VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS NOVEMBER 210:45 HCM City: Over 38,000 workers at Pouyuen Vietnam return to work
Sport footwear maker Pouyuen Vietnam in Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City, announced on November 2 that its over 38,000 workers have returned to work, or 70 percent of the total. All of them tested negative to SARS-CoV-2. Chairman of the company’s trade union Cu Phat Nghiep said its workers have been given at least one vaccine shot and the company will continue with vaccination. In order to ensure safety, it also offers rapid testing for workers every Tuesday. Those found positive to SARS-CoV-2 will be sent to the company’s temporary quarantine area while F1 cases will be under 14-day quarantine at home. Pouyuen Vietnam now employs the largest number of workers in Ho Chi Minh City with over 56,000. Since the fourth pandemic outbreak that hit the country in late April, it has partnered with the municipal health department and local authorities to follow prevention and control measures./. BCG Energy signs wind power development deal with Siemens Gamesa on sidelines of COP26 BCG Energy and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy signed a memorandum of understanding for providing equipment and technical solutions for wind power development in Viet Nam on the sidelines of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties on October 31 in the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, an affiliate of Germany’s Siemens AG, is a leader in the renewable energy industry and offers the world's best offshore and onshore wind turbines and services. Under the MoU, Siemens will supply equipment and technical solutions to BCG Energy for the latter to accelerate the implementation of its roadmap to develop more than 500MW of wind power in Viet Nam in the next few years. The contract is worth around US$400 million. According to Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Viet Nam is now the leader in Southeast Asia in renewable energy development and has favourable climatic conditions to develop wind power. BCG Energy, one of the pioneers in Viet Nam’s renewable energy industry, has a diverse portfolio of renewable energy projects, including solar farms, rooftop solar and wind energy, and targets a capacity of 1.5GW of renewable energy by 2023. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a meeting with BCG
Energy and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy executives on the sidelines of
COP26 in the UK on October 31. — Photo courtesy of BCG Energy They also pledged to actively work with relevant stakeholders to promote growth in Viet Nam’s wind power industry and help the country realise its goals of green transformation and sustainable development. BCG Energy, the holding company for renewable energy assets under Bamboo Capital JSC, is among enterprises whose executives are accompanying Chinh and his high-ranking delegation to COP26. One of the world’s leading wind power solution providers and with over 40 years in the renewable energy industry, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy brings engineering excellence to install and service thousands of turbines that generate over 100GW of wind power all over the world, or enough clean energy to power nearly 87 million households annually. In Viet Nam, it supplies equipment and technical solutions for 14 wind power projects with a total capacity of 1.17GW. BCG Energy also plans to collaborate with other large European firms in the fields of supporting industries and renewable energy technologies. 57 FDI projects worth US$34 million licensed in Hanoi The capital licensed 57 new FDI projects with a total registered capital of US$34 million throughout October, according to figures released by the Hanoi Statistics Office. Of the figure, seven projects were permitted to raise capital to US$112.6 million, while a further US$113 million was poured into capital contribution and share purchases made by foreign investors. During the ten-month period, Hanoi attracted US$1.2 billion in FDI with 256 new projects capitalized at US$196.6 million. Of the figure, US$605 million was added to 100 existing projects, while US$411 million was also poured into capital contribution and share purchases made by foreign investors. Most notably, the second phase of the VND32.9 trillion Hanoi urban railway project and the US$2.5 billion Vinh Tuy bridge project have been urgently implemented in order to keep up with the set schedule. The capital has seen 2,298 newly-established enterprises with registered capital of VND37.1 trillion throughout the reviewed period, marking a rise of 71%. Throughout this period, dissolution procedures have been conducted for 2,600 enterprises, an increase of 26%, while 11,000 firms have also registered to suspend operations, representing a 17% increase. Moreover, 9,100 enterprises resumed their operation, while the rate of online business registration has also been maintained at 100%. Vietjet, Rolls-Royce sign 400 mln USD deal for modern aircraft engines Vietjet and Rolls-Royce has signed an agreement to provide engines and engine services for the airline’s coming wide-body fleet with a total value of approximately 400 million USD. The signing ceremony was witnessed by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and high-ranking dignitaries of Vietnam and the United Kingdom during the Prime Minister’s attendance at COP26, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties. Ewen McDonald, Chief Customer Officer, Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace said: “We are thrilled that Vietjet has chosen our Trent 700 engines to support their fleet development. The Trent 700 has the lowest lifetime fuel burn and the best economics on its aircraft type. In addition, our TotalCare service will help Vietjet maximise the value of its engine assets and increase time-on-wing performance. We look forward to working with Vietjet as they expand their geographical footprint.” The Trent 700 is the only engine specifically designed for this wide-body aircraft and is widely recognised for its outstanding efficiency and reliability. Since its launch in 1995, the Trent 700 has logged more than 60 million hours in service. Vietjet Managing Director Dinh Viet Phuong said: “Vietjet is delighted to have this very first and meaningful partnership with Rolls-Royce. We believe that the Trent 700 engines will bring a technology breakthrough to Vietjet’s fleet, helping improve flight range and quality and thereby boosting our aircraft’s technical reliability and operational efficiency. The engines are also expected to make our fleet more synchronous. We hope this partnership will also contribute to trade promotion between Vietnam and the UK, creating more jobs for people and businesses of the two countries while making the connectivity between continents more convenient and economical in the future”. With a comprehensive network in Vietnam and Asia Pacific, Vietjet looks to further expand its wings across continents thanks to its new and modern fleet in the coming time. Rolls-Royce operates in various segments including power systems, aerospace and defence. It has customers in more than 150 countries, comprising more than 400 airlines and leasing customers, 160 armed forces and navies, and more than 5,000 power and nuclear customers. Known as a new-age carrier, Vietjet has not only revolutionised the aviation industry in Vietnam but also been a pioneering airline across the region and around the world. With a focus on cost management ability, effective operations, and performance, the carrier offers flying opportunities with cost-saving and flexible fares as well as diversified services to meet customers’ demands. Vietjet is a fully-fledged member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate. As Vietnam’s largest private carrier, the airline was awarded the highest ranking for safety with 7 stars in 2018 and 2019 by the world’s only safety and product rating website airlineratings.com and listed as one of the world's 50 best airlines for healthy financing and operations by Airfinance Journal in 2018 and 2019. The airline has also been named as Best Low-Cost Carrier by renowned organizations such as Skytrax, CAPA, Airline Ratings, and many others./. HCM City foreign trade makes sharp recovery Foreign trade by of HCM City-based enterprises showed clear signs of recovery in October, increasing by 25.8 per cent from the previous month to US$11.7 billion, according to the customs department. Exports rose by 4.7 per cent to $4.4 billion, and imports by 48.9 percent to $7.3 billion. The main export items were computers, electronic components, high-tech equipment, textiles, footwear, fisheries, and agricultural products. Dinh Ngoc Thang, director of the department, said the COVID-19 pandemic and many months of restrictions had severely affected businesses. His agency would facilitate quick clearance of goods and crack down on fakes to help businesses, especially during the peak year-end foreign trade period. The country’s imports in the first nine months were worth $242.65 billion, a 30.5 per cent increase from the same period last year. The US remained the biggest market, buying $69.8 billion worth of Vietnamese products, a year-on-year rise of 27.6 per cent. China followed at $38.5 billion, up 18.3 per cent. The EU and ASEAN were next in the list. Listed companies find momentum to thrive in Q4 Many businesses have experienced losses for the first time or after many years due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 in the third quarter of 2021. Their target is now making efforts to revive in the fourth quarter to complete the yearly plan. In its third-quarter financial report, Pha Lai Thermal Power JSC (PPC) reported a drop of 33 percent year-on-year in net revenue to over 1 trillion VND (45.7 million USD), resulting in a loss of 35.4 billion VND. This marked its first quarterly loss since 2016. In the third quarter of 2020, the company posted profit of 90 billion VND. The loss was mainly due to higher cost of goods sold, making the gross profit negative 44.4 billion VND. For the first nine months of the year, Pha Lai Thermal Power recorded revenue of more than 3.3 trillion VND, with profit after tax of 223.3 billion VND, down 44.8 percent and 55.6 percent, respectively. Therefore, as of September 30, the company completed 59 percent of 2021’s revenue target and 54 percent of the profit target. After reporting very positive business results with a profit of 65.4 billion VND in the third quarter of last year, Haxaco (HAX) experienced a loss of 33.3 billion VND. Accordingly, its consolidated revenue fell 59.3 percent year-on-year to 708.89 billion VND in the third quarter. For the first nine months, Haxaco’s consolidated revenue declined 9.1 percent to nearly 3.4 trillion VND, with profit after tax of 34.3 billion VND, down 45.1 percent over the same period last year. The company’s business activities were seriously affected by the fourth outbreak of the pandemic, Do Tien Dung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Haxaco told tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn. Two of its branches in Ho Chi Minh City had to close for the whole third quarter, while two branches in Hanoi were closed until September 21. Sales dropped sharply, while it still had to pay for depreciation expenses, salary costs and other fixed costs, causing Haxaco to witness a loss in the last quarter. Located in the centre of the COVID-19 hotspot, Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC (TCM) carried out the “three-on-site” model throughout September, resulting in big drops in output and production capacity. Meanwhile, the higher costs due to expenses to test workers twice a week, resulting in losses for Thanh Cong Textile in September. This was also the second monthly loss of the company. Of which, its net revenue slid by 20 percent over last year to 782.9 billion VND, with a loss of 2.5 billion VND. However, as of September 30, Thanh Cong Textile’s revenue was mostly unchanged compared to the same period of 2020 at 2.7 trillion VND, while its profit after tax was 118.6 billion VND, down 41 percent. With the results, the company fulfilled 63.5 percent of its whole year’s revenue plan and 39.5 percent of profit after tax plan. Thanh Cong Textile exports textiles to many countries around the world. In September, its export revenue to the US market accounted for the highest proportion, with 36.63 percent of total export value. It was followed by the Republic of Korea, accounting for about 31.8 percent, while Japan and China were among the largest markets with market shares of over 9 percent. Of securities companies, while many posted record third-quarter profits like SSI Securities and VNDIRECT Securities, Bao Minh Securities (BMS) saw a net loss of nearly 38.2 billion VND. This was also its biggest loss recorded since the first quarter of 2020. The third-quarter financial statement showed that Bao Minh Securities’ revenue decreased by 11.4 percent over the same period last year to 54.5 billion VND. The drop was due to the inefficiency of the securities trading division, which accounted for a large proportion of its revenue. Besides some businesses reporting losses for the first time or after many years, there are businesses whose losses were expected. For example, Vinasun (VNS) announced its revenue of nearly 23 billion VND in the third quarter, down 90 percent over last year. The company was also heavily affected by the social distancing orders due to COVID-19 during the period, causing a net loss of more than 90 billion VND. In the first nine months of 2021, Vinasun lost 185.4 billion VND. It posted a loss of more than 182.6 billion VND in the same period last year. In the fourth quarter, Haxaco leaders said that they had carefully prepared to carry out business plans when the country’s economy entered the new normal phase. All employees had been vaccinated, ensuring safety for operations. The company also worked with the Mercedes-Benz Vietnam factory and partners to ensure a balance between supply and demand during the peak business season at the end of the year. Meanwhile, at Pha Lai Thermal Power, Le The Son, Chief Financial Officer, said that the third quarter was normally a low period in operation. And given the impact of the pandemic and problems that occurred at the Pha Lai 2, the consumption output was much lower than the same period last year. The return of Pha Lai 2 in the fourth quarter was expected to help the company improve profit and complete its whole year target. Meanwhile, Tran Nhu Tung, Chairman of Thanh Cong Textile’s Board of Directors, said that the company was trying to boost its operating capacity to meet export orders. Currently, it had received orders until the end of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. The company was speeding up the construction of Vinh Long 2 plant to keep up with orders for 2022./. Techcombank raises 800 million USD in offshore syndicated loan facility The Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) has successfully concluded its largest ever offshore syndicated loan facility at 800 million USD, a record size and landmark structure among Vietnamese banks. This is Techcombank’s second approach to the offshore loan syndication markets after its maiden accomplishment last year, which also set a record. The fully underwritten syndication was launched in June this year at an original deal size of 500 million USD with a pre-funding option. The facility amount was upsized to 800 million USD to accommodate the strong market response. The dual tranche senior unsecured facility comprises a 600 million USD 3-year tranche and a 200 million USD 5-year tranche. The facility offers an interest margin of 135 basis points per annum on the 3-year tranche and 162 basis points per annum on the 5-year tranche, over US dollar London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR). The 5-year tranche is a landmark for Vietnamese banks. The outstanding success of this transaction reaffirms the market’s trust and confidence in Techcombank, its robust risk management and customer-centric business strategy. Techcombank’s exemplary track record has attracted the largest pool of liquidity for a Vietnamese financial institution to date. A total of 28 prestigious international banks and development finance institutions participated in the transaction. Loan proceeds, which are for general corporate and working capital purposes, will bolster Techcombank’s ability to meet the increasing medium- and long-term funding needs of its customers in both foreign and local currencies. Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), which initially underwrote the financing, was joined by fellow Mandated Lead Arranger Banks and Underwriters: Cathay United Bank, Maybank Kim Eng, State Bank of India, and Taishin International Bank. Bryan Liew, Head of Leveraged and Acquisition Finance Syndicate of SCB, said the transaction was a landmark for the Vietnamese loan market, given its profile, size and tenor./. PM’s France visit expected to lift two-way trade Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to France from November 3-5 at the invitation of his French counterpart Jean Castex is expected to open up new opportunities and lift bilateral ties to a new height. France is always one of the top trade partners of Vietnam in the European Union (EU). Two-way trade grew by 15.7 percent annually on average during 2011-2019. France is now the fourth largest importer of Vietnam in the EU with a share of nearly 10 percent of the country’s exports to the region, according to a representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of the European-American Markets. Due to the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic, two-way trade declined by 10 percent year-on-year in 2020 to 4.8 billion USD. Vietnam’s exports to France reached 187.9 million USD in September 2021 and 2.25 billion USD in nine months of this year, down 9.9 percent annually, mostly footwear, apparel, household appliances, agro-forestry-fisheries, gemstones, jewelries, electronics, mechanical engineering tools, rubber, coal, plastics, bamboo and rattan items. Meanwhile, Vietnam mainly purchased high-value and hi-tech goods from France, including pharmaceuticals, machinery and equipment, and transport vehicles, amounting to over 1.5 billion USD last year, down 4.3 percent annually. As of August 20, France ranked 16th out of 140 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 632 valid projects worth more than 3.6 billion USD. In order to increase the presence of Vietnamese agro-fisheries in France, experts suggested outlining strategies to attract consumers as well as specific action programmes to build trust and prove product quality. According to the Vietnam Trade Office in Vietnam, there are huge opportunities for Vietnamese goods to navigate France but its requirements are also high. Therefore, suppliers need to continue maintaining product quality, or invite French experts and skilled workers to Vietnam to inspect quality. To lift two-way trade to a new height, experts proposed that Vietnam should ask the EU and France in particular to work closely together with the country to make the best use of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement./. Ben Tre to help farmers sell produce on e-commerce platforms The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre has plans to promote all its key agricultural products on e-commerce platforms such as Postmart.vn, Voso.vn, Sendo, and bentretrade.vn. Speaking at a recent meeting, Nguyen Minh Canh, vice chairman of the Ben Tre Province People’s Committee, said the province would help farmers sell their goods online, especially connecting them with e-commerce platforms. It is important to raise farmers’ awareness of the role played by e-commerce platforms as distribution channels amid the pandemic. Through e-commerce platforms, farmers would receive useful information about farm markets, demand and supply forecasts, weather, and seed and fertiliser supply, Canh said. The province plans to organise 20 training courses for farming households, agricultural production co-operatives, farmers associations, and enterprises on how to sell on e-commerce platforms. It will create programmes to connect suppliers and customers and help farmers participate in online fairs instead of direct sales. The volume of farm produce sold on e-commerce platforms remains modest. As of August some 8,000 farming households with around 14,500 agricultural products were connected to e-commerce platforms, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The aim is to connect five million farming households across the country to e-commerce platforms by the end of 2021. According to the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, it is building a value chain for key agricultural products, especially competitive ones such as pomelo, coconut, rambutan, longan, ornamental plants, and pigs, cows and shrimps. Doan Van Danh, its director, said his agency wanted to promote the processing industry, attract investment in high-tech processing clusters in specialised farming areas and develop logistics services to serve key agricultural items. The province had established a coconut products chain spread over 12,036 hectares, or 16.5 per cent of its total coconut growing area, and a green-skin pomelo products chain on 330 hectares, he said. It would speed up establishment of value chains for other key agricultural products such as pigs, cows and marine shrimp, he added. Ben Tre has set a goal of having at least four agricultural value chains worth US$1 billion each by 2030. Reference exchange rate up 10 VND The State Bank of Vietnam set the daily reference exchange rate at 23,150 VND/USD, up 10 VND from the previous day. With the current trading band of +/-3 percent, the ceiling rate applicable to commercial banks during the day is 23,844 VND/USD and the ceiling rate 22,455 VND/USD. The opening-hour rates at commercial banks stayed stable. At 8:25 am, Vietcombank listed the buying rate at 22,620 VND/USD and the selling rate at 22,850 VND/USD, unchanged from November 1. BIDV also kept both rates unchanged from the previous day at 22,650 VND/USD (buying) and 22,850 VND/USD (selling)./. Dak Nong: Two wind power projects connected to national grid Two wind power projects in Dak Song district in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong, which are worth more than 2.6 trillion VND (113.52 million USD) in total, had been completed as of October 31. Accordingly, the 50MW Dak Hoa and 30MV Nam Binh wind power projects, costing over 1.6 trillion VND and over 1 trillion VND, respectively, completed their installation and were connected to the national grid before October 31. As such, they are eligible to enjoy preferential electricity prices at 1,928 VND per kWh, not including VAT, in line with the Prime Minister’s Decision 39/2018/QD-TTg dated September 10, 2018 on the development of wind power projects in Vietnam. The provincial Department of Industry and Trade said Dak Song also houses four other wind power projects, which received their investment licences in late 2020. Of the four, three are being constructed under a total estimated cost of more than 10.5 trillion VND./. SBV to study and propose policies on national digital currency The Prime Minister has assigned the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) to study and propose policies on a national digital currency. In addition, the SBV will issue a mechanism for controlled testing of financial technology (Fintech) activities in the banking sector in order to create a legal framework, meet management requirements, promote innovation and creativity, and deploy new co-operation and business models in payment service provision. The Government officially approved the project to develop non-cash payments in Viet Nam for the 2021-25 period on Thursday. The overall objective of the project is to create a positive change in non-cash payment in the economy with high growth, and to make the use of non-cash payment methods a habit of people in urban areas and gradually developing in rural and remote areas, and reduce the social costs associated with cash. In the project, the Government has proposed many solutions, including completing the legal corridor and mechanisms and policies to develop non-cash payments in the 2021-25 period. Specifically, the Government assigned SBV to co-ordinate with the Ministry of Justice and relevant ministries to review and propose amendments and supplements to a number of payment-related provisions in current legal documents. Notably, the Government assigned SBV to complete the development and promulgation of a controlled trial mechanism for financial technology (Fintech) activities in the banking sector in order to create a legal framework to meet regulatory requirements, promote innovation, creativity and implementation of new business and co-operation models in payment service provision. At the same time, the SBV must study and propose mechanisms and policies on national digital currency. In addition, the Government assigned the Ministry of Information and Communications to co-ordinate with the Ministry of Justice, SBV and relevant ministries and agencies to review and propose amendments and supplements to legal regulations on electronic transactions, cyber security, ensuring safety, data security and user protection in order to support and facilitate the application of technology and innovation and creativity, ensuring security and safety in payment activities. The Ministry of Finance will study solutions to continue to encourage non-cash payments to contribute to tax management. Industrial clusters accelerate production after long break After social distancing orders were eased in many provinces and cities, businesses have been working to resume operations, ensure orders are fulfilled and production chains restored. Factories in industrial parks are reopening, but can’t run at full capacity due to preventive measures for COVID-19. “Currently, leather and footwear companies in the
industrial park only operate at about 30-40 percent of capacity,” said Phan
Thi Thanh Xuan, General Secretary of the Vietnam. “Our southern companies have missed this Christmas season since we have to prepare from August. At the moment, only northern factories can meet demand for the Christmas and year-end holidays,” Xuan added. “And actually they are speeding up.” However, disruptions during social distancing still strongly affected industries, causing many enterprises to struggle in restarting production. Each province carries out different requirements, with some very open in supporting businesses, while others were not, said the general secretary of Lefaso. “Workforce is not a problem for us at the moment as we run at low capacity, but local rules are,” Xuan said. The special working group of the Ministry of Industry and Trade noted that in Binh Duong province, most businesses’ concerns were over procedures to return to production, testing requirements, operating under the “three-green” model and vaccine issues. All enterprises in Binh Duong’s industrial cluster have resumed operations, but the capacity has only reached 44 percent compared to the pre-pandemic period. As soon as the normal state returns, the Department of Industry and Trade of Binh Duong suggested that businesses wishing to return to operation develop plans in the new situation, send them to all related agencies and immediately start the work. Binh Duong province will give the rights to enterprises to resume production, and the local government will carry out post-inspection work. The Department of Industry and Trade of Binh Duong has issued a guiding document approving the granting of initiative rights for enterprises to reopen, while the State management agency will perform post-check to accelerate the restoration of production. Currently, Binh Duong province has allowed businesses to test and issue certificates for workers to travel by themselves. Moreover, Binh Duong’s authorities also allowed businesses to access quality test kits for only a few tens of thousands of dong per test. Enterprises are allowed to combine 3-5 samples, so the cost of testing for each worker will be very low. At the same time, the time limit for test results is up to 7 days. Workers in Binh Duong have received the first dose of vaccine and it is expected that the second dose will be completed this month. A report on industrial production from the southern special working group of the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that in Ben Tre province, the activities of enterprises are relatively stable, with obstacles basically being solved, creating favourable conditions for enterprises to resume business activities, as well as deploy disease prevention measures. As of October 13, the whole province recorded 2,258 enterprises in operation with 67,015 employees. Of which, there are eight companies operating under the “three-on-site" model with 863 employees, while 2,250 businesses operating in the new situation with 66,152 employees. Southern governments also implemented plan No 6601/KH-UBND on bringing workers back to HCM City and the provinces of Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An to work. Currently, Bến Tre province has 2,224 enterprises operating with 65,430 employees, accounting for 54 percent of the total number of operating enterprises and up 1,559 enterprises compared to when Directive 16 was applied. Accordingly, 19 companies operate under the “three-on-site" model with 3,393 employees, while the rest operate in production in the new situation with 62,037 employees. In Dong Nai province, there were a total of 3,898 companies completing the self-assessment on the risk of COVID-19 infection at the enterprise, according to the special working group of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The result showed that more than 3,180 businesses are in the low-risk group, while only 49 in the medium-risk group. Businesses in the province are restoring production activities according to plans to ensure safety against the pandemic. Of which, as of October 11, in the industrial park, the total number of enterprises implementing the "three-on-site" model is 1,176, with a total of 154,699 resident workers. Meanwhile, there are 139 enterprises implementing the plan for workers to go home every day with a total registered workforce of 41,762 people./. Thai sugar imports sour prospects for domestic
producers Sugar producers in Vietnam have failed to compete with imported products on the local market as traders are using various tricks to avoid taxes. According to acting general secretary of the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association (VSSA), Nguyen Van Loc, a large amount of sugar from Thailand has entered Vietnam from neighbouring countries to avoid anti-dumping duties. "Since Vietnam started imposing anti-dumping duties on sugar imported from Thailand in October 2020, sugar importers have switched to other countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Cambodia," Loc said. "The total amount of imported sugar to Vietnam in 2020 reached 1.38 million tonnes which was four times higher than that of 2019. And the country imported nearly 1.2 million tonnes of sugar in the first eight months of this year." Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, sugar smuggling into Vietnam has become worse in the southern west border of Vietnam. During the first eight months of 2021. Statistics from VSSA showed that Cambodia imported 393,414 tonnes of sugar from Thailand in the first eight months of this year and exported 100,000 tonnes to Vietnam through official channels. Meanwhile, the remaining nearly 300,000 tonnes are being placed at the border with Vietnam to wait for being smuggled into the country. Vietnamese sugar sector losing ground Thu Thua District in the Mekong Delta Province of Long An was once well-known for its vast sugarcane area with about 11,000 hectares of the plant between 2012-2013. However, local farmers have started to switch to other plants since local sugar companies started decreasing sugarcane prices in 2013. Then the two local sugar companies, Nivl and Hiep Hoa, faced continuous losses and closed, owing a huge amount of money to local farmers. Vice director of Long An Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Chi Thien, said that despite lots of efforts, local authorities had failed to help the farmers sell their sugarcane and they finally had to remove the plant from their key plant lists. "We have to advise farmers to turn to other crops," he said. Cao Anh Duong, Acting Chairman of the VSSA, said that the local sugar production has reduced in both quantity and quality. "Many farmers have turned to other plants," Duong reported. "This year the sugarcane area has reduced by 19.83 percent to 187,100 hectares compared to last year's area. Local sugar factories have so far received only 6.7 million tonnes of sugarcane which is one million tonne lower than expected. Sugar production output stood at 901,230 tonnes which was the lowest output in the past 20 years. Nearly half of the sugar factories in Vietnam have closed." Duong said that after the anti-dumping duties were imposed on imported sugar by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, factories have raised prices of sugarcane to keep the sugarcane farming. However, the huge amount of imported sugar has continued to dominate the local market. "Locally-produced sugar just cannot compete against imported sugar," the official said. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has just launched investigations into the practices of sending made-in Thailand sugar to some other countries before importing to Vietnam to avoid anti-dumping duties demanded by the VSSA. Businesses returning to operation up 30 per cent The number of newly-established enterprises surged in both quantity and registered capital last month compared to the previous month. The number of enterprises returning to operation increased by 29.8 per cent month-on-month. Specifically, the whole country had 8,233 newly-established enterprises last month, with registered capital of VND108.6 trillion (US$4.75 billion) and 58,800 employees, an increase of 111.2 per cent in quantity, 73.9 per cent in registered capital and 17.9 per cent in terms of the number of employees compared to September. However, this figure still decreased by 32.5 per cent in quantity and 34.4 per cent in registered capital, down 18.8 per cent in the number of employees over the same period last year. Across the whole country, 4,304 companies returned to operation, up 29.8 per cent compared to September and down 14.7 per cent over the same period last year. In addition, there were 3,492 enterprises registering to suspend business for a definite period, up 55.9 per cent. There were 3,048 units that stopped working while waiting for dissolution procedures, up 21.5 per cent and 806 organisations completed dissolution procedures, up 33 per cent. Generally, the whole country saw 93,700 newly-registered companies with a total registered capital of nearly VND1.3 quadrillion with 707,700 employees in the first 10 months of this year, down 15.7 per cent in the number of enterprises; 18.2 per cent in registered capital and 16.8 per cent in the number of employees over the same period last year. The General Statistics Office said that the average registered capital of a newly established enterprise reached VND13.9 billion in 10 months, down 2.9 per cent over the same period last year. If including more than VND1.88 quadrillion of additional registered capital of enterprises, the total amount of additional capital added to the economy in the first 10 months of this year is more than VND3.18 quadrillion, down 18.2 per cent compared to the same period last year. There were 35,300 companies returning to operation, down 6.3 per cent year-on-year. Thus, in total in the first 10 months of this year, the number of newly-established and re-operating enterprises reached 129,000, down 13.3 per cent over the same period last year. On average, there were 12,900 new and returning companies per month. Meanwhile, the number of enterprises suspending business for a definite period was 48,500, up 16 per cent over the same period last year. Up to 35,000 units shut down and were waiting for dissolution procedures, up 15.7 per cent; 13,600 companies completed dissolution procedures, up 0.8 per cent. To create momentum for businesses to overcome the crisis, the Government issued Decree No 92/2021/ND-CP last week detailing the implementation of Resolution No 406/NQ-UBTVQH15 of the National Assembly Standing Committee on a number of solutions to support businesses and people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Decree guides four groups of tax exemption and reduction solutions to support businesses and people to overcome difficulties caused by the impact of COVID-19. These include reducing corporate income tax this year for businesses and organisations with a revenue of no more than VND200 billion and a decrease in revenue compared to 2019. Tax will be exempt in the third and fourth quarters of the year for business households and individuals that have production and business activities in different locations affected by the COVID-19. Along with that, value-added tax rate for groups of goods and services in industries and late payment interest arising last year and this year for businesses and organisations that incur losses last year will also be reduced. Savills Vietnam: industrial property, ready-built factories remain top choice Industrial property and ready-built factories remain the top choice of investors due to high demand, said experts from Savills Vietnam. They said in the third quarter, the Vietnamese economy still suffered negative impacts of the fourth pandemic wave. Data from the General Statistics Office showed that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) only moved up 1.42 percent annually in three quarters due to prolonged social distancing nationwide, resulting in supply chain disruptions and suspension of factories. However, the Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that foreign direct investment in three quarters still rose by 4.4 percent to nearly 22.15 billion USD year-on-year. Merger and acquisition deals involving real estate development were also recorded. The northern provinces of Bac Giang and Hung Yen approved industrial parks covering 800ha and 193ha, respectively. According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the area of industrial land will increase by 115,000ha by 2030 compared to 2020. Several new public infrastructure projects are also underway. Managing Director of Savills Vietnam Neil MacGregor said infrastructure investment is important to open new markets, thus meeting demand for real estate investment among the growing middle-income class in Vietnam. He added that as economic recovery could take years, it is good time to buy quality products, especially in major cities and resort destinations./. Vietnam is Canada’s largest trade partner in ASEAN Focusing on the Asian region, particularly ASEAN member states, including Vietnam, is Canada’s strategy in seeking dynamic partners. The initiative was affirmed in Canada’s 44th parliament and during an online discussion on Asia policy held recently by Canada-ASEAN initiatives in cooperation with the Vietnam-Canada Friendship Association. Vietnam has long been Canada’s largest trade partner in Southeast Asia, while Canada is Vietnam’ second-largest trade partner in the Americas. Under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Canada has committed to eliminating duties on 95 percent of all tariff lines, which account for 78 percent of the total value of exports from Vietnam. After the agreement officially entered into force for Vietnam in 2019, bilateral trade grew nearly 30 percent against 2018 and then 12 percent in 2020 against 2019 despite the negative impact of Covid-19. The CPTPP is expected to become a driving force in boosting two-way trade and investment in the time to come. ASEAN, including Vietnam, is a priority for the Canadian Government in promoting stable and long-term relationships in the region. Canada also seeks cooperation in all endeavours, such as socio-economy, policy, and security, among others. Canada has committed to supporting trade, marine and aviation rights, and sovereign rights and the jurisdiction of countries bordering the East Sea, which are exercised in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS./. Over 5 million workers receive support from unemployment fund Assistance from the unemployment insurance fund has
been delivered to over 5 million workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,
the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) reported. The relief provision is to implement the Government and Prime Minister’s Resolutions on assistance for workers and employers hit by the pandemic. The VSS has also confirmed more than 1.94 million workers who will benefit from different support policies in the time ahead./. Farmers in Thai Binh city join hands to improve livelihoods With the encouragement of the Farmers’ Union of Thai Binh city in the northern province of Thai Binh, its members have set up and taken part in many cooperative groups to boost crop and animal production, which has proved highly effective. Raising different animals on 2 hectares of land, Bui Van Khang, a resident in Tong Tho Trung hamlet of Dong My commune, currently owns three chicken farms covering over 3,000 square metres while the remaining area is used for pisciculture and herb cultivation. Since joining the animal production cooperative group of Dong My commune, he has participated in training courses, accessed scientific and technical advances, learned from others’ experience, and got help to improve farming techniques. That has helped his family earn nearly 1 billion VND (43,600 USD) in revenue per year. Established in 2017, the animal production cooperative group of Dong My commune now has over 50 members. The group’s management board has kept coordination with local animal health workers to monitor the farming process and prevent diseases on livestock and poultry. The farmers’ union of Dong My commune has held quarterly meetings to share animal farming experience and help members boost sales. It has also assisted 192 members to get more than 6.7 billion VND in loans to fund animal husbandry, organised classes to transfer scientific - technical advances, provided vocational training, and introduced jobs to its members. Tran Thi Hien, Vice Chairwoman of the Farmers’ Union of Thai Binh city, said the union is managing six production cooperative groups with over 300 members, noting that the participation in such groups will enable farmers to assist one another, thus facilitating sales and loan access. In the time ahead, the union will further promote communications to encourage more farmers to take part in cooperative groups, she added./. Factory resumption eases supply chain constraints in SEA: WSJ Factories have reopened and production is steadily picking up in major manufacturing centres of Southeast Asia as COVID-19 cases have dropped in recent weeks, easing some of the supply chain constraints that companies blame for lost sales, reported the US’s Wall Street Journal (WSJ). In Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines, the number of daily cases was lower than by a half compared to early September when they battled with the serious outbreak of COVID-19 caused by Delta variant. The newspaper said Vietnam has considerably loosened restrictions since early October, making it easier for factories to reopen. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook held that despite improvements in October, the situation in the region remains unpredictable. Peter Mumford, Practice Head, Southeast and South Asia at Eurasia Group, said the shortage of workers could still suspend full recovery in the coming months./. Dong Nai: 97 percent of firms resume operations Up to 97 percent of enterprises in the southern province of Dong Nai have to date resumed operations, with 86 percent of labourers returning to work, according to the Dong Nai Industrial Parks Management Board. The province is home to 31 industrial parks (IPs), housing more than 1,700 businesses and 615,000 workers. Meanwhile, firms that have yet to restart operations include small- and medium-sized enterprises and those specialise in mechanics and machinery industry. Deputy head of the Dong Nai IPs Management Board Le Van Danh said that businesses in the province had to halt operations for months due to complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the enterprises have undergone fast recovery while many others have registered to resume operations and raise capacity in the past month. The Dong Nai IPs Management Board is keeping a close watch on the recovery of local businesses and exerting efforts in removing bottlenecks so as to help them stabilise their production and operations. The province is working to fully vaccinate workers to ensure safe operations of factories./. Binh Thuan has 12 safe accommodations for tourists so far Nine additional accommodation facilities in Phan Thiet city of Binh Thuan have met safety requirements for reopening for tourists, raising the number of such facilities in the south central coastal province to 12, according to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In addition to Centara Mirage Muine, Anantara Muine Resort and Pandanus Resort, which has resumed operations since October 24, other facilities such as The Cliff Resort & Residences, Victoria Hotel & Resort Phan Thiet, Muine Bay Resort, Poshanu Resort, Saigon Muine Resort, The Saiiling Bay Muine Resort, Sonata Resort & Spa, Aurora Resort and Hon Ba La Gi are expected to reopen in this November. Earlier, the department issued temporary guidance on measures to safely and flexibly adapt to and effectively control COVID-19 in the tourism sector. Accordingly, accommodation facilities and tourists must fully implement the Ministry of Health’s 5K message and other pandemic prevention and control regulations of the province. Meanwhile, all tourist will have to conduct COVID-19 tests on the first and seventh day of stay. Along with supervising the implementation of safety measures of the accommodations, the department has supported them in the work by coordinating with the provincial Centre for Disease Control to hold training courses for 90 staff of local accommodations and restaurants in Phan Thiet city. The Binh Thuan tourism sector has opened for tourists since October 24./. Wakayama pledges to facilitate Japanese investment in Vietnam Japan’s Wakayama prefecture has committed to creating favourable conditions for local enterprises to invest in Vietnam, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Osaka said on November 1. Wakayama Mayor Nisaka Yoshinobu told Vietnamese Consul General Nguyen Hong Ha during their recent meeting that the prefecture will create a favourable legal corridor for Japanese investors, while proposing the Consulate General support his prefecture in promoting tourism and tangerine exports to Vietnam. Ha, in turn, told the host that the Vietnamese Government has had new stances and measures to enhance pandemic prevention and control and economic recovery and development, and assist both domestic and foreign enterprises in recovering production and maintaining the supply chain. He also suggested Wakayama authorities pay attention to supporting local businesses to invest in Vietnam in the fields of animal husbandry, farming, seed production and processing of agro-forestry-fishery products, and to cooperation in organising seminars and exchange events to provide detailed information for Japanese businesses and promote linkages between the two sides’ businesses. Also within the framework of his working trip to Wakayama prefecture, Consul General Ha visited Aridagawa town, which has the highest yield and quality of tangerines in Japan. The Aridagawa authorities said the town is facing many difficulties because of the shortage of labour force, and expressed their desire to receive more Vietnamese interns./. PM Pham Minh Chinh hosts business, university leaders in UK Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted leaders of ten foreign corporations and leading British universities in Edinburg, Scotland, on October 31 (local time), as part of his visit to the UK for the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). During the meetings, Chinh held that despite impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam has been highly regarded by the international community for its efforts to fulfill the twin goals of keeping the virus at bay and boosting economic growth, and for remaining a safe and attractive FDI destination. Sharing concerns of foreign investors in Vietnam over the COVID-19 fallout, the PM said the Vietnamese Government and public agencies will continue to create favourable conditions for them to grow successful and sustainable business in the long term in the spirit of “harmonizing benefits and sharing risks.” Meeting Prof. Mohammed Abdel, representative of the UK’s University of Liverpool, the Vietnamese leader asked the professor and University of Liverpool to continue coordinating with Vietnam in training human resources and developing strategies, policies and mechanisms in response to climate change in the Mekong Delta particularly, environment protection, and emerging epidemics. Agreeing with Chinh’s proposals, Abdel said his university wants to bolster specific cooperation projects with Vietnam to produce practical results. Talking to President of Pacific Land Group Patrick McKillen, Chinh highly spoke of the group's projects in Vietnam, especially Hanoi Biotech Park, which would help the country in coping with impacts of climate change and emerging epidemics. McKillen, for his part, voiced his hope to be able to run long-term and stable business in Vietnam and revealed his intention to build a major hub for biotechnology studies in the country. Chinh also had meetings with business leaders from large energy companies, including Enterprize Energy, Siemens, and JAKS Malaysia, during which he welcomed these companies to expand operation in Vietnam and called for more private investment in developing and providing hi-tech solutions for energy projects in the country. All the guests expressed their delight at Vietnam’s socio-economic development and COVID-19 response, saying they hope the Government of Vietnam to maintain and reinforce investment attraction incentives and provide all possible favourable conditions for them./. Number of businesses resuming operations in October up 29.8 percent A total of 4,304 companies resumed their operations in October, up 29.8 percent against September, and down 14.7 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office. In the month, Vietnam saw 8,233 new enterprises established, with a total registered capital of 108.6 trillion VND (4.77 billion USD) and 58,800 labourers, up 111.2 percent in quantity, 73.9 percent in capital, and 17.9 percent in the number of employees compared to those of September. However, the figures were still down 32.5 percent in quantity, 34.4 percent in capital, and 18.8 percent in the number of labourers compared to those of the same period last year. In October, 3,492 firms suspended operations, up 55.9 percent month-on-month; 3,048 stopped operation pending completing dissolution procedures, up 21.5 percent; and 806 units completed dissolution procedures, up 33 percent. In the first ten months of 2021, 93,700 new companies were set up, with a combined capital of nearly 1.3 quadrillion VND and 707,700 employees, down 15.7 percent in the number of firms, 18.2 percent in capital and 16.8 percent in the number of labourers year-on-year. In the period, 35,300 firms resumed operations, down 6.3 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, 48,500 companies temporarily ceased operation for fixed period; 35,000 others stopped operation awaiting to complete dissolution procedures; and 13,600 firms dissolved, up 16 percent, 15.7 percent and 0.8 percent year-on-year, respectively. To help businesses overcome difficulties, the Government issued Decree No. 92/2021/ND-CP dated October 27 detailing the implementation of Resolution No. 406/NQ-UBTVQH15 of the National Assembly Standing Committee on solutions to support businesses and people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The decree outlines four groups of tax exemption and reduction measures, including reducing corporate income tax payable in 2021 for businesses , organisations with a revenue of no more than 200 billion VND and a decrease in revenue in 2021 compared to 2019; tax exemption (personal income tax, value-added tax and other taxes) in the third and fourth quarters of 2021 for business households and individuals that have production and business activities in district-level localities affected by the pandemic in 2021; reductions in value-added tax rates for groups of goods and services in various industries; and exempting late payment interest arising in the 2020 and 2021 for businesses and organisations that saw losses in 2020./. Vietjet signs reinsurance agreement with UK insurance brokers for its entire fleet Vietjet and world-leading insurance brokers Gallagher (UK) Limited and Willis Towers Watson Limited have signed a reinsurance certificate covering the airline’s entire fleet globally on the sidelines of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in the UK. The event was witnessed by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and high-ranking dignitaries of Vietnam and the United Kingdom; Vietjet Managing Director Dinh Viet Phuong; Gallagher Limited UK Senior Partner in aerospace Martin Trumper and Willis Towers Watson Limited Managing Director in aviation James Coventry. Vietjet’s reinsurance certificate for its fleet has been updated and renewed annually since the airline’s first took-off in late 2011. The newly signed deal is worth 20 million USD, covering Vietjet’s entire fleet of aircraft registered in Vietnam and abroad. With a comprehensive network in Vietnam and Asia Pacific, Vietjet looks to further expand its wings across continents thanks to its new and modern fleet in the coming time. Gallagher is a global leader in broking, risk management and consulting services. Established in 1927, it has a global network of 30,000 expert advisors in more than 150 countries. The supporting broker Willis Towers Watson Limited is a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company. With roots dating to 1828, it has 45,000 employees serving more than 140 countries and markets. Known as a new-age carrier, Vietjet has not only revolutionised the aviation industry in Vietnam but also been a pioneering airline across the region and around the world. With a focus on cost management ability, effective operations, and performance, the carrier offers flying opportunities with cost-saving and flexible fares as well as diversified services to meet customers’ demands. Vietjet is a fully-fledged member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate. As Vietnam’s largest private carrier, the airline was awarded the highest ranking for safety with 7 stars in 2018 and 2019 by the world’s only safety and product rating website airlineratings.com and listed as one of the world's 50 best airlines for healthy financing and operations by Airfinance Journal in 2018 and 2019. The airline has also been named as Best Low-Cost Carrier by renowned organizations such as Skytrax, CAPA, Airline Ratings, and many others./. Singapore tops FDI source in Vietnam over 10-month period Singaporean investors injected a total of US$6.77 billion into Vietnam during the opening 10 months of the year, thereby making it to top the list among a total of 97 countries and territories investing in the nation, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The Republic of Korea ranked second with a total registered investment capital of US$4.15 billion, followed by Japan with approximately US$3.4 billion. Foreign financiers invested a figure of US$23.74 billion in the nation throughout the reviewed period, an increase of 1.1% against the same period from last year. Most notably, 1,375 new projects capitalised at US$13 billion were licensed during the period, while 776 existing projects were also permitted to raise their capital by US$7.09 billion. Capital contribution and share purchases by foreign investors reached US$3.63 billion, while foreign investors disbursed US$15.15 billion during the reviewed period, a drop of 4.1% compared to last year’s corresponding period. Foreign investors also injected money into 18 industries, with the processing and manufacturing sector taking the lead with a total of US$12.74 billion, thereby accounting for 53.7% of the total registered investment capital. The processing and manufacturing sector attracted the majority of projects, accounting for 33.1% of the total number of FDI projects in the nation. Projects to be granted new investment certificates or allowed to increase capital include the US$3.1 billion Long An LNG Power Project, the US$2.15 billion LD Display Hai Phong, and the US$1.31 billion O Mon II Thermal Power Plant. According to the Foreign Investment Agency stated that with the COVID-19 pandemic being gradually brought under control, the Government has promulgated a range of policies aimed at removing hurdles for businesses, which are anticipated to restore their production and business activities moving into the remaining months of the year. Y42 raises $31ml to build the first scalable data platform Y42, the Berlin-based company building the first scalable data platform that anyone can run, has announced the closure of a US$31 million Series A funding round that takes its total investment to $34 million. The round was co-led by Atomico and New York-based global private equity and venture capital firm Insight Partners, with participation from La Famiglia and the Data Community Fund. Atomico Partner Irina Haivas will join Y42’s board as part of the investment. With a full data lifecycle approach, Y42 aims at the expensive modern data stack, where many companies find themselves paying heavy subscriptions to disparate services that do not communicate together. This includes separate tools for data orchestration, ingestion, and visualization, often maintained by a bevvy of outside consultants because they are too complex and resource-heavy to handle in-house. Many large firms stitch together five or more tools; for start-ups it means resorting to an ever-expanding bunch of spreadsheets. Globally, Y42 estimates that currently 12,000 companies annually try to adopt a modern data stack, most unsuccessfully. “Data is not a tech problem, it's a business problem. Y42’s platform can turn any company into a data business, and any person into a data analyst,” said Y42 CEO and founder Dang Hieu Hung. “While the core data flow challenges of the modern data stack - moving, manipulating and visualizing data - are being solved, we can already see the next wave of innovation will happen around metadata, with things like cataloguing, lineage, orchestration, quality checks, audits, and access control. As an end-to-end solution, we have a clear advantage for this next generation of products.” “Every business leader today knows they need to extract more value from their data, but the data talent to adopt and maintain a modern stack is scarce; demand for data engineers is growing 50 per cent annually. Y42 unlocks this bottleneck and makes data tools more accessible for everyone. In that, they are creating a new category.” said Atomico partner Irina Haivas. Y42 will use its Series A funding round to continue accelerating the development of its platform, building out its customer base and scaling its team. The Y42 solution is an all in one data ingestion, analysis, and sharing platform that’s easy to use, interoperable, and designed to scale in tandem with a company’s growth. It is aimed at business intelligence leaders and analysts that aspire to own the company’s data and inject rigour into its decision making. These are people who are dissatisfied with the high maintenance load, lack of interoperability, and barriers to scale offered by legacy players. Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/SGGP/Nhan Dan |
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