vingroup Central Park, Golden River Vinhomes, Vinhomes Gardenia,
Vinhomes Metropolis Lieu Giai and a range of Vincom Shophouse project in
major cities.
Retail is a new focus for Vingroup. The number of
Vinmart and Vinmart+ supermarket and convenience store outlets in Vietnam
stood at 880 as at June.
Vietnamese fruits introduced in Czech Republic
A “Vietnamese Fruit Day” was held at the Makro Stodulky
supermarket in Prague, the Czech Republic on July 11.
The event, organised by the Ministry of Industry and
Trade in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy and the Makro Group, was
aimed at promoting Vietnamese fruits in and seeking opportunities for the
farm produce to enter into the Czech Republic and other Eastern and Central
European countries.
At the event, 19 kinds of Vietnamese fresh fruits,
including longan, lychee, custard-apple, banana, sapodilla plum,
dragon-fruit, rambutan, mango and jackfruit, were on displayed and sold.
Customers had a chance to taste and learned about the use and benefits of the
tropical fruits.
Vietnam gained a 33 percent year-on-year increase in
the fruit and vegetable export value to reach 1.17 billion USD for the first
half of 2016, said the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association.
The country expects to make 2 billion USD on fruit and
vegetable exports this year.
Last year, Vietnam’s fruit and vegetable export value
reached 1.8 billion USD, 23.7 percent higher than 2014.
Call for Eximbank BoD to be dismissed
A member of the Board of Directors (BoD) of the Vietnam
Export Import Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Eximbank) has proposed the current
BoD be dismissed due to its inefficiency.
Mr. Dang Phuoc Dua, who represents a group with a 10.3
per cent stake, sent a letter to the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and relevant
authorities on July 1.
In early June a group with a 11.71 per cent stake
demanded some of the current BoD members be dismissed.
Mr. Dua wrote that the current Board is not working
effectively and not respecting shareholders. Some members hold none or less
than 0.1 per cent of shares. They are not sufficiently responsible, which has
led to a decline in financial activities and a loss in market share.
He also wants to allow shareholder groups with more
than 10 per cent to be able to nominate representatives to the Board, to be
voted on at the next meeting.
Eximbank announced on June 30 an extension to the
deadline to receive nominations to the Board, from June 30 to July 14. Six
representatives had nominated, the bank announced on July 4, representing
groups holding more than 10 per cent, and included Mr. Dua, Mr. Nguyen Trung
Kien, Mr. Pierre Erik Theron, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Xuan Loan, Mr. Diep Quang Nhan,
and Mrs. Ngo Thu Thuy.
There has been no final decision made on the addition
of one or three delegates to the current Board, which currently has nine
members.
The bank planned to organize an extraordinary meeting
in August. The first two annual Board meetings earlier this year failed to
gain a quorum (65 per cent of shareholders). A third Board meeting must be
called before an extraordinary meeting can be held.
Eximbank holds a significant market share in the export
and import sector, with an extensive network throughout the country
consisting of a head office, 44 branches, and 163 transaction offices, and it
has one subsidiary and one joint venture. Its main shareholders are the
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, with 15 per cent, and Techcombank, with
8.19 per cent.
The bank has more than 6,100 employees and is listed on
the stock market (EIB), with total charter capital of VND12.4 trillion ($556
million). It recorded accumulated losses of VND820 billion ($36.8 million) in
2015 with net profit in 2014 and 2015 of VND340 billion ($15.3 million) and
VND40 billion ($1.9 million), respectively.
Mr. Dua was appointed Deputy Chairman of Eximbank’s BoD
in March 2014 and was a former consultant to the bank’s BoD from December
2015 but resigned last May.
Last year Eximbank postponed its annual board meeting
three times, to the end of July. In December an extraordinary meeting was
held in order to vote for the BoD but a representative of a main shareholder
group was been selected. Questions were then raised about the vote’s
transparency.
Exports to Mexico show upturn
Mexico is one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners in
Latin America, according to the latest statistics from the General Department
of Vietnam Customs.
Total trade between Vietnam and Mexico hit US$1.1
billion in the first half of this year, up 18% against the corresponding
period last year.
Vietnam’s exports to Mexico rose 25% to nearly US$900
million and imports from the country dipped 6% to US$221 million in six
months, helping Vietnam enjoy trade surplus of more than US$660 million from
the Latin American market.
Import-export products saw positive changes this year.
Key export products to Mexico included coffee, farm and seafood products,
electronic components, machines, equipment, garment and footwear.
Exports to Mexico in the rest of this year and coming
years are expected to rise high if bilateral trade and investment programs
are effectively implemented after the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership
(TPP) Agreement.
Amata seeks incentives for Halong
Thailand’s Amata Group is asking for special incentives
from the Vietnamese government for its US$1.6 billion industrial park and
township complex in Quang Ninh province, enabling the complex to be competitive
with neighbouring VSIP Haiphong and Dinh Vu industrial parks.
According to Amata’s latest press release, the group
will establish Amata City Halong JSC this September, in which Amata will hold
a 70% stake, with 29% owned by Tuan Chau Investment Hi-tech Infrastructure
Development JSC and 1% held by Dao Thi Doan Trang.
Trang is the daughter of Dao Hong Tuyen, chairman of
Tuan Chau Group, the holding company of Tuan Chau Investment Hi-tech
Infrastructure Development JSC.
This movement confirms Amata’s determination to develop
the large-scale complex, the first of its projects in the northern Vietnam.
According to the group’s initial plans, the 5,800
hectare complex will feature an industrial park (IP), a residential township,
a hospital, schools, an exhibition centre, a shopping centre, and an
amusement park.
Under Vietnam’s existing legal regulations on tax
incentives for such projects like Amata’s, companies investing within Amata’s
future complex can get only two years of tax exemption and four years of a
50% reduction on the 22% corporate income tax (CIT) rate. In addition, there
is no personal income tax reduction for workers in the industrial park’s
tenants.
In comparison, as VSIP Haiphong and Dinh Vu are located
within Dinh Vu-Cat Hai economic zone (EZ), their tenants are by default
enjoying tax incentives offered to EZ including a 10% CIT over a 15 year
period, with the first four years exempt and the following nine years at a
50% reduction. The rates are considered the highest of their kinds in
Vietnam.
Therefore, Amata is seeking the Ministry of Planning
and Investment’s (MPI) support to enable Amata City Halong’s tenants to enjoy
a 10% CIT rate over 18 years, with the first five years fully exempt, 50%
reduction on this rate over the next eleven years.
In addition, it requested an 8% CIT rate for hi-tech
companies for the entirety of their lifetime, and a reduction by half of the
personal income tax rate for hi-tech companies’ workers at the site. Amata
also asked for an exemption on their land and water rentals.
However, the MPI said that Amata’s proposals far
exceeded the existing tax incentives that the Vietnamese government had
granted to IP tenants in an EZ.
Somhatai Panichewa, president of Amata (Vietnam) JSC,
the developer of the Amata Bien Hoa industrial and township complex, and CEO
of Amata VN Plc. (listed on Thailand’s stock exchange, and the developer of
all future projects in Vietnam), explained that Amata asked for this support
package from the Vietnamese government because it wished to increase its
competitiveness against VSIP Haiphong – situated only 16 kilometres from the
proposed Amata City Halong.
Amata has been investing in Vietnam since 1994, with
its maiden project of Amata Bien Hoa, in the southern province of Dong Nai.
Investors reduce Hoa Phat holdings
The VinaCapital-managed Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF)
and Vietnam Investment Property Holdings Limited have sold 1.03 million and
550,000 shares, respectively, in the Hoa Phat Group (HPG).
According to an announcement from HPG, VOF’s ownership
falls from 5.21 per cent to 4.99 per cent with the sale and it is no longer a
major shareholder.
A communication officer with VinaCapital, told VET that
announcement documents on the transaction have been sent to the Ho Chi Minh
City Stock Exchange and to HPG.
“The sale of HPG shares is just a regularly activity in
updating Vinacapital's investment portfolio,” she told VET. “VinaCapital
still appreciates the development potential of HPG.”
In August 2015 Mr. Andy Ho, Executive Director and
Chief Investment Officer at VinaCapital, resigned as a member of the board at
HPG.
Some foreign funds have also sold large amounts of HPG
shares recently. In June, Private Equity New Markets II under PENM Partners,
an independent Danish private equity company offering equity capital and
strategic partnerships to unlisted Vietnamese companies, sold 8 million
shares in HPG.
In mid-2015, foreign funds including VinaCapital,
Deutsche Bank, and Dragon Capital reduced their holdings. Foreign investors
now hold 36 per cent of shares.
Some investors say that foreign funds are fleeing HPG
while others say it is part of investment restructuring and is nothing
specifically connected to the Group.
HPG’s revenue in 2015 stood at $1.2 billion and
after-tax profit VND3.5 trillion ($155.5 million). Steel production made the
largest contribution to revenue and profit, with 79 per cent and 82 per cent,
respectively.
Starting last year HPG has made many changes to its
strategy, deciding to invest in agriculture, particularly livestock feed
production. It also invested further in coated steel sheets, in which it has
long dominated the market.
Early this year it established the Hoa Phat
Agricultural Development Co. in the field of animal husbandry and feed
production, with charter capital of VND2.5 trillion ($111.1 million). The
project’s objective is to create a closed feed chain for the group’s
livestock and to supply feed to the market.
The company has imported 500 pigs from Denmark for
breeding and anticipates providing clean pork to the market in 2018. By 2021
it targets having over 1 million pigs around Vietnam. It has also spent
millions of dollars on building a farm to prepare for importing 3,000 heads of
cattle from Australia next month.
HPG has promoted its investment in animal feed with the
aim of claiming market share form dominant foreign groups such as CP,
Proconco, New Hope, Cargill, and Green Feed.
Despite diversifying its business lines, HPG still
promotes its core businesses. It recently began construction of a factory
producing coated steel sheets with a capacity of 400,000 tons per year, which
is expected to come into operation in 2018.
For 2016 it targets revenue of VND28 trillion ($1.25
billion) and after-tax profit of VND3.2 trillion ($142.2 million).
Singaporean palm oil giant strengthens Vietnam presence
The world’s largest palm oil processor and one of the
largest soybean buyers is strengthening its share in Vietnam’s cooking oil
market.
The Singaporean-based Wilmar International will buy 45
per cent of Bunge Ltd’s oilseed crushing factory, the company announced on
July 5. The terms were not disclosed.
The Quang Dung Company, a soybean meal distributor in
Vietnam, will retain a 10 per cent share in the factory, creating a
three-party joint venture, according to Reuters.
With an annual capacity of 1 million tons, the factory
crushes 3,000 tons of soybeans every day into 600 tons of soybean oil and
2,500 tons of soybean meal. The soybean oil is used for consumer products
while the soybean meal is used as animal feed. The oilseed crushing operation
was established in 2011 and is located at the Phu My I Industrial Zone in
southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province.
Bunge is Vietnam’s largest producer of soybean oil. Its
chartered capital stands at VND560 trillion ($25.1 billion) with revenue for
2014 reported at VND12.8 trillion ($574 million). “This joint venture will
strengthen Bunge’s operations, marketing and logistics,” Wilmar’s CEO Mr.
Soren Schroder was quoted as saying.
Wilmar is “a partner who really knows what they’re
doing in oil marketing,” said Mr. John Baize, President of the international
agricultural trade and policy consultancy John Baize and Associates. “It
makes sense for Bunge because they get to pull out capital, which they can
put back into their core businesses.”
Wilmar’s target after the deal is to “integrate
operations that are both a source and sales outlet for oil in Vietnam,”
according to the statement. “It will also help the company to remain a
low-cost operator with the highest efficiency possible,” Mr. Schroder added.
In 2008 Wilmar bought the Hung Phu factory established
in 2003 by the Cai Lan Oils & Fats Industries Company (Calofic) in the
Mekong Delta’s Can Tho city. With a daily capacity of 500 tons, the factory
produces rice bran meal as animal feed and rice bran oil for consumer
products.
Calofic, in which Wilmar holds a 76 per cent stake, is
the leader in Vietnam’s cooking oil market with a 37 per cent market share.
It reported total 2015 revenue of VND11 trillion ($493 million), three times
higher than its nearest competitor, the Tuong An Vegetable Oil Company.
Calofic has won the trust of a wide range of customers with its famous
brands, including Neptune, Simply and Meizan.
The Vietnam Vegetable Oils Industry Corporation
(Vocarimex) announced on June 27 that it will sell 24 per cent out of its 51
per cent holding in Tuong An. It seems likely that Vocarimex will sell the
stake to the KIDO Group Corporation, who confirmed with VET that it would
increase its stake in Vocarimex to 51 per cent in the second half of this
year. With KIDO aiming to cooperate with Vocarimex and with Wilmar’s
strategic deal, the country’s cooking market is set to see fierce
competition.
Vietnam’s cooking oil market now has 40 companies
producing and selling cooking oil products, 70 per cent of which are palm
oil, 23 per cent soybean oil, and 7 per cent vegetable oil, according to data
from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
It is a growing market for oilseeds due to increased
demand in the livestock industry, where soybean meal is a major animal feed.
The country is projected to import 5.2 million tons of meal in 2016/17, up
from 2.291 million a decade ago, according to data from the US Department of
Agriculture.
Muong Thanh developing five-star hotel on Phu Quoc
The Muong Thanh Hospitality Group acquired land last
year on Phu Quoc Island at Sonasea Villas & Resort, developed by the CEO
Group, and has been building a five-star hotel, a source from Muong Thanh
revealed to VET.
Located at the center of Truong Beach in the west of
Phu Quoc, Sonasea Villas & Resort covers a total area of 80 ha on a 1 km
stretch of beach and is one of the two largest hospitality projects with the
longest beaches on Truong Beach.
Muong Thanh Phu Quoc is expected to provide 300 rooms
once completed in October, the source added.
Phu Quoc Island is emerging as an ideal destination for
hospitality investment, with major advantages from its natural conditions,
strategic location, and the support and investment from the local government
and enterprises. Its attractions come from ten stunning beaches along a 150
km coastline, an unspoiled ecosystem and rich biodiversity, a safari park -
the second largest in the world - and casino developments being given
approval.
Under its revised general master plan to 2030, Phu Quoc
Island will have three urban areas, 15 eco-tourism areas, two tourism
complexes, and five golf courses. By 2020 it will be a Special Economic Zone
(SEZ).
Many key infrastructure projects such as Phu Quoc
International Airport, the An Thoi International Seaport, and south-north
axis road have been completed or upgraded. The Ha Tien - Phu Quoc underground
electric cable was completed in 2014.
There were a total of 2,500 units launched on the
island in 2015, according to Savills Research Consultancy, including
apartments, land plots, and villas. Among the local developers on Phu Quoc
Island, Vingroup leads the villa market with a 76 per cent market share.
Muong Thanh is one of the largest hotel chains in
Vietnam, operating more than 50 three- to five-star hotels nationwide with
each featuring the characteristics of its local region. With more than 17
years of experience in the hotel service industry, Muong Thanh Hospitality
has developed rapidly and expanded its services and service quality to cater
to thousands of domestic and foreign guests every year.
First batch of Vietnamese dragon fruit for sale at Thai
Big C
Cao Thanh Phat Import and Export Company in Binh Thuan
province has signed a contract with Thai TCC Group to sell the first 100
tonnes of Vietnamese dragon fruit at Big C supermarkets in Thailand.
This is also the first Vietnamese fruit shipment
distributed by TCC Group in the supermarket.
To ensure the quality of exported agricultural
products, Cao Thanh Phat has worked with farmers to cultivate dragon fruit
following GlobalGAP and VietGAP standards.
The packaging factory also meets US standards, Cao
Thanh Phat CEO Nguyen Cong Kinh said, adding that the company has developed
quality inspection departments to work with farmers and the factory to ensure
the best quality.
In addition to importing dragon fruit at a volume of
100 tonnes per month, TCC Group is stepping up plans to import other key
Vietnamese agricultural products such as sweet potatoes, milk fruit, avocado
butter, and lemon.
HCMC seeks to build Cat Lai bridge
HCMC has asked for the Government’s approval to build a
VND5.7-trillion bridge connecting District 2 and neighboring Dong Nai
Province as a replacement for the current Cat Lai ferry service.
According to a document sent to the Government on
Wednesday, HCMC proposed adding the bridge to the city’s master zoning plan
for transport development by 2020 with a vision afterwards.
The cable-stayed bridge is envisaged stretching four
kilometers and having at least four lanes. It would start at My Thuy
Roundabout in District 2 and end at Nhon Trach Urban Area in Dong Nai’s Phu
Huu Commune, which is 1.2 kilometers from the existing ferry terminal.
The bridge, which is designed to be 55 meters above the
Dong Nai River, is estimated to cost VND5.7 trillion (about US$256.5
million), excluding loan interest, while VND1.23 trillion would be needed for
site clearance.
HCMC expects the bridge will help ease vehicular
traffic at the Cat Lai Ferry area and shorten traveling time between HCMC and
Dong Nai.
If the Government okays the bridge project, the city
would pick an investor who would have to arrange financing and draw up an
investment plan for the project.
In May, Construction Investment Corp. No. 194 proposed
constructing the bridge under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model at a
cost of less than VND5.72 trillion. The authority of Dong Nai Province has
thrown its weight behind the project.
Earlier, HCMC did not include the Cat Lai bridge in its
master zoning plan for transport development until 2020 as it had HCMC-Long
Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway, which is three kilometers from the existing Cat
Lai ferry terminal. The Ministry of Transport was also concerned that the
bridge would obstruct container ship traffic in the area.
TISCO seeks help for steel scrap imports
Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Company (TISCO)
has asked the general departments of customs and environment and the customs
of Haiphong City for approval to complete customs clearance procedures for
steel scrap imports.
TISCO said the company has not yet been granted an
environmental protection certificate for steel scrap imports although it has
applied for it. This means the customs cannot clear steel scrap it bought
abroad.
The company signed a contract to import 5,200 tons of
steel scrap for recycling in April and another 3,000 tons of steel scrap
would enter Haiphong Port soon. However, on June 15, the General Department
of Customs said it only clears scrap imports that meet all requirements.
TISCO also bemoaned the high ship docking cost of about
US$4,500-5,000 per day in Haiphong Port. It added that steel companies are
facing various procedure problems and fierce competition triggered by cheap
steel imported from China.
The company said its production plan would be seriously
affected due to insufficient materials and that it would not be able to
timely deliver products to customers as pledged. This will affect incomes of
TISCO’s more than 5,000 employees.
Therefore, TISCO urgently requested competent agencies
to allow it to complete customs clearance procedures for imported steel scrap
shipments at Haiphong Port while the company is awaiting an environmental
protection certificate from the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment.
The company also asked relevant agencies to apply
consistent policies and promptly inform enterprises of changes to help them
adjust production plans.
Govt Inspectorate looking into land lease to Formosa
The Government Inspectorate is in the final stages of
inspecting some projects in Ha Tinh Province to see how they comply with
regulations on investment, and land management and use, including a
longer-than-allowed land lease to Formosa.
The local news site Dan Tri quoted Ngo Van Khanh,
deputy chief of the Government Inspectorate, as saying that after carefully
reviewing conclusions, the agency would report them to the Prime Minister.
The agency will clarify responsibilities of those involved in awarding a 70-year
investment license for the Formosa steel complex as it ran counter to the
investment law.
Under the 2005 investment law, the lifespan of
foreign-invested projects is no more than 50 years, and the longer period
which cannot exceed 70 years must be decided by the Government.
The Government Inspectorate did not notice the
Government’s permission regarding the valid period of the Formosa project in
the north-central province of Ha Tinh.
Commenting on Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh’s
order to find if there was corruption concerning the licensing of the Formosa
project, Dr. Le Dang Doanh, former head of the Central Institute of Economic
Management (CIEM), said competent authorities should clarify responsibilities
of those involved.
According to Doanh, that the project got a license to
develop a vast area sensitive to national security and defense was beyond
what the investment law specifies. Ha Tinh Province did not have authority to
decide but still did it.
Similarly, lieutenant general Nguyen Quoc Thuoc, former
commander of Military Region 4, said it was unacceptable when the project got
a 70-year investment license while the law only permitted 50 years or less.
On the same side, Professor Nguyen Minh Thuyet, former
deputy head of the National Assembly Committee for Culture, Education, Youth,
Adolescents and Children, noted the case must be handled properly to prevent
similar incidents from happening in the future.
Deo Ca Tunnel ready in end-July
Deo Ca Tunnel linking the central provinces of Phu Yen
and Khanh Hoa will be opened to traffic on July 31 after four years of
construction.
The opening date was decided during Deputy Minister of
Transport Le Dinh Tho’s trip to the construction site, according to a report
released by the ministry.
Deo Ca Investment Joint Stock Company said contractors
are building a road section inside the tunnel and installing equipment. The
project is scheduled to be put into use on July 31, two months ahead of
schedule.
The investor said it takes vehicles just over 10 minutes
to pass through in the tunnel, instead of traveling around 45 minutes on the
pass. Moreover, vehicles using the tunnel can avoid rockslides, which often
occur in the rainy season.
Deo Ca Tunnel will help boost trade and tourism in the
central region in addition to creating a link between Phu Yen’s Nam Phu Yen
and Khanh Hoa’s Van Phong.
With a total length of 13.4 kilometers, the Deo Ca
Tunnel consists of the 3.9-kilometer Deo Ca Tunnel and the existing 500-meter
Co Ma Tunnel. Bridges and roads leading to the two tunnels have a combined
length of over nine kilometers.
In the original plan, the project would be implemented
under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) formats, and
cost an estimated of over VND15.6 trillion (around US$699.5 million).
However, the total length of tunnel and road was revised down by two
kilometers, so the cost was lowered to almost VND11.4 trillion (US$510
million).
After the project is complete, Deo Ca Investment JSC
will commence work on the second phase of Hai Van Tunnel, which requires over
VND5.89 trillion.
Work starts on shop area at VSIP Nghe An
VSIP Nghe An Co Ltd has commenced construction on phase
one of the ready-to-use shop area at its VSIP complex in the north-central
province of Nghe An, a Vietnam News Agency report said.
Phase one of the 5,000-square-meter area will be
developed at a total cost of US$6 million and will provide workshops for
tenants in light and clean industrial sectors. Each workshop has office and
production areas with full supply of power, water and telecom services.
The shop area is designed for enterprises in need of
production sites in the early stage of development at the Nghe An VSIP
industrial-urban-service complex. Tenants can get advice on legal procedures,
employment issues and other services.
Anthony Tan, general director of VSIP Nghe An, told the
groundbreaking ceremony that the shop area would help investors shorten
preparations for their production projects and cut startup costs.
He said the shop model is appropriate for firms that
want to implement small-scale production projects in the initial time. VSIP
has reaped success in deploying such a model at its industrial park in the
southern province of Binh Duong.
According to Nghe An Province, the 750-hectare VSIP
Nghe An complex got off the ground in September last year. VSIP has developed
infrastructure on 128 hectares for phase one of the complex.
VSIP Nghe An is constructing an operation building, an
integrated wastewater treatment plant, and pumping and fire facilities toward
the end of this year. It is expected that the first tenants could move in in
the fourth quarter of this year.
Equitization plans approved for 39 SOEs in H1
Competent agencies approved equitization plans for 39
State-owned enterprises (SOEs) with total value of VND27.06 trillion in the
first months of this year.
State stakes accounted for VND21.63 trillion of the
total, according to a report on SOE equitization in the 2011-2015 period as
well as tasks and solutions for the next five years sent by the Ministry of
Finance to the Government.
SOEs got VND4.17 trillion from their divestments from
non-core operations in real estate, securities, finance-banking, insurance
and investment fund management sectors in the first half, well above VND2.09
trillion they invested in the sectors.
SOEs divested a combined VND10.74 trillion from the
non-core operations in the five-year period although they earlier poured a
total of over VND11.03 trillion (US$494.8 million) in these sectors.
State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) withdrew
State capital from 368 enterprises and collected more than VND6.9 trillion,
2.4-fold higher than the sum invested earlier, so it earned profit of VND4.06
trillion from selling State stakes.
The corporation has taken over the State stakes worth
VND8.72 trillion in 1,000 companies since its establishment.
From 2011 to 2015, 478 SOEs were equitized and 80
others underwent restructuring. After going public, enterprises saw their
chartered capital rising by 72%, total assets by 39%, equity by 60% and
pre-tax profit by 49% last year.
However, State capital divestments from the five
abovementioned sectors have mismatched expectations. Shares sold at initial
public offering (IPO) auctions are lower than targeted and State shares in
equitized enterprises remain high, according to the report.
Notably, the report pointed out many leaders of SOEs
have intentionally delayed equitization plans as they are afraid of losing
their leadership positions after the enterprises go public.
PM okays disbursement time extension for home loan
package
The Prime Minister has given the nod to the State Bank
of Vietnam’s proposal to continue the disbursement of loans agreed by banks
and borrowers under the VND30 trillion home loan package, mainly for
low-income homebuyers.
The Government Office announced the Prime Minister’s ‘in
principle’ approval for the extension of loan disbursements for the package
with an annual interest rate of 5%.
The package should have been completed on June 1 after
three years of implementation in line with Resolution No. 02/2013. However,
experts requested the program to be lengthened as many of the loans signed by
eligible banks and borrowers had not been disbursed when it came to a close.
The SBV was assigned to cooperate with the Ministry of
Construction and relevant agencies to review and revise the regulations
governing the implementation of the package, Saigon Giai Phong newspaper
reported.
In May, the SBV proposed the Government leader allow
the program to continue until December 31 for banks to fulfill their lending
contracts struck before March 31 this year with individuals and households
who buy, lease, build and repair houses.
As of May 10, banks had pledged a total of VND34.83
trillion (about US$1.56 billion) in loans for 56,240 borrowers and VND25.8
trillion of it had been disbursed. About 56,112 individuals had secured bank
loans worth a combined VND27.447 trillion with disbursements totaling
VND20.812 trillion.
Banks reported they had disbursed VND26.73 trillion in
total as of May 20, including roughly VND21.67 trillion for individual borrowers.
Biggest hotel in Tien Giang makes losses
Tien Giang Lottery Company may have to sell Mekong My
Tho, the biggest hotel in Tien Giang Province, if losses continue. The
property was put into service in October last year.
The hotel in the Mekong Delta province is incurring
monthly losses of around VND500 million (around US$22,420), provincial vice
chairman Tran Thanh Duc said at a press conference on the province’s
socio-economic performance on Wednesday.
Duc said the hotel is expected to rack up losses in
three years. But with the current ineffective management, it is unlikely to
perform better after the period.
The province, therefore, is finding ways to lease or
sell Mekong My Tho Hotel to non-state firms to mitigate the pressure on the
local State budget. It may take one year to complete required procedures to
sell the hotel located on Tet Mau Than Street in My Tho City.
“Tien Giang Lottery Company’s profit can cover such
losses, but we could not do it that way,” Duc said.
Duc said Mekong My Tho is the only four-star hotel in
the city but it cannot organize events to woo guests. In addition,
recreational activities in My Tho are not diverse and attractive enough for
tourists.
The hotel project cost VND370 billion, with VND360
billion (97.3%) of it contributed by the lottery company, VND5 billion
(1.35%) by the Tien Giang Development and Investment Fund and another VND5
billion by HCMC Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company (CII).
The 10-storey hotel has 114 rooms, including one
President and four VIP suites, meeting rooms and restaurants.
Binh Thuan seeks to lift PCI, improve business climate
Representatives from over 110 enterprises in the
central coastal province of Binh Thuan gathered together at a conference on
July 12 to discuss how to improve the business climate and provincial
competitiveness index (PCI) in the locality.
Participants focused their discussion on analysing the
reasons behind the decreased PCI ranking of the locality, and proposed
solutions to the situation.
Difficulties facing businesses operating in the
locality were spotlighted at the event.
Vice Chairman of the Binh Thuan Business Association
Nguyen Trac said local public servants are slow to catch up with policy and
mechanism reform, thus failing to provide support to businesses. He asked the
local authorities to promote administrative reform and devise more policies
on capital assistance, tax incentives and land rental prices, further making
it easy for small- and medium-sized enterprises to foster their development.
According to Chairman of the provincial Tourism
Association Nguyen Van Khoa, many enterprises in Binh Thuan have hesitated to
invest in the tourism industry because they come up against difficulties
related to the tourism strategy and land planning.
He suggested the local authorities build suitable
regulations on land rental prices to attract more investors in the tourism
industry, one of the province’s strengths.
Other enterprises complained about obstacles in land
clearance and land-related procedures, which delay the pace of many projects.
In his remarks, Chairman of the provincial People’s
Committee Nguyen Ngoc Hai requested local departments and sectors to hasten
administrative reform and ensure a safe and stable business climate for
enterprises in the locality.
He said businesses can make their complaints directly
to the provincial People’s Committee and pledged to promptly address their
concerns.
Binh Thuan ranked 26th in PCI in the country in 2015
with 58.85 points, down three levels compared to the previous year. Criteria
which recorded point reduction were costs to join the market, time taken to
complete administrative procedures, information transparency, time taken to
implement State’s regulations, dynamism of the local authority, and legal
institutions.
The province is one of Vietnam’s major tourism
destinations, and a national centre for sea sports and leisure tourism. It
aims to welcome 4.6 million tourists this year, and collect 9 trillion VND
(402.1 million USD) in tourism revenue.
About 4.2 million people spent their holiday in the
province in 2015, a year-on-year increase of 11.7 percent.
Thailand aims to be among top 10 investors in Vietnam
Thailand hopes to become one of the 10 biggest
investors of Vietnam in the next two or three years from the 11th ranking at
present, the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper said, quoting President of
Thailand-Vietnam Business Council Sanan Angubolkul.
President of Thailand-Vietnam Business Council Sanan
Angubolkul said at a recent workshop in Hanoi that Thai investment into
Vietnam increased around 35 percent from 5.9 billion USD in 2012 to nearly 8
billion USD in mid-2016.
He noted that Thai businesses have mapped out specific
plans to increase investment capital in the fields of their strength such as
retail, construction material production, thermal power, and cattle feed.
Close to 2,000 Thai businesses have said they want to
enter Vietnam while some experienced ones hoped to increase their market
shares in the country.
According to Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Don
Pramudwinai, many Thai businesses consider Vietnam their second hometown and
want to carry out future business plans in the market.
Thai companies pledged to supply Vietnam with
high-quality products and services as they do in the Thai market, he
confirmed.
The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)
at the end of 2015 serves as a driving force for Thai businesses to pour
investment in Vietnam in order to tap not only the 93 million-strong
Vietnamese market but also the greater AEC market with a combined population
of 600 million.
In addition, the success of major Thai business players
in Vietnam, as seen in Central Group’s purchase of Big C Vietnam, Charoen
Corp’s acquisition of Metro Cash & Carry, or the booming business of Siam
Cement Group (SCG), CP Group, helps persuade potential Thai investors to the
country.
CP group, which entered Vietnam in 1988, now dominates
the animal feed and meat product market in the country.
Meanwhile, SCG posted 150 million USD in sales in Vietnam
in the first quarter of this year, up 17 percent year on year, boosted by its
packaging and tile business.
Thammasak Sethaudom, Director General of the SCG Group
in Vietnam, said SCG is ready to cooperate with Thai enterprises and
Vietnamese partners to create a solid foundation for the bilateral investment
activities.
Thai companies also hope to receive support from
Vietnam and believe that with better business environment Vietnam will
welcome more investors from Thailand, he added.
German investor to build solar power plant
The German ASEAN Power Company plans to build a solar
power plant in the central city with an investment of US$400 million, a
senior official of the company has said.
In a meeting with the central city's people committee,
the company's general manager, Moritz Sticher said Da Nang was seen as a
potential city in Viet Nam with development of renewable energy in the
future.
Moritz said the plant is designed with a capacity of 40
megawatt (MW), and the study and survey would start later this July.
He said the company will cover construction and
technology transfer for the city.
Vice Chairman of the city's People's Committee, Tran
Van Mien said the city always ensures top priority for high-tech and clean
technology investment projects as Da Nang plans to build as a ‘green' city by
2025.
According to a report from the city's Industry and
Trade department, around 30 per cent of the city's population is using solar
power for heaters, while five-star hotels and resorts have been using the
solar power heater system as a saving and as an environment-friendly
solution.
The first solar power system of Da Nang was built in
FPT Complex project -- the Information Technology (IT) Service Centre of Viet
Nam software giant, FPT Corporation in 2014. The system supplies 12kWh each
day and a solar-power heater system with a capacity of 1,500 litres.
Da Nang is seen as the first city in Viet Nam to
promote clean energy solutions for residential use as the city has been
developed as a tourist attraction with green and high-tech industries.
In 2014, the city's Science and Technology department
began a one-year pilot project of installation solar power system for
deep-sea fishing vessels.
Last year, Viet Nam's first solar power with 19.2MW
capacity project was built in the central province of Quang Ngai.
Vietinbank's profit rises 10.3%
Vietinbank on Monday reported a profit of
VND4.273 trillion (US$190.75 million) in the first half of the year, up 10.3
per cent against the same period last year.
Vietinbank General Director Le Duc Tho said the bank's
total assets also increased nine per cent to reach VND850 trillion by the end
of June.
In the January-June period, the bank mobilised VND780
trillion, up 9.6 per cent, while its outstanding loans were worth VND729
trillion, up 7.7 per cent.
The bank's return on assets (ROA) and return on equity
(ROE) by the end of June were 1.1 per cent and 11.5 per cent, against one per
cent and 10.3 per cent, respectively, in the same period last year.
Earnings per share to grow by 10.5%
VN-Index has increased by 15.1% from the beginning of
the year till July 7, 2016. Earnings per share (EPS) on HSX shall rise by
11.3% and the VN-Index shall be traded at P/E of 13.5x, which is currently
14.9x (as of July 7, 2016).
Cyclical industries such as real estate, financial
services and technology are expected to be top performers, whereas
commodity-based stocks will record low earnings. These are the key findings
of FiinPro Talk #1 held by StoxPlus on July 8, 2016, in HCM City.
Our database for calculation and analysis was extracted
from the financial data of listed and public companies on FiinPro Platform,
StoxPlus. The forecasted EPS was based on net income by management estimates,
mostly from the annual general meeting of shareholders (AGMs), analyst
forecasts from sell-side reports and our own forecasts.
In fact, Viet Nam is still considered a frontier
market, and international investors mainly bet on the growth potential of
Vietnamese enterprises, particularly the growth potential of earnings per
share or EPS. Based on our comprehensive data source of FiinPro Platform, it
is estimated by StoxPlus that EPS 2016 on HSX and HNX shall increase to touch
VND2,028, up by 10.5% compared with 2015.
Cyclical industries with a high growth rate of EPS 2016
consist of real estate (up by 48.9%), banks (up by 30.7%), and technology (up
by 30.4%). Meanwhile, oil and gas and chemicals are predicted to have
negative EPS.
Among the three exchanges UPCoM, HSX, and HNX,
companies on UPCoM are expected to increase its earnings by 206.3% in 2016.
Not only attracting investors by EPS, UPCoM also has active trading
activities after SOEs divesture. These two factors imply that UPCoM is very
attractive with a lot of potential investment opportunities in 2016.
Methodology for calculation of P/E forward:
Forward P/E ratio (share price/earnings per
share) is calculated by dividing the market capitalisation of all firms in
the sample by the net income of these firms (sample includes all the
companies listed on HSX, HNX and UPCoM)
Net income 2016 is based on (i) net earnings by
management estimates mostly from their AGMs; (ii) analyst forecasts from
sell-side reports; or (iii) industry earnings CAGR 2011-2015 by StoxPlus
(excluding JVC, HAG and adjusting profit after tax of KDC)
Our database for calculation and analysis covers more
than 990 tickers on HNX, HSX and UPCoM. Price data was calculated on June 30,
2016. Stock price for calculating P/E was as of June 30, 2016.
VEF/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/Dantri/VET/VIR
|
Thứ Năm, 14 tháng 7, 2016
Đăng ký:
Đăng Nhận xét (Atom)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét