BUSINESS IN BRIEF 7/6 Agricultural sector asked to better meet market demands The Vietnamese agricultural sector should find out a right way of approach, consider market as the target and market standards as quality measurement to help agricultural products better meet both domestic and international market requirements. The suggestion was made by Minister, Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung at a Vietnam Economic Forum discussing solutions to develop trading of Vietnamese farm produce in Hanoi on June 5. Vietnam has high potential to develop its agriculture sector as the country has exported to 180 markets worldwide, including many choosy markets. Export turnover of agricultural products is expected to exceed 40 billion USD this year. Experts to the forum agreed that new technologies are key to advancing the agriculture sector in Vietnam, as they can boost products’ value to make them more competitive on the global market. The application of technologies in the sector is needed as the market has shown rising demand for clean products with traceable origins. According to Terry Chan, Chairman of Hong Kong E-commerce Supply Chain Association (HKeCSC), blockchain technologies should be deployed as much as possible in agriculture to connect Vietnamese products to the world market. As e-commerce is developing rapidly and new trading platforms are used across the world, agricultural outputs must meet customers’ demands and ensure the quality of the whole production chain, he said. The Vietnamese agricultural sector is trying to integrate into the world’s market, but it has encountered some challenges regarding product quality, supply chains and transparency of the product, Chan said. The sector should propose the Government allow advanced technologies to be applied to resolve existing issues and make safe, high-quality, standardised and traceable products, said Vu Truong Ca, chairman of the management board of Lina Network. Though the government has been giving strong support to the agriculture sector and has issued policies to help farmers, the sector has yet to meet the market requirements, he said. Blockchain technology is strong enough to change the world in the future. It is currently in the early stages, similar to the internet 25 years ago, so Vietnam is capable of exploiting this technology and applying it in the agriculture sector, Ca stated. According to him, Vietnam has big advantages in mathematics and technology, proven by its high rankings in international math competitions. As the whole world has the same starting point in this technology, Vietnam could take the lead. Dao Ngoc Chien, Deputy Director of the High Technology Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that the ministry will accompany businesses in this issue. He said his department is drafting a development plan and submitting it to the ministry this month. The draft plan contains four topics: evaluation of the fourth industrial revolution and its impacts in some key sectors, and key technological applications for economic industries. Dairy maker TH Group is a typical example of successfully using high-tech applications in businesses, said Vo Van Quang, Deputy General Director of the Bac A Joint Stock Commercial Bank. He said that the bank in 2009 started funding dairy maker TH Group to develop cattle farms. However, TH Group was able to apply Israeli technologies for cattle raising, from grass development to attaching chips to cows to keep track of cattle’s health and productivity. Thus the dairy producer’s outputs meet standards in domestic and overseas markets. To develop farm produce production, Minister Mai Tien Dung stressed the need to solve land-related issues. Farmers should let out their agricultural land to businesses in order to facilitate labour restructuring and the application of technologies in production in rural areas, he suggested. According to him, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will chair a national conference on hi-tech agriculture and land accumulation in late June. GoBear: Fintech is shaping business digital transformation GoBear Vietnam today hosted its first BEARTalk event on the topic “How fintech is shaping your digital transformation”. The event attracted over 20 senior executives from financial services, real estate and  The event hosted by GoBear Vietnam attracts many senior executives from financial services, real estate and fintech organisations operating in Vietnam During the event, keynote speakers Rachan “Butch” Reddy, general partner of IDG Ventures Vietnam and Marnix Zwart, co-founder and chief product officer of GoBear shared key domain expertise and engaged the audience in meaningful discussions about the development of fintech in Vietnam, as well as how to positively disrupt the market via digital transformation. “It was an honor and a pleasure speaking at the BEARTalk event in front of such a distinguished group of industry leaders. I look forward to building on the strong relationships that were formed today,” Rachan “Butch” Reddy said. On this occasion, Sean Preston, country manager, Visa Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos also shared: “The event is a great opportunity for those who are interested in fintech to network and have engaging conversations on developments in the industry. I also learned more about GoBear, the good services they offer, and can now make others aware in my interactions with clients and the industry.” “It is my great pleasure that the BEARTalk event provided knowledge and effective networking for our honored guests. GoBear Vietnam has also received more exposure from potential partners in different industries, which is very encouraging. I will continue to host future events to provide meaningful sharing opportunities and to raise awareness for the fintech community,” Bao Nguyen, GoBear Vietnam’s country manager concluded. Since the official launch in Vietnam in early December 2016 with five products - comparison of credit cards, personal loans, travel insurance, fixed deposits, and bank accounts - as well as educational pages for credit cards, bank accounts, and unsecured loans, GoBear Vietnam has landed over four million sessions to become a trusted provider of comparison services for financial products in Vietnam. GoBear is Asia’s first and only metasearch engine in insurance and financial products. It was founded based on the simple premise that a consumer should find freedom and ease in choosing complex financial products like insurance, credit cards and loans. Headquartered in Singapore since early 2015, GoBear has established presence in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Vietnam and will continue to expand across Asia in 2018. As one of the fastest growing fintech startups in Asia, GoBear is leading the way in making financial products accessible to all with its unbiased and personalised comparison process. GoBear’s user-oriented platform neither aggregates nor sells products. GoBear simply offers consumers a free and transparent comparison process based on their financial needs, and not influenced by service providers’ commissions or advertising. The result is a user-friendly experience that empowers users to make better informed decisions efficiently, saving both time and money. Capital shortage hinders social housing projects The social housing development program has achieved 30 percent of the goal of the national housing providing strategies because of a capital shortage, said the Ministry of Construction. According to the Ministry, developers are facing difficulties in accessing to loans for building houses for low-incomers and workers in industrial parks and export processing zones; subsequently, pace of housing construction is sluggish. 186 projects including 75,700 apartments have been put into use as the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies just disbursed over VND1.2 trillion, meeting 13 percent of demand for the period 2018-2020. In 2018, the bank has not disbursed while it was asked to disburse VND500 billion ($21,909,748) before. The amount will be provided to low incomers to buy social houses. A representative from the Ministry of Construction said that the sluggish pace of social housing construction is due to a capital shortage of credit institutions which will give loan to incomers. The government has stipulated that social house buyers and leaseholders are allowed to ask for loan with preferential interest rate from the Bank for Social Policies, however, in reality, no buyers, tenants and developers are able to access the capital. As per the statistical figure in localities, 206 social housing projects including 168, 700 apartments are sluggish or halted. Investors of some projects asked to transfer social housing to commercial housing projects. Additionally, local administrations don’t take heed to social housing construction. Plus, investors neglect building houses with small area and cheap price. To reach the goal of the social housing development plan in 2016-2020 under the national social housing development strategy, by 2020, the country has targeted 12.5 million square meter of social houses. Lately, the Ministry of Construction has proposed the government to provide additional VND3 trillion to the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies for the goal of social housing projects until 2020 as well as VND3,431 billion for credit institutions to offset loan interest in 2018. After the preferential loan package of VND30 trillion (US$1.3 billion) for affordable home purchases ended in 2016, property companies in Ho Chi Minh City have asked the Government to solve hiccups along the way of implementation of social housing policies as per the House Law 2014 and the government’s edict No. 100/2015/ND-CP. Moreover, realty companies petitioned that all social housing policy bracket can enjoy interest rate for loans at 4.8 percent and 130 percent for overdue debt in the bank for social policies or nominated credit institutions. In its document responding to the petition, the State Bank said that credit institutions have not provided capital for offsetting loan interest for buying social houses. Right after these credit institutions were granted the capital for offsetting loan interest, they will be directed to apply new law for buying social houses as per the government’s decision No. 18/2018. 300 businesses to participate in HCMC Industry and Trade Promotion Fair 2018 The 2018 HCM City Industry and Trade Promotion Fair will be held at Phu Tho Stadium in HCMC’s district 11 on July 14-19, announced the municipal Department of Industry and Trade. 300 businesses to participate in HCMC Industry and Trade Promotion Fair 2018 According to director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center of Support Industries Development Hoang Tho Vuong, this year’s event will attract more than 450 display booths of over 300 businesses. The fair is one of the activities of the city’s industry and trade promotion program in 2018, aiming at maintaining economic growth of HCMC, supporting enterprises to strengthen their competitive ability, boosting trade and production and promoting brand names. The annual event also encourages the Vietnamese people to give priority to using made-in- Vietnamese products. Ministry optimistic about fruit-veggie export prospects With effective cooperation between farmers, businesses and State management agencies, Vietnam is likely to realise its goal of 10 billion USD in fruit-vegetables export turnover by 2020. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is devising measures to increase the export turnover of fruits and vegetables to 4 billion USD in 2018 from 3.5 billion USD in 2017. According to Nguyen Quoc Toan, head of the ministry’s agricultural product processing and market development department, Vietnam earned 1.32 billion USD from exporting fruits and vegetables in the first four months of 2018, a year-on-year rise of 29.5 percent This is a good sign reflecting the effective coordination of localities and enterprises, he said. Vietnam has great potential in agriculture with competitive fruits and vegetables.  The export turnover of fruits and vegetables has seen impressive growth in recent years, which topped 1 billion USD in 2015 and 2 billion USD in 2016 and hit 3.5 billion USD in 2017. Seeing fruits and vegetables as a strong product, businesses and farmers have joined hands to make long-term investment. Toan added that Vietnamese fruits and vegetables have been sold in 170 countries and territories. Vietnam has signed nearly 16 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, he said, adding that the international economic integration in agriculture has brought both opportunities and challenges for the country. “If we can organise production effectively, the proportion of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in the global market will increase,” he said. Despite impressive achievements in 2017, up to 70 percent of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables were exported to China, while the ratio to other major markets like the Republic of Korea, Japan, the US and the EU was limited. This was attributed to shortcomings in processing, preservation and logistics infrastructure, Toan said, adding that building material supply areas for processing plants is a headache for State management agencies. He suggested businesses improve quality and invest in fruit and vegetable preservation to reach out further to the global market. Experts: Vietnam-Australia trade set to grow Bilateral trade between Vietnam and Australia is poised to grow thanks to lower tariffs under free trade agreements, according to Vo Tan Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). Speaking at a conference on Vietnam-Australia relations on June 5, Thanh said that Australia would remove 90 percent of its import tariffs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and New Zealand within 2018, and the remaining 10 percent in 2020, in accordance with the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. In addition, the upcoming Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) would help promote trade between Vietnam and Australia. Thanh said that the two countries have had a close business partnership for 45 years and have seen great developments in trade, investment and tourism. Australia is Vietnam’s eighth biggest trade partner and has invested around 400 projects valued at 1.8 billion USD into the country, ranking 19th among 126 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Vietnamese companies are also investing in several projects in Australia. Thanh is confident that Australia will rise to be one of the top 10 countries investing in Vietnam in the future. Australia is one of Vietnam’s biggest official development assistance (ODA) providers, pouring around 150 million USD into Vietnam annually. However, according to Le Thanh Tung, Director of Tien Thinh International Migration and Investment Consulting, while Vietnam is Australia’s 15th largest import market, Vietnam’s export value to Australia only accounts for 1.7 percent of Australia’s total import turnover.  There would be more opportunity for Vietnamese companies to increase their export volume to Australia, with the help of market research and counselling, he said. However, he added that Australia had tough requirements for the goods it imports, so Vietnamese firms must ensure that their goods meet Australian requirements. Gary Dawes, senior trade advisor from Austrade TradeStart and New South Wales Business Chamber, said that exporting Vietnamese goods to Australia could be a good way for Vietnam to enter other foreign markets as Australia is the 5th most developed economy in the Asia-Pacific region and also exports to other markets such as New Zealand and the US. He also advised Vietnamese firms before investing to carefully research Australia’s demands and make sure they stand out from competitors. In 2017, bilateral trade was at 6.5 billion USD. Vietnam exported 3.3 billion USD worth of goods to Australia. Thanh Ha litchis to be introduced to customers in Hanoi    A litchi selling point in Thanh Ha district of Hai Duong province Thanh Ha litchis, a specialty of northern Hai Duong province, will be introduced to customers in Hanoi during a week-long festival from June 12-18. The information was released at a press conference held by the organisers in Hanoi on June 5. The festival is designed to promote consumption of the fruits. To serve the festival, the An Viet Group Joint Stock Company is coordinating with ABA Cooltrans Company in providing transportation and cool storage services. With a 25,000 sq.m cold storage which has a capacity of 10,000-15,000 tonnes of products, the preservation time of litchi will last at least 20 days. Hai Duong litchis received a geographical indication from the Ministry of Science and Technology’s National Office of Intellectual Property in 2007. The local fruits were in the Top 10 quality products in 2013 and 2014 and received the Gold Brand prize in 2015. The Vietnam Association of Food Science and Technology granted a “trustful and safe food brand” certificate to Thanh Ha litchis in 2016. The same year, the ancient litchi tree in Thuy Lam village was recognised as the oldest of its kind in Vietnam. Thanh Ha district has 3,900 hectares of litchis, which are expected to yield 35,000 tonnes of fruits this year. According to Nguyen Thi Ha, Vice Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, the province has 10,500 hectares of litchis, expected to yield 55,000-60,000 tonnes of fruits this year. The harvest time is from May 15 to the end of June. Currently, 131.68 hectares of local litchi cultivation are qualified for export to the US, EU and Australia. The province is also home to 334 hectares of litchis grown in accordance with VietGAP standards. Besides the domestic market, Thanh Ha litchis have increased its presence outside the country. The fruits have been sold in Australia, Canada, China, France, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and the US. Ho Chi Minh City’s retail market thrives Ho Chi Minh City’s revenue from retail sales in the first half of this year is estimated at more than 328.58 trillion VND (14.47 billion USD), accounting for 65.3 percent of the city’s total earnings from retail sales and services and up 12.9 percent from the same time last year. The municipal Department of Industry and Trade said on June 5 that the robust development of the local retail market has created opportunities for domestic producers and suppliers. The market has been rather stable and there is no scarcity of products or price shocks during the January-June, said Nguyen Phuong Dong, vice director of the department. Along with the price stabilisation programmes, the department launched the “Vietnamese people prioritise Vietnamese goods” campaign in which products must ensure food quality, safety and hygiene. The event drew the participation of 90 organisations, including 78 businesses and 12 credit organisations. Loans worth 19.65 trillion VND (865.6 million USD) in total were offered to businesses joining in the price stabilisation programmes in the city. Since the outset of the year, the southern largest economic hub has accelerated brand building, and improved prestige for the programmes in general and local businesses in particular by stepping up communications campaigns and supporting enterprises in expanding markets. Provinces and cities in the southeast and southwest regions have received assistance to carry out the price stabilisation programmes. Meanwhile, assistance has been given to many firms to renew their production facilities. In addition, the city has developed the network of price stabilisation shops which sell made-in-Vietnam products, and products cultivated in line with VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards. Logo of the price stabilisation programmes will be labeled on specific products to raise the public awareness of the programmes’ significance and efficiency. Dung Quat oil refinery among top 10 green factories The Dung Quat Oil Refinery operated by Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Joint Stock Company (BSR) has been in top ten eco-friendly factories in Vietnam for the second consecutive year. The accreditation came from the Vietnam Association for Environmental Economics (VIASEE) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The BSR has paid due attention to the investment of waste treatment technologies including the use of chemicals and micro-organisms which meet all environmental sanitation requirements in treating solid waste, waste water, and air as well. In addition, its products, unleaded E5 RON 92, RON 95 petrol, and Diesel Oil 0.05S, were in top 20 products friendly with the environment. Besides performing stable and profitable business, the operator of Dung Quat Oil Refinery has made significant contributions to the environmental protection and sustainable development. According to VIASEE Chairman Truong Manh Tien, the “top ten green and friendly plant” award is part of the efforts to accelerate the national strategy on green growth, raise public awareness of the significance of green growth, and promote the use of clean and renewable energies. Also, it encourages local enterprises to apply advanced technology in production, and recycle energies in manufacturing to improve competitive capacity and create prestigious products towards benefits and good health of the consumers. Ministry to auction stake at Bach Dang Construction Corporation The Ministry of Construction will auction all of its stake, equivalent to over 205 billion VND (8.97 million USD) or 94.61 percent of total shares, at Bach Dang Construction Corporation – JSC on June 18. The auction will be held at the Hanoi Stock Exchange, and the starting price is 13,300 VND per share, the exchange said. The firm has charter capital of more than 217 billion VND (9.49 million USD) at present. The Bach Dang corporation has one subsidiary, Bach Dang 201 Construction JSC, and owns 55.31 percent of the capital in this firm. It also owns between 4 and 37 percent of the capital of 20 associated companies. In 2018, Bach Dang Construction Corporation targets over 3.56 trillion VND (155.75 million USD) in revenue and 20 billion VND (875,000 USD) in post-tax profit, up 60.82 percent and 35.6 percent from last year, respectively. It is operating in industrial structure construction; irrigation; post; airport; ports; urban and industrial park infrastructure; housing, rail and road infrastructure building; and property business. Hanoi’s economy performs well in five months Hanoi’s industrial production index rose by 7.8 percent in the first five months of this year, said Director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment Nguyen Manh Quyen.  Total retail and services revenue increased 10.4 percent to 983 trillion VND (43.68 million USD), compared to 7.4 percent in the same period last year.  The city lured 860 million USD in foreign direct investment and granted licenses to 225 projects worth 529.2 million USD. There were 27 projects using non-State capital valued at 27 trillion VND and while 13 others registered additional capital of 1.98 trillion VND. Total State budget collection was estimated at 92.4 trillion VND.  Foreign tourist arrivals in the capital hit 1.92 million, up 27.3 percent annually.  The city ranked 13th in the provincial competitiveness index, up one place, and moved up one slot to second in the provincial administrative reform index among 63 cities and provinces nationwide.  It generated jobs for 89,000 people, or 58.5 percent of the yearly plan and approved national fund loans worth 578 billion VND to create jobs to 21,900 workers. About 15,500 people who served the nation received benefits. Up to 250 billion VND in housing support was provided for poor households via the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.  Since early this year, 296,370 health insurance cards have been issued to the poor and those subject to social protection. As many as 261 people received care in social protection establishments.  Hanoi approved a plan to simplify 61 administrative procedures in seven State management fields and announced several amended and supplemented administrative procedures under the management of the municipal Department of Information and Communications and Public Health.  Between now and the year’s end, the city will continue strengthening discipline, stepping up administrative reform to offer optimal support to businesses and people, renovating apparatus to improve the efficiency of legal enforcement and leadership of departments and agencies.  It will also take measures to improve business climate and competitiveness.  The city will step up supply-demand connectivity programmes, facilitate capital access to manufacturing and trade and accelerate construction and disbursement in key projects.  During the monthly meeting, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung urged localities to hasten disbursement in construction and site clearance.  The municipal Department of Home Affairs was asked to rearrange health stations in ward and district levels and further cut administrative procedures. Technology can raise quality of agricultural products      New technologies are key to advancing the agriculture sector in Viet Nam, as they can boost products’ value to make them more competitive on the global market. Experts and specialists told a Vietnam Economic Forum conference yesterday that advanced technologies, including blockchain, could help companies, organisations and households in the agricultural sector raise productivity, save costs and create higher quality products. Nguyen Quoc Toan, acting director of Agricultural Market Processing and Development, said Viet Nam has high potential to develop its agriculture sector. The country has exported to 180 markets worldwide. Of all products, vegetable exports reached US$1.5 billion in 2016 from $105 million in 2003 and are expected to touch $3.5 billion this year. The application of technologies in the sector is needed as the market has shown rising demand for clean products with traceable origins. According to Terry Chan, chairman of Hong Kong E-commerce Supply Chain Association (HKeCSC), blockchain technologies should be deployed as much as possible in agriculture to connect Vietnamese products to the world market. As e-commerce is developing rapidly and new trading platforms are used across the world, agricultural outputs must meet customers’ demands and ensure the quality of the whole production chain, he said. The Vietnamese agricultural sector is trying to integrate into the world’s market, but it has encountered some challenges regarding product quality, supply chains and transparency of the product, Chan said. The sector should propose the Government allow advanced technologies to be applied to resolve existing issues and make safe, high-quality, standardised and traceable products, Vu Truong Ca, chairman of the management board of Lina Network, said. Though the Government has been giving strong support to the agriculture sector and has issued policies to help farmers, the sector has yet to meet the market requirements, he said. “Blockchain technology is strong enough to change the world in the future. It is currently in the early stages, similar to the internet 25 years ago, so Viet Nam is capable of exploiting this technology and applying it in the agriculture sector,” Ca said. According to Ca, Viet Nam has big advantages in mathematics and technology, proven by its high rankings in international math competitions. As the whole world has the same starting point in this technology, Viet Nam could take the lead. Dao Ngoc Chien, deputy director of High Technology Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that the ministry would accompany businesses in this issue. He said his department is drafting a development plan and submitting it to the ministry this month. The draft plan contains four topics: evaluation of the fourth industrial revolution and its impacts in some key sectors, and key technological applications for economic industries. Dairy maker TH Group is a typical example of successfully using high-tech applications in businesses, said Vo Van Quang, deputy general director of Bac A Joint Stock Commercial Bank (Bac A Bank) He said that the bank in 2009 started funding dairy maker TH Group to develop cattle farms. However, TH Group was able to apply Israeli technologies for cattle raising, from grass development to attaching chips to cows to keep track of cattle’s health and productivity. Thus the dairy producer’s outputs meet standards in domestic and overseas markets. PetroVietnam contributes US$1.79bn to State budget      The National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) contributed VND40.8 trillion (US$1.79 billion) to the State budget in the first five months of 2018. This exceeds the plan by 32 per cent and fulfils 55 per cent of the yearly target. According to PetroVietnam, the petrol market has seen unexpected developments in the past five months, negatively affecting the firms’ business. The group operationalised the Bungka Pakma-PM3CAA field from May 12, a month and 19 days earlier than scheduled. The firm’s total production of oil reached 10.44 million tonnes in May, exceeding the plan for the five-month period by 2.7 per cent and representing 45.7 per cent of the annual target. The firm also produced 9.8 billion kWh of power in the January-May period, surpassing its plan by 6.1 per cent, along with 695,000 tonnes of nitrogen and 2.69 million tonnes of petroleum. PetroVietnam’s revenue in the first five months of the year reached VND234.5 trillion, 21 per cent higher than its plan. The group’s after-tax profit reached VND9.8 trillion, exceeding the plan by 15 per cent and fulfilling 51 per cent of its yearly target.  Vietcombank gains GPI certification      Vietcombank has received SWIFT’s Global Payments Innovation Initiative (GPI) certificate, becoming the first bank in Viet Nam to gain the accolade. Speaking at the SWIFT go-live announcement ceremony in Ha Noi on Monday, Le Hong, SWIFT’s representative in Viet Nam, said Vietcombank is the 60th bank worldwide to receive the certificate. “SWIFT highly values Vietcombank’s efforts to successfully implement GPI within only six months even with the bank’s large number of transactions and numerous payment systems,” Hong said. “The bank is also a pioneer in bringing the best services to customers.” Dao Minh Tuan, Vietcombank’s deputy general director, said becoming a GPI bank will boost Vietcombank’s efforts to provide comprehensive money transfer solutions to customers. He also said Vietcombank plans to launch new functions to increase transaction speeds in the coming phases of its GPI project. SWIFT GPI has links with 165 banks around the world, of which more than 50 are officially GPI banks. These include some of the world’s leading banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Deutsche Bank, and HSBC, as well as Citibank. Banks belonging to the SWIFT community account for over 25 per cent of total commercial payment transactions in the world. SWIFT aims to have all cross-border payment transactions implemented by GPI banks by 2020. VIB awarded best bank partner in region      Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB) has been awarded the “Best Trade-Operations Bank Partner in East Asia and Pacific in 2017". This recognition was within the framework of the Global Trade Finance Program (or GTFP) by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. The award aimed to honour the banks that have been active in the GTFP, which helped expand and enhance the trade finance capacity of domestic banks in supporting import-export enterprises in emerging markets, including Viet Nam, VIB said in its statement. According to IFC, Vietnamese import-export enterprises highly appreciated VIB’s innovation and flexibility in providing trade finance products, especially quick and accurate trade operations. Besides, VIB has successfully connected and worked with more than 7,500 banks and branches of the correspondent banks in 61 countries and territories to support Vietnamese import-export enterprises in many fields such as oil, metals, chemicals, agricultural products and food to access to global markets. "The award given to VIB is the recognition of the bank’s efforts and success in trade finance in general and IFC’s GTFP in particular,” Anurag Mishra, IFC representative said. Thanks to its participation in the banking network of GTFP, VIB is known by banks worldwide, helping it access to other markets and has a good liquidity, he said, adding that on that basic, the Viet Nam-based bank is ready to meet the demand for loans of import-export enterprises at preferential and competitive interest rates. IFC also advised VIB on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) banking to serve these firms effectively and sustainably as one of the main development orientations of the bank in the coming time, he said. Since joining the GTFP in 2011, VIB has increased the trade finance line four times by IFC with the current limit up to US$120 million. Total disbursement to VIB through IFC’s guarantee in 2017 reached $260 million. In November 2017, IFC announced $185 million of syndicated loans to VIB, including $100 million from IFC and $85 million from three international banks such as Cathay United Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China - Hong Kong Branch and Kiatnakin Bank of Thailand. This loan aims to solve two key development challenges in Viet Nam, including the financing gap faced by SMEs and lack of affordable housing. Masan Consumer to pay high dividends despite struggles      Food and beverage company Masan Consumer will pay a high cash dividend rate in June despite a steep decline in business in 2017. The consumer goods arm of Masan Group decided to pay shareholders cash dividends at 45 per cent, which means each share is worth VND4,500 (20 US cents). The payment will be made on June 28 and the company will finalise the list of shareholders for the payout on June 18. In addition, it plans to pay bonus shares to existing shareholders this year at the rate of 15 per cent. The net revenues of Masan Consumer dropped 11 per cent in 2017, totaling VND13.2 trillion (US$579 million). Its net profit hit a six-year low at nearly VND2.13 trillion, down 20 per cent year-on-year. Masan Consumer has set a target for net revenues of VND17 trillion to VND18.5 trillion in 2018, a growth of 29 per cent to 40 per cent against last year. Its after-tax profit is also projected to increase between 45 per cent and 59 per cent to VND3.1 trillion to VND3.4 trillion. The company reported net revenues of VND3.53 trillion and net profits of nearly VND780 billion in the first quarter. Masan Consumer is trading on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) at around VND100,000 ($4.39) per share.  Shark Tank back for season 2      TV reality show Shark Tank will be back from July to nurture start-ups in the country and connect them with investors. In this the second season, each episode will last 45 minutes and be broadcast at 8.30pm on Wednesdays on VTV3. According to the organisers - TVHub and VTV24, the programme has attracted many start-ups from the industrial sector, indicating the impact of technology 4.0 on start-ups. In the show, start-up entrepreneurs will talk about their companies to a panel of business owners and executives, hoping to raise investment from them by selling stakes. The four “sharks” in the panel this year are Nguyen Xuan Phu, chairman of Sunhouse Group; Thai Van Linh, head of strategy & operations of VinaCapital; Pham Thanh Hung, deputy chairman of CEN Group; Nguyen Ngoc Thuy, chairman of EGroup. They will be joined occasionally by Dzung Nguyen, director of CyberAgent Viet Nam and Thailand; Louis Nguyen, general director of Saigon Asset Management; Nguyen Thanh Viet, chairman of Intracom; and Dang Hong Anh, deputy chairman of TTC. Shark Tank attracted many viewers when it debuted last season with 48 start-ups and saw 22 of them raise a total amount of over VND116.6 billion (US$5.1 million). Since then, with guidance from their mentors, some of the start-ups like Tigtac, Emwear, Ogami, Supership, Phleek, and Soya Garden have done exceedingly well. Soya Garden, in which Thuy invested VND20 billion ($877,000), has planned to open 30 restaurants around the country. The show also offered viewers many lessons on how to develop a business and explore the market. Shark Tank, developed by Sony Pictures, has two versions -- Shark Tank and Dragons’ Den. Since starting in Japan in 2001, the programme has appeared in 35 nations and territories and attracted 300 million views. In the US, the programme receives an average of 250,000 registrations every season, with 48 per cent of the start-ups succeeding in raising funds from investors.  Viettel announces data-focused strategy for Myanmar      Viettel Group has announced it will focus on data and new digital services as its new company in Myanmar, Mytel, begins operations on June 9. Its motto would be DATA, the company said, standing for D-igital & new services, A-dvanced technology, T-rustworthy, A-ffordable & various services. In its first year of operations, Mytel plans to focus investment in infrastructure, setting up more than 7,000 4G base transceiver stations (BTSs) and laying over 30,000km of fibre-optic cable. Mytel is Myanmar’s fourth mobile phone network after State-owned MPT, which has a 42 per cent market share, Telenor (Norway), which has 35 per cent, and Ooredoo (Qatar), which has 23 per cent. But when it launches operations, Mytel will be the first mobile network in Myanmar to simultaneously provide 4G services nation-wide. The others first entered big cities before expanding to smaller cities and rural areas. In the beginning, Mytel will provide calling and texting services at 50 per cent of current market rates and data at 37 per cent below market rates. Calling, to be offered from June 9, will be billed in 1-second blocks instead of the 15- and 20-second blocks by other operators. As an inaugural promotion, Mytel will offer the Mite Tal (meaning “super cool” in Burmese) strategic fee package. For 4,000 Myanmarese kyats (US$3), subscribers will get 5GB and 250 minutes of calling within the Mytel network for 30 days. But as an introductory offer, on top of this, the company is providing for free 1.5GB and 150 minutes of calling for three months, 100 per cent bonus on top-up value and call billing in 1-second blocks after the free calls are used up. Le Dang Dung, Viettel’s deputy general director, said while Myanmar has experienced rapid economic growth, mobile phone penetration remains low, creating opportunities for telecom operators, especially Viettel. “We are targeting two to three million customers in Myanmar in 2018.” Mytel is the brand name of Telecom International Myanmar, a joint venture between Viettel and two local partners, Star High Public Company and Myanmar National Telecom Holding Public. Mytel has invested $1.5 billion, accounting for 66 per cent of all Vietnamese investment in Myanmar. With the project, Viet Nam jumps from 10th place to seventh among the 49 countries and territories investing in Myanmar, and is the second largest ASEAN investor. Myanmar has been Viettel’s foreign market with the highest economic growth rate, at 7 per cent so far and largest number of population with 53 million. It also has high growth in the telecommunications and IT sector. From having with the lowest mobile phone usage rate in the world (higher only North Korea), Myanmar has experienced a stunning mobile phone SIM usage per capita growth from 10 per cent to 90 per cent after only three years of opening its economy. The total number of subscribers has risen from 600,000 to over 16 million. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Myanmar could increase its economy’s scale four-fold to $200 billion by 2030. The IMF also said the finance, banking, energy, telecommunications and IT sectors offer the most opportunities for foreign investors in terms of both market potential and human resources.  VNN