VIETNAM'S BUSINESS NEWS HEADLINES JUNE 25 02:02         Vietnam ICTComm 2020 slated for September   Vietnam ICTComm 2019. The 2020 edition will be held on 17-19 September at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre. — Photo ictcomm.vn  Vietnam ICTComm 2020, an international exhibition on telecommunication, information technology and communication products and services, will be held in HCM City in September, offering domestic and foreign enterprises a chance to seek new business and investment opportunities. The exhibition, hosted by ADPEX JSC from 17 to 19 September 2020 at the Sai Gon Exhibition and Convention Centre, will focus on digital transformation. The three-day event will introduce technological products such as home automation, internet management service, wireless technology for mobile devices, AR and VR. Vietnam ICTComm 2020 is expected to attract hundreds of domestic and foreign enterprises and more than 10,000 visitors. Last year’s edition drew nearly 400 local and foreign companies from across the world and in excess of 15,000 visitors./.  Ba Ria-Vung Tau seeks to improve logistics competitiveness Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province authorities plan to spend VND 20 trillion (US$850 million) from now through 2025 on infrastructure to achieve their goal of comprehensive development. In recent years the coastal province has invested a lot in upgrading and expanding roads, ports and logistics. As the southern gateway of the country, its ports play an important role, and so developing the port network and logistic centres remains a top priority for the province. It has a master plan including 69 ports, of which 48 are operational with a capacity more than 141 million tonnes a year. The total area of ​​the specialised warehousing in the plan is 2,312ha, and the current availability is around 224ha. Cai Mep-Thi Vai Port in Phu My Town is one of only 21 in the world that can handle ships of up to 200,000 tonnes. However, the efficiency of port operations and port logistics services is not commensurate with the potential, and so competitiveness with other countries in the neighbourhood is not high. Cai Mep-Thi Vai has great advantages in terms of having modern and advanced seaport facilities, modern equipment and rapid growth. But to further increase its competitiveness and attract more customers to it, authorities need to develop inter-regional road, rail, and river transportation from key economic areas in the region, experts said. The Ministry of Transport will allocate funds to speed up the construction of the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau Highway to Dong Nai Province in 2020 to improve transportation, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong said. The province People’s Committee said this would reduce transportation time and make it more convenient for investors to reach neighbouring cities and provinces like HCM City, Binh Duong and Dong Nai both by waterway and road. Investment has also been made to upgrade intra-provincial transport between industrial zones, ports and logistics centres, it said, adding that upgrades to infrastructure and transportation would continue until 2025. Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, one of eight provinces and cities in the Southern Key Economic Zone, has for many years been a magnet for foreign investors thanks to its natural advantages, well-developed infrastructure and attractive incentives. Investors often invest in preferential sectors such as industry, ports and logistics, supporting industries, tourism, and high-tech agriculture. To attract more investors, both local and foreign, province authorities have kept improving the investment climate by adopting policies and solutions to strengthen administration and competitiveness./.  Brokerages eye earnings from proprietary trading Vietnamese securities companies have forecast positive second-quarter earnings from proprietary trading following a rocky few months in which they grappled with the COVID-19 crisis undermining the stock market and the economy. In March, Viet Nam's stock market suffered a substantial drop with the benchmark VN-Index plunging 25 per cent. But since the end of March, the index has rebounded by 27 per cent. KB Securities Vietnam Co (KBSV) forecast that earnings from the proprietary trading of securities companies would achieve good growth in the second quarter of 2020. According to KBSV, securities companies recording large results of fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL) of financial assets at the end of the first quarter were Saigon Securities Incorporation (SSI), VNDirect Securities Corporation (VNDS) and Viet Capital Securities JSC (VCSC). At the end of the first quarter, SSI was holding a list of listed shares worth more than VND2 trillion, most of which were stocks in the VN30 basket which comprises the performance of the 30 largest stocks by market value and trading liquidity. Shares of FPT Corporation accounted for nearly 14 per cent of SSI's portfolio. Unlike SSI, VNDirect did not promote investment in stocks in the VN30 basket. By the end of the first quarter, VNDirect owned more than VND1.1 trillion of fair value through profit or loss (FVTPL) of financial assets, including both listed and unlisted stocks. For listed stocks, VNDirect focused on small and mid-cap stocks such as Post-Telecommunication Joint Stock Insurance Corporation (PTI), with 23.8 per cent and Loc Troi Group Joint Stock Company (LTG), with 10.2 per cent. As for VCSC, the company allocated its portfolio into various stocks, focusing on real estate such as Khang Dien House Trading and Investment JSC (KDH), Sai Gon Thuong Tin Real Estate JSC (SCR) with the proportion of 14.1 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively. In addition to these stocks, VCSC also holds a small amount of Military Bank (MBB), Cotec Construction Joint Stock Company (CTD), dairy firm Vinamlik (VNM) and budget airline Vietjet (VJC). Positive prediction According to KBSV, securities companies forecast positive business results in Q2 thanks to favourable market conditions. Commercial banks have reduced deposit rates so they can lower lending rates to support the economy after the COVID-19 pandemic. This is expected to boost investments in the stock market. According to the Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD), as of May 31, there are more than 2.5 million domestic trading accounts on the Viet Nam’s stock market, mostly individual investors. Compared to April, more than 34,000 domestic trading accounts were newly opened, a record compared to the same period of previous years. In three months of March, April and May this year, more than 102,700 domestic trading accounts were opened, the majority individual investors. Market liquidity and margin loans of securities companies all increased significantly. According to KBSV, from the beginning of April to June 18, the total trading value on the three floors of HOSE, HNX and UPCoM reached nearly VND305 trillion, up 35 per cent compared to the second quarter of last year and up 33 per cent compared to the first quarter of this year. This showed the cash flow pouring into the stock market is increasing sharply as investors pin hopes on the recovery of the economy as well as business restoration, KBVS said. KBSV expects that in Q2, total trading value on the three exchanges may reach VND332 trillion,an increase of 48 per cent year-on-year. The increase in trading value also resulted in the growth of margin loans at securities companies, with an average increase of 20 per cent in some companies compared to the first quarter this year, KBSV said./. Vietravel to discuss private share sales at annual meeting The Vietnam Travel and Marketing Transport JSC (Vietravel) will discuss a share issuance deal to raise charter capital to VND170 billion (US$7.33 million) at its annual shareholder meeting. The company will sell 4.33 million shares to the strategic investors in a private deal. The meeting will be held on June 27. The selling price must not stay below Vietravel’s on-issuance date share price or the firm’s booking value recorded in the latest financial report. The deal will be completed in the first half of 2021 and the mobilised capital will be spent on funding business activities. Vietravel and shareholders will also discuss a plan to sell VND200 billion worth of guaranteed unconvertible bonds in the third quarter of 2021. Yield rate is set at 11 per cent per annum and the bonds will mature in three years. The travel firm will also propose shareholders accept a no-dividend plan for 2019 and 2020. It has not revealed earnings targets for this year. In 2019, Vietravel posted a 3 per cent annual increase in total revenue, which reached VND7.43 trillion. But net profit fell 19.5 per cent on-year to VND45 billion last year. According to Vietravel, the tourism sector has been hit hard by COVID-19 in the past six months. In the first quarter of the year, Vietravel posted a loss of VND40 billion. Vietravel shares (UPCoM: VTR) dipped 2.3 per cent to end Monday at VND38,100 apiece./. Quoc Cuong Gia Lai to sell its shares in Song Da Riverside Quoc Cuong Gia Lai's (QCG) board of directors recently approved the sale of the firm's remaining 34 per cent shares of real estate firm Hiep Phuc JSC. In April, QCG sold 56 per cent of Hiep Phuc JSC's share to LDG Group. Hiep Phuc JSC, formerly known as An Vui International JSC, was founded in 2008. In 2017, QCG purchased 90 per cent shares of the firm and raised its charter capital from VND30 billion to VND650 billion (US$28 million). The same year, Hiep Phuc bought the Song Da Riverside Project for nearly VND340 billion from ANI JSC with an initial agreement that the two firms co-develop the project with Hiep Phuc's contribution at 49 per cent. Disputes among partners soon surfaced followed by a legal battle that lasted five years. The 2.8-hectare Song Da Riverside located in Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward, Thu Duc District, HCM City was earmarked for an investment amount of more than VND1.3 trillion with five buildings, each with 25 floors, and a central square. QCG has been reportedly putting up for sale shares from a number of real estate firms since the end of last year./.  Vietnam Airlines rebounds with launch of five new domestic air routes National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines announced on June 23 that it will press forward with plans to open five additional air routes to connect famous tourist cities nationwide, such as Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Da Lat, Hue, and Can Tho. The move aims to stimulate domestic tourism demand and comes in response to the scheme "Vietnamese people travel in Vietnam" following its launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism.  At present, it appears that Vietnam Airlines has enjoyed a complete bounce back following the novel coronavirus epidemic by running an average of approximately 320 flights per day. The additional flight paths have served to increase the total number of the airline’s domestic air routes to 57. The latest air services will begin operation in July with the Da Nang - Phu Quoc route featuring four round-trip flights per week, departing from Da Nang at 9:00 and from Phu Quoc at 11:25 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Elsewhere, the Danang - Thanh Hoa air route is expected to operate three round-trip flights per week, departing from Da Nang at 9:00 and from Thanh Hoa at 10:50 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. The Da Lat - Hue route will see a frequency of four weekly round-trip flights departing from Da Lat at 12:40 and from Hue at 14:35 on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays, and Sundays. The Da Lat - Thanh Hoa route will feature three weekly return flights departing from Da Lat at 12:40 and from Thanh Hoa at 15:05 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The Can Tho - Da Lat route will run three weekly return flights departing from Can Tho at 12:00 and from Da Lat at 13:50 on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays As a means of marking the launch of these new routes, Vietnam Airlines will be offering preferential prices from only VND69,000 for a one-way ticket excluding taxes and fees. In addition, in order to stimulate domestic tourism demand, Vietnam Airlines will continue to apply special rates for air routes such as Hai Phong - Can Tho, Vinh - Can Tho, Hai Phong - Buon Me Thuot, and Can Tho - Buon Me Thuot. The programme will be applicable to customers who purchase their tickets via the website www.vietnamairlines.com, or through the airline’s ticket offices and agents between now and July 15, with the departure time being valid until December 31./. Shrimp exports to Canada skyrocket Vietnam’s shrimp exports to Canada enjoyed a surge of 32% to US$54.7 million between the beginning of the year and the first half of May in comparison with the same period from last year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers. In January, shrimp exports to the Canadian market endured a downturn, although exports in the following months experienced positive double-digit growth.  Canada now represents the sixth largest importer of Vietnamese shrimp, accounting for 5.7% of the country’s total shrimp exports to foreign markets. Throughout the four-month period, shrimp exports to this market soared by 31.2% to US$49.4 million against last year’s corresponding period, with exports in April alone increasing by approximately 51% to over US$13 million. Indeed, this follows a trend in recent years of shrimp exports to Canada recording consistent growth between 2016 and 2018, with a slight decrease last year, marking a temporary shift as export figures began to grow in the first months of the year. According to data released by the World Trade Center, the North American country’s shrimp imports during the three-month period suffered a slight drop compared to the same period from last year with India, Vietnam, Thailand, China, and Ecuador all being among their largest shrimp suppliers. Moreover, the average export price of Vietnamese shrimp in the Canadian market is enjoying a high price among shrimp suppliers. Recent years have seen the proportion of Indian and Vietnamese shrimp increase while the proportion of Thai and Chinese shrimp has experienced a downward trajectory. Most notably, Canada significantly reduced shrimp imports from Thailand and China during the reviewed period. At present, the Canadian government is destined to boost market diversification and reduce their reliance on imports from the United States, with Vietnam representing one of the countries that Canadian businesses are keen to stimulate import and export activities with. Consequently, Canada can be considered as an affordable market for high-value products and ultimately serves as an important bridge for Vietnamese firms to achieve greater market penetration of other North American countries./.  Hai Duong exports first batch of fresh lychees to Japan The northern province of Hai Duong province successfully shipped an initial batch of 1.2 tonnes of fresh lychees to the Japanese market on June 23. After being harvested, fresh lychees from Thanh Ha district were transferred to Ameii Vietnam JSC, a purchasing unit, for the purpose of packaging and preliminary processing before being transported to Bac Giang province to undergo treatment through methyl bromide fumigation.  The first batch of lychees is expected to arrive in Japan by air on June 24, before being introduced to the Japanese market seven hours after their arrival. A local grower stated that lychees from his garden had been purchased by the enterprise at VND30,000 per kilo, a figure that is far higher than domestic prices. Aside from traditional markets, lychees from Hai Duong have been able to make inroads into two tricky markets, notably Japan and Singapore, over the past year. Nguyen Khac Tien, chairman of the board of directors of Ameii Vietnam JSC, said that this represents the company’s fourth batch of lychees exported to the Far East nation, noting that the firm also exported 60 tonnes of lychees to Singapore, with Hai Duong lychees accounting for 50%. Pham Van Khanh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Thanh Thuy Commune in Thanh Ha district, emphasised that this marks the first time that the Hai Duong lychees have been successfully exported to the Japanese market. At present, Thanh Thuy is home to over 340 hectares of lychee growing areas, of which 77 hectares are grown in line with VietGAP and Global GAP standards. Indeed, th selling price of lychees that follow VietGAP and GlobalGAP procedures are always 10% to 15% higher than the prices of other lychees  on the local market./. Industrial property prices bolster in anticipation of foreign giants With Vietnam in exceedingly high demand among foreign investors, industrial property developers can afford to raise prices and expand scale. At the recent Industrial Property Forum in Hanoi, Pham Minh Phuong, director of Hai Duong Industrial Zones Management Board, said that industrial property in Vietnam has become "hotter" thanks to free trade agreements like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Most industrial zones are of a small scale, so large land areas need to be cleared for lease in the time to come.  “Vietnam’s industrial property sector is preparing to welcome giants. This is a chance for industrial property developers to prepare and build to become the best destination for investment,” said Phuong. He also highlighted that industrial property is different from housing because developers have to pour a great deal of funds into infrastructure, factories, while returns trickle in slowly and operators are hard-pressed to fill up their properties quickly to start generating revenue. In order to overcome this challenge, policies related to industrial property should be changed to select businesses that have enough financial capacity to implement clearance very quickly to be able to seize the most opportunities coming Vietnam's way. Meanwhile, Tran Quoc Trung, vice director general of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Department of Economic Zones Management said that in addition to increasing the number and improving the scale, industrial zones should be developed sustainably in parallel with promoting the strength of their locality, boosting linkages among regions and clusters. Trung highlighted the role of key industrial zones, which are leading the development of the industry. Besides, it is necessary to develop small- and medium-sized economic zones in rural and mountainous areas to reduce pressure on transportation, urban, environment, and social infrastructure, as well as to narrow the socio-economic development gap between urban and rural areas. "However, the efficiency of land usage must be good, and economic zones should not be built on highly productive agricultural land," said Trung. Especially, economic zones should be developed in-depth to enhance quality and performance by technology, improving added value, diversifying co-operation and investment methods, and encouraging the private sector to build and develop economic zones. In order to realise these things, Trung said that they need to perfect the legal framework related to economic zones, innovate management, and apply new economic zone models. Notably, KTG Industrial, a subsidiary of Khai Toan Group (KTG), was highly praised at the forum for its new type of factory which was born through the integration of ready-built factories, warehouses, and 4.0 technology, creating a digital convergence among industry, business, functionality, and process. "The 4.0 ecosystem in KTG’s industrial property includes imaging technology, facilities, services, and management to improve performance and protect the environment that meets all the targets that authorities highlight and go toward, as well as suit the current context of the pandemic," Dang Trong Duc said. However, the price of industrial property is said to be rising high. "They are offering up to US$150 per square metre while US$100 was deemed expensive before," Do Nhat Hoang, director general of the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency said, forecasting that this will affect occupancy rates at industrial zones. Hoang also highlighted the need to prepare enough land supply at an affordable price to welcome overseas giants. Pham Minh Phuong from Hai Duong Industrial Zones said that industrial zones need to complete a long and complicated process to extend area or add new industrial zones to the master plans, including three submissions to the prime minister and four rounds of collecting comments from ministries and agencies. This process takes one or two years at least. As of the end of May, 2020, there were 561 economic zones based on a total of 201,000ha, equivalent to 0.6 per cent of the country's total area. Of this, 374 economic zones were built on 114,400ha and 259 ones were under construction or in the land clearance stage on 86,600ha./. New AI-centric solutions pushed for virus battle Playing an important role in the COVID-19 fight, digital transformation and AI are expected to create significant changes in Vietnam’s healthcare sector in the very near future. Experts from Vietnam, Japan, Australia and others joined a regional webinar last month held by the Vietnamese Academic Network in Japan to discuss the role of technology and AI in COVID-19 fight. The various experts agreed that AI will be a driving force for future healthcare development, especially in electronic health records, research and development (R&D), examinations and treatment, preventive medical services, medicinal finance, and more besides. Associate Prof. Tran The Truyen of the Applied Artificial Intelligence Institute at Deakin University of Australia said AI is able to recommend optimal solutions, thus easing possible negative policy impacts, evaluating technical efficiency, and increasing optimisation of medical devices. According to Prof. Ho Tu Bao, Vietnam is building a national database on people’s electronic health records involving basic information, drug use, clinical information, and paraclinical data groups. So far, the framework for this has been built and deployed in 63 cities and provinces, while electronic health records are already being applied on a trial basis in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and the provinces of Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Ha Tinh, Khanh Hoa, Lam Dong, and Long An. Vietnam aims to have 95 per cent of people with an electronic health record by 2025, regularly updating their health information and connecting all healthcare facilities nationwide. In Vietnam’s healthcare information system, such e-records will be an important database for digital transformation and AI in the healthcare sector. Regarding R&D of medicines, AI will help shorten the development of drugs, vaccines and biology products. Truyen said that in the past, R&D of each medicine can take five to 10 years and a minimum cost of $1-2 million. Other processes of screening, drug design, and drug molecular synthesis plan will also be accelerated with AI. With this AI support, developing countries like Vietnam can take opportunities to leapfrog the development on the back of the country’s proper development strategy. According to some experts from the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), Vietnam is able to become a potential ASEAN hub of manufacturing and supply of medicines. In terms of examination and treatment, in some narrow fields, AI has a high diagnostic ability on par with experts. Some outstanding examples can be found in China, where a group of researchers used AI for image analysis to detect people infected with COVID-19. Thus, instead of having to consult with many experts, AI can solve the issue in just a few seconds. What is more, digital health services will continue to develop such as telehealth, telemedicine, and AI-backed diagnosis and treatment. People will have more choice, urging authorised agencies that build and perform legal frameworks to work on stricter standards, and a more specific and clearer legal framework to put them into practice. In the field of preventive medical services, AI-predictive ability remains a question but huge potential does lie ahead. One of the jobs that AI can carry out most efficiently is prediction. It can use data and apply algorithms using big data to judge and offer early alerts of future outbreaks, and provide an optimal plan to prevent them. In regards to medicinal finance, digital transformation and AI will enable cashless payments to strongly develop, with the financial system becoming more transparent. In the wake of these trends, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health built and performed a smart health scheme based on the three pillars of smart examination and treatment, smart prevention, and smart governance. This is a new application helping increase patient access to more comfortable and qualified healthcare services. To succeed in digital transformation, preparation for qualified human resources is significant. Therefore, AI education will start both inside and outside universities. Currently, Vietnam has about 200 universities offering IT training. Outstanding digital technologies such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and AI will be widely applied. It is estimated that the world’s database on healthcare doubles every two or three months, and the AI market in health is forecast to reach $13 billion by 2025./. SK Group expands pharma foothold With SK Group recently joining the mergers and acquisitions race, Vietnam’s pharma and healthcare market is becoming more robust. However, newcomers are expected to face challenges amid increasingly mounting competition in the lucrative pharmaceutical market in the months to come, driven by the enforcement of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement. On May 29, SK Investment III, a subsidiary of South Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group, got more than 12 million shares, nearly 25 per cent of Imexpharm Corporation’s stocks, at an undisclosed value. Imexpharm is one of Vietnam’s five largest pharmaceutical companies. In the first quarter, its pre-tax profit hit VND51.4 billion ($2.23 million, up 13.2 per cent on-year and its revenue was VND304 billion ($13.2 million), up 10 per cent on-year. Michael Han, head of SK Group’s representative office in Vietnam, told VIR, “We feel that there will be good opportunities in the healthcare sector by working closely with our partners at Imexpharm. Despite the unexpected logistical challenges presented by the pandemic, the said investment could be moved forward and closed. This deal is further testimony to SK Group’s commitment in Vietnam.” Han also added that, “Imexpharm has become a market leading player in Vietnam with strong production prowess evidenced by the company’s excellent production capabilities.” According to Que Vu, partner of law firm Rajah & Tann LCT Lawyers, the healthcare sector ended the first half of 2019 as the second most active sector with eight mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals signed, valued at $325 million, and foreign investors’ interest in local pharma and healthcare companies is expected to continue increasing. This has been proven by a number of M&A deals with a combined value of trillions of VND from large foreign investors, including the published deals of Abbott’s investment into Domesco Medical Import Export JSC, Taisho Pharmaceutical Holdings’ investment into Hau Giang Pharmaceutical JSC, and Adamed Group’s investment into Dat Vi Phu Pharmaceutical JSC. Que noted that pharmaceutical companies from India, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and some European countries are now seeking opportunities for their step into the Vietnamese market. “Pharma and healthcare M&A deals are still on an increasing trend in the second half of 2020. Given the opening policies and the divestment of the state from pharma companies, more overseas investors could join the market. Hospital and clinic M&A could also be a new trend,” she added. Commenting on the attractiveness of Vietnam’s pharma and healthcare market, Han said that, historically, this sector’s growth has been backed by its people’s growing concerns about the well-being of their family members, environmental factors, rising household income, and the high urbanisation rate – which leads to changes in lifestyle and higher demand in personal healthcare. “We believe that this robust growth will continue into the foreseeab le future. We have seen a similar trend in South Korea over the last 20 years or so. In terms of market size, Vietnam is still at the emerging stage, with an estimated total value of $7 billion in 2019, growing at a robust pace of 8 per cent from 2019 to 2024,” Han said. He further added that “The South Korean pharma market in terms of sales in 2019 stood at about $17.3 billion, and is now expected to grow at half the pace of Vietnam’s expected growth. As such, when comparing the two nations’ population and demographics, we like what we see in Vietnam’s pharmaceutical space.” However, SK Group and potential newcomers might face hurdles on their way to crack the Vietnamese market due to stiff competition. According to the statistics of the Drug Administration of Vietnam, there were about 180 pharmaceutical manufacturing enterprises in Vietnam as of May 2019. Therefore, despite Imexpharm’s position as one of the top five pharma manufacturers, it would still have to compete with a large number of other players in the market, according to Que. She further said that Vietnamese consumers mostly prefer to use imported drugs rather than local manufactured drugs. This would also place a yet another challenge on local manufacturers as they are battling for the trust of Vietnamese consumers. A large part of imported drugs in Vietnam is from the EU market. It is estimated that the Southeast Asian country imports over 50 per cent of its total demand from the bloc. Competition will even be more heated when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which is expected to come into effect in August after last week’s ratification of Vietnam’s National Assembly. The landmark deal will make pharmaceutical imports from the EU into Vietnam will be more favourable and accessible. Que also stressed that drugs supplied for hospitals take about 70 per cent of the market while only 30 per cent are for over-the-counter (OTC) retail pharmacies. “SK Group may focus on increasing its products distribution via the OTC channel and online to increase its market share,” she suggested. “The great demand of the young and middle-aged populace in non-prescription drugs and dietary supplements may also bring SK Group good opportunities.”/. Foreign shareholders keep occupying major stakes in e-commerce platform Tiki Together with increasing its capital in May, foreign shareholders of local e-commerce platform Tiki raised their ownership rate to more than 54.5 per cent. Tiki's shareholder restructuring also sees the presence of Success Elite Holdings Ltd. At the same time, the ownership rate of Tiki’s foreign investors also rallies from 49.714 per cent to 54.501 per cent. Nevertheless, founder Tran Ngoc Thai Son still keeps his position as chairman of the management board. The local e-commerce platform has been receiving foreign investment since 2012 when the Japanese CyberAgent Venture poured $500,000 into the firm. Later on, Tiki also received funds from Sumitomo, JD.com. STIC, KIP, and others. Specifically, Sumitomo currently holds 3.47 per cent of Tiki’s shares, while JD.com occupies a bit more than 20 per cent. Meanwhile, Ubiquitous Trader Pte Ltd. is also a big shareholder of Tiki, holding nearly 11 per cent of the e-commerce platform. The capital increase coincides with the company's latest capital mobilisation of $130 million, with its shareholder restructuring seeing the presence of Success Elite Holdings Ltd. Meanwhile, Tiki's shareholders also include the individual investor Huan Dinh Nguyen, general director of Eton JSC which is specialised providing logistic and warehouse services for e-commerce retailers and vendors. Eton JSC was founded in September 2016 with the main business line being management and consultancy and initial charter capital of about VND200 million ($8,700). Previously, the company was owned by Trinh Thi Thuy Uyen; however, as of April 2017, the position was transferred to Huan Dinh Nguyen./. Vinamilk plans to accelerate Hi-Café chain Vinamilk plans the opening of further Hi-Café stores this year, unimpressed by the recent downsizing of the Soya Garden chain, one of its competitors. While the beverage startup Soya Garden recently closed nearly 30 stores across the country due to the impact of COVID-19, local milk giant Vinamilk decided to set foot onto the risky sector. In a letter submitted at the 2020 shareholder meeting, Vinamilk’s management board introduced nine new business projects, including the expansion of the Hi-Café coffee chain that last year had seen one establishment in Ho Chi Minh City's District 7 so far. “The store has been a prototype, and Vinamilk has been looking for suitable business methods for the chain including to partner up a fit partner operating in the same business,” the statement noted. “From 2020, Vinamilk plans to enlarge the chain in many places across the country.” Moreover, the local milk firm will also run business lines in several other sectors, including nylon and recycled package and diet and diabetes sugar. According to its business plan, Vinamilk targets VND59.6 trillion ($2.6 billion) in revenue and VND13 trillion ($565 million) this year, up 5.7 per cent and 1.6 per cent on-year, respectively. Additionally, the firm will pay dividends in two terms with a 30 per cent rate and the issuance of bonus shares at a 5:1 ratio. Its shareholder meeting is forecast to be organised on June 26. Currently, the local market sees Highlands Coffees as the biggest chain with 336 stores. The next positions are The Coffee House with 150 stores, Trung Nguyen with 77 Legend stores and 253 E-Coffee stores, and finally Starbucks with 67 stores./. VinFast officially launches office in Australia VinFast, Vietnam’s first electric car manufacturer, has officially organised the grand opening ceremony for its office in Australia after several months of operation. Located at Melbourne city of Australia, VinFast Australia will study and develop new automobile models and set a solid base for VinFast's overseas expansion plans. Establishing VinFast Australia is an opportunity to approach the international market and connect with the world’s leading suppliers as well as catch up with new technology and trends across the globe. This facility’s key target is to study and develop new models with both petroleum and electric versions. VinFast Australia started operations in early 2020 with the key facility of an automobile technology institute. The institute employs nearly 100 official staff, including experts, technicians, and engineers from the world’s leading car makers General Motors (GM), Toyota, Ford, Jaguar, and Land Rover, among others. The company, in addition to having an eye on Holden, the legendary car brand that is about to close down in Australia, also expressed interest in acquiring the design and engineering facilities of GM Australia, including the Lang Lang testing system which is in the same situation as Holden. Head of the institute is Kevin Yardley, who used to be the senior manager at GM Holden – which is the pride of Australia. He also has experience in studying and developing new models in China and India. Melbourne not only has many new vehicle testing centres but also a large wind tunnel ready for aerodynamic testing of car companies, as well as a seaport to act as a gateway to export cars to the globe./. Origin rules may bar textile makers from EVFTA boons Many of Vietnam’s textile and garment businesses could be deterred from the benefits of the free trade agreement between the European Union and Vietnam by falling short of the requisite rules of origin. Phan Van Viet, chairman of Viet Thang Jean Co., Ltd. (VitaJean), said that the EU market holds 30 per cent of its export revenue. Thus, the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will theoretically be a boon to expanding its exports. However, the company is facing difficulties to meet rules of origin (ROO) under the agreement. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), to benefit from tax slashes in the EVFTA, Vietnamese textiles and garments must strictly obey ROO, meaning product materials must be sourced from Vietnam or the EU, and the cutting and sewing processes must take place in either, too. The EVFTA also allows materials sourced from South Korea, with which the EU and Vietnam have an FTA, to be eligible for tax incentives. Still, VitaJean was not qualified for preferential tariffs as it mainly sources materials from Taiwan and mainland China. Viet said that if the company sourced materials from elsewhere, it would face another challenge in quality and design. For example, Thai materials generally do not have versatile design and quality like those from China. It is also difficult to import materials from Thailand than China due to higher logistics costs and slower delivery times. On the same note, a representative of Garmex Saigon Corporation said that the company is going to be in a tough position once the EVFTA comes into force as it will not meet the EVFTA’s fabric-forward rules because it mainly relies on Chinese materials. At present, the EU market accounts for 40 per cent of the company’s export revenue. Pham Xuan Hong, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Garments, Textiles, Embroidery and Knitting, told VIR that the EVFTA’s fabric-forward regulations are simpler than the “yarn forward” ROO of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. However, Vietnam’s textile and garment industry remains concerned given that local fabric production is limited with less competitive pricing than China. Businesses are increasingly importing materials from South Korea to meet ROO but price competition remains tough. Hong added that some local businesses have started to research products in the EU market that can be made from Vietnamese fabric such as T-shirt fabric. However, to address the root of the problem, the government should give more incentives to them to develop supporting industries and increase localisation rates for textile and garment products. In the time to come, more companies are expected to ramp up investment in the field to avail themselves of opportunities from the EVFTA. All of these factors will help Vietnam’s textile and garment industry to improve capacity and output for EU export. Research by VNDirect Securities Corporation showed that 42.5 per cent of import tariff lines on Vietnamese textile and garment products will be removed as soon as the EVFTA comes into effect, while the remainder will be gradually reduced to zero within three to seven years from a starting rate of 12 per cent. The EU is the second-largest export market of Vietnamese textile and garments, with 2019 export value reaching $4.33 billion (13.4 per cent of the total textile and garments export turnover). Currently, Vietnam’s textile exports to the EU are subject to tariffs of 7-17 per cent (an average of 9.6 per cent) under the generalised scheme of preferences. It is believed that exporters of textile materials such as fibre, yarn, and wool to the EU (currently accounting for a small portion of Vietnam’s textile and garment export value to the EU) will benefit immediately from the EVFTA. For exporters of final textile products to the EU, the benefits of the deal will increase with tax reductions from the second year. Tim Evans, HSBC CEO, said the textile and footwear industries are expected to benefit the most from the deal as these have traditionally had the highest tariff rates across all sectors. In 2019, Vietnam exported over $9 billion worth of textiles, garments and footwear to the EU at a weighted average tariff of 9 per cent. “As it stands, the products of many Vietnamese textile and garment manufacturers do not have enough locally-produced inputs to satisfy the EU’s demanding rules of origin,” Evans said. “The government and businesses will need to work in harmony to expand our domestic textile and garment industry to include the production of input materials instead of importing them from other countries if we are to take full advantage of the agreement.” Echoing the view, Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the MoIT’s Import and Export Department, said the heavy reliance on imported materials and fabric is a major challenge for the industry. To solve this issue, Vietnam needs to attract modern and eco-friendly dyeing and weaving projects. “Ministries and authorities should develop local supporting industries to meet fabric-forward rules as well as create high-added value for Vietnamese products in the EU,” Hai added./. Prime minister approves investment plan of My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway After the investment plan for the first phase of My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway has been approved by the prime minister, the construction of this important part of the north-south traffic network is expected to kick off in this year. The prime minister has accepted the investment planning of the first phase of My Thuan-Can Tho Expressway. He assigned the Ministry of Transport to be in charge of relevant statistics and the pre-feasibility report. Besides this, the province has to collect opinions from ministries and other relevant authorities. The construction of this first segment will be implemented with a public investment capital amounting to a total sum of about VND4.82 trillion ($209.5 million), VND932 billion ($40.5 million) of which comes from the state budges in the period of 2016-2020 to implement the site clearance. The remaining VND3.89 trillion ($169 million) are expected to be disbursed between 2021 and 2025. The 23-km-long expressway will run from My Thuan Bridge 2 in Tien Giang province to Can Tho city. However, the bridge is currently also under construction. The expressway is planned to have six lanes allowing speed limits of up to 100 kilometres per hour. The project, which is a part of Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho Expressway, leads along a very important route in the north-south traffic system, facilitating transport between Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta. The construction of the expressway was first initiated under a public-private partnership model but was then switched to a fully public model last October. The investor of the project is Cuu Long Corporation for Investment, Development and Project Management of Transport Infrastructure (Cuu Long CIPM). According to the latest information, Vinh Long province has stepped up its efforts to speed up site clearance, compensation, and resettlement for households affected by the construction of the expressway./.  Hanoi, JICA work to ensure projects’ progress Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung and Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Akira Shimizu discussed the Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant and the Hanoi urban railway route No.2 projects during a working session on June 23. Shimizu said as COVID-19 has been under control, Hanoi’s economy will grow rapidly. After the physical distancing order was lifted, the Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant project has been progressing. However, major contractor has yet to reach any contract with sub-contractors in the bidding package No.4, he said, adding that this problem should be fixed. He also suggested Chung direct authorities to approve the Hanoi urban railway route No.2 project soon. The Japanese Government and Embassy appreciate the building of cooperative ties with Vietnam, he said. He wished that JICA would serve as a bridge for effective cooperation between the two nations. Chung, for his part, said JICA’s projects made considerable contributions to improving Hanoi’s transportation, environment quality and human resources training. He directed the department of home affairs and transport to work closely with the municipal People’s Committee and JICA to tackle difficulties and ensure the progress and quality of projects./.  Deputy PM: Vietnam wants to develop supply chain Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh hosted a reception in Hanoi on June 23 for Executive Vice President of Techonic Industries (TTI) Nate Easter. TTI is one of the leading suppliers of electronic equipment and household appliances with 12 plants worldwide. Up to 76 percent of its products are supplied to the US and Northern Europe. Binh affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always offers all possible support to foreign firms investing in Vietnam and pays attention to dealing with their difficulties. He pledged to assign the Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee to address problems regarding TTI's projects at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, and the Ministry of Investment and Planning to work with the municipal Customs Department to handle customs clearance for TTI’s goods via green channel. According to the Deputy PM, many universities in HCM City could supply qualified workforce for TTI’s project while the Government also advocated welcoming foreign technical and managerial experts to Vietnam for work. Highlighting Vietnam’s policy of partnering with countries in the development of supply chain and support industry, Binh hoped that TTI, one of the leaders in the global supply chain, will assist the Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities in investment promotion as well as help Vietnamese firms to join its chain. The Government will continue devising suitable policies, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, he said, wishing that TTI would transfer technology to Vietnamese enterprises. Easter, for his part, said TTI is working to launch the largest research and development (R&D) centre in Vietnam, as well as investing more 650 million USD in wireless electrical equipment plants at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, which will be completed in the third quarter next year. Its R&D centre is expected to draw about 2,000 engineers and experts in information technology, manufacturing and processing. TTI also sent staff to universities to seek employees, he said. About its long-term plan, he said TTI wants to partner with Vietnam in the development of industry and high technology, including domestic supply chains. It hopes that about 180-200 Vietnamese firms will become suppliers for TTI with the rate of domestically-made items amounting to 60 percent this year and 80 percent next year. To such end, the guest wished that the Government would approve TTI’s projects at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park, allow its highly-skilled engineers to enter Vietnam to develop advanced products, as well as offer incentives on finance, land and infrastructure./. Hundreds of Thai pigs sold out Nearly 500 pigs imported from Thailand sold out immediately at Ha Nam Wholesale Market. On June 23, Duc Tin Food JSC, the manager of Ha Nam Livestock Wholesale Market imported 497 pigs from Thailand. After sterilisation process and quarantine time, the pigs were put on sale. Each pig weighs 90-130kg and sold at VND90,000 per kilo. Nguyen Viet Thinh, a trader from Thai Binh, said he bought 18 pigs which were all good quality. However, the prices were still a bit high. After being brought to the slaughterhouse, pork prices will not likely to go down much. La Duc Quynh, chairman of Duc Tin Food JSC, said that the market was still short of supply. He hoped that the authorities would speed up the import process to bring more pigs to Vietnam and lower the pork prices. Quynh went on to say that they bought the pigs from Thanh Do Nghe An Company, after excluding the transportation fees, the cost was still as high as VND90,000 per kilo. He hoped the authorities would have some solution to lower the prices. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong said imported pigs were only a temporary solution to lower pork prices. According to the PM's directive, the ministry has worked with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to create favourable conditions for import firms. In the first five months, over 70,000 tonnes of pigs and pork have been imported, an increase of 300% compared to the same period in 2019. The ministry also helped firms import over 8,000 breeding pigs, increased by over 300% on last year./. VNN