AGS（AGS JOINT STOCK COMPANY）

Although supply has recently surged, there is not likely to be a real estate bubble in Vietnam, said CBRE’s Operational Director Richard Leech at a press conference in Hanoi on September 29. According to Leech, speculation has been common in recent years but current purchases are being made largely by individuals for their own residential demand and, through support from newly secured legal frameworks, the real estate market is in stable conditions. Investors have thoroughly studied the market’s demand to determine market segments, leading to faster liquidity, he added. The macroeconomy has also stabilised in the last two years and actively contributed to the real estate market, helping it develop…

The Prime Minister has approved the construction of 25 bridges with the second transport sector loan for the national road network improvement project. The bridges’ total investment is about VND1.686 trillion ($75 million), funded by the Japan International Co-operation Agency ODA loans. The PM asked the transport ministry to complete the investment procedures and to submit projects for approval as per legal regulations, and to ensure that the total investment does not exceed the amount of JICA loans. The Nam Dinh People’s Committee has been requested to prepare a local budget for building the approach road from Tan Phong Bridge to National Road 21B, in accordance with the bridge construction process. The new bridges will be built…

As many as 68,000 new enterprises were established in the first nine months of this year with a total capital of 420 trillion VND (18.06 billion USD), a year-on-year rise of 28.5 percent and 31.4 percent, respectively, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). In September alone, 7,042 new firms were set up with 44.51 trillion VND (1.98 billion USD) in total investment. Rises in the number of companies were seen in all sectors compared to 2014. Together with an additional 608 trillion VND injected into existing enterprises, more than 1 quadrillion VND (44.5 billion USD) was invested in business and production from January-September, said the ministry. During…

The Vietnam Nittoku Limited Company of Japan inaugurated a paper material factory at the Thi Son industrial park in Kim Bang district, the northern province of Ha Nam on September 28. The factory covers nearly 40,000 square metres with a total investment of 17 million USD.  The factory, specialising in producing materials for napkin and toilet paper production, has a designed capacity of nearly 15,000 tonnes a year. Its products are mainly for export to Asian markets. Ha Nam has recently focused on policies creating favourable conditions for enterprises to attract foreign direct investment (FDI). The province is now in the list of the top 10 provinces attracting the most…

Credit in Hanoi has surged sharply, roughly doubling the average rate of the entire banking system. According to the municipal Statistics Office, total outstanding loans of the capital in the first nine months of the year is estimated to reach 1,195.9 trillion VND (53.15 billion USD), up 18.3 percent against December last year. Short-term loans were estimated to rise 16.8 percent while the increasing rate of medium- and long-term loans was 20.9 percent. Total capital mobilisation in the period rose 11 percent, reaching 1,321.8 trillion VND (58.74 billion USD). As the credit growth rate was much higher than that of capital mobilisation, commercial banks have to continuously increase deposit interest…

Besides the important role of the government in creating a favorable, transparent business environment, local enterprises should become more active and creative in preparing for more intensive global integration. During a recent conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on business competitiveness and free trade agreements, Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, Deputy Head of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said that most small- and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam had not considered wider global integration in their business strategies. Most foreign-invested companies in Vietnam, however, have developed strategies to prepare for the ASEAN Economic Community which takes effect by year-end. “The benefit of integration is finding out actual success or failure,…

Domestic beverage companies were urged to improve their distribution system to protect their domestic market shares amid anticipated rising competition pressure associated with intensive international integration. As a part of their efforts to implement the task of strengthening connections in the supply chain of Vietnamese products for sustainability, the Ministry of Industry and Trade on September 23 held a conference to connect producers and trading companies in the beverage industry in Hanoi. According to Le Thi Viet Nga, deputy director of the ministry’s Domestic Market Department, the domestic beverage industry was facing with the risk of narrowing production scales due to the rising competition from foreign rivals. Nga said the…

The construction of two sections of the trans-Asian railway, Sai Gon-Loc Ninh and Bien Hoa-Vung Tau, is estimated to cost 77.8 trillion VND (3.46 billion USD), reported the Nhan Dan newspaper. The Public-Private Partnership projects’ management board proposed to use official development assistance (ODA) sources for the two sections at a meeting between the Ministry of Transportation and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on September 17. 　An investor has paid attention to the Bien Hoa-Vung Tau section and the company is studying the project’s size and measures on connectivity to get higher effectiveness and faster payback. 　During the meeting, the plan for the Dau Giay-Lien Khuong expressway was under discussion.…

The Ministry of Finance would speed up the collection of tax arrears in September as a part of the efforts to fulfil the budget collection goal amid plunging oil prices. The ministry said that this month tax departments planned to collect more than 50 percent of the total tax arrears from 600 companies whose names had been publicised under Document 9901/BTC-TCT on July 20. Checks would be conducted to continue to make public the names of companies with tax arrears, but this must be implemented with accuracy, the ministry said. Publicising the names of firms was considered a solution to increase tax collection. In Hanoi alone, the latest updates from…

The Vietnamese economy is projected to continue recovery in the four remaining months of the year, bolstered by Government efforts to maintain macro-economic stability against fluctuations in the world markets. 　According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the yuan depreciation and the plunging oil prices would not have an impact on the country’s growth which was now on track to finish at 6.4 percent this year, 0.2 percentage point higher than the Government’s target. 　The plunging oil prices would even help boost growth if Vietnam knew how to grasp the opportunities, the ministry said, and added that the country had solutions against the low oil prices to ensure budget…

Ho Chi Minh City’s consumer price index (CPI) in September decreased slightly by 0.47 percent from August and 0.99 percent against the same month last year, the municipal Statistics Office announced on September 22. Among the 11 main goods and service categories, six reported price falls with the sharpest decrease seen in the transport sector (3.48 percent), attributed to a drop in petrol prices during the month. The others included housing, electricity, water, fuel and construction materials (0.83 percent); restaurant and catering services (0.25 percent); post and telecommunications (0.25 percent); culture and entertainment (0.07 percent); and garments, footwear and hats (0.01 percent). On the contrary, the prices of other commodities…

An established national trademark is needed for Vietnamese rice products to build their image and gain shares on the global market.  Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Viet Thanh made the statement during a workshop held in Hanoi on September 22, saying the trademark will reflect State policies devised based on comprehensive approaches to rice production and processing.  Currently, Vietnam boasts 4.1 million hectares of rice paddies, 53 percent of which are concentrated across the Mekong Delta. In 2014, the country exported 6.3 million tonnes of the 45 million tonnes of rice yields, becoming the world’s third largest rice exporter after India and Thailand.  However, according to the Department…

As Vietnamese agricultural export is facing challenges in Chinese market, businesses should focus on technological innovation, product quality improvement and price reductions in order to raise their competitive edge, said an official from the Vietnam Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).  Hoang Van Du, Deputy Director of the MARD Centre for Agricultural Trade Promotion, told a Vietnam News Agency correspondent on the fringes of the Vietnam-China trade conference in China’s Guangxi province that it is necessary for Vietnamese firms to pay more heed to studying the market and promoting trade.  He made the suggestion given agricultural exports to the neighbouring country are encountering a range of difficulties due to…

Analysts noted that the market’s heyday, when the growth rate was high at over 20 percent per annum, is over. Since 2013, the growth has slowed down to 5 percent. Manufacturers now compete fiercely with each other to obtain larger market shares. The ad pieces about instant noodle products rarely appear on TV and mass media these days. Some manufacturers advertised that their products are safer than others because their noodles are made of potato and green beans. Others say they do not use toxic colorings for their products. More recently, manufacturers rushed to market new products – noodles with eggs. Meanwhile, a new war of products with spicy and…

Foreigners buying or selling houses in Vietnam are required to carry out transactions through banks in the country and not in cash, the central bank has decreed. They can get mortgages if they meet banks’ requirements, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said further in a document it has issued to guide the buying and selling of houses by foreign individuals and organisations. The tenor of the loans cannot exceed the time they live and work in Vietnam , while for organisations and other legal entities, it will not exceed their licence period. Amendments to the Housing Law that took effect on July 1 permit foreigners and overseas Vietnamese to…

HANOI – South Korea’s Samsung is looking to foray into new areas in Vietnam such as energy and insurance after it has reaped success in the electronics industry. At a meeting with Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son on September 9, Samsung Vietnam general director Han Myoung-sup said after the success of Samsung Electronics, many other units of the group are seeking to invest in other sectors like energy and insurance. Han said the total workforce at the Samsung factories in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen has exceeded 110,000. The company has also invested in a research and development center (R&D) in Hanoi with…

Chairman of the central city of Da Nang’s People’s Committee Huynh Ngoc Tho held a dialogue with Japanese companies on September 9 to address any arising problems. At the dialogue, Japanese enterprises raised difficulties in investing in Da Nang, mainly in infrastructure, land, the environment, administrative procedures, enterprise assistance, worker policies and training human resources training. They also suggested building a competitive business environment in the city. Tho answered questions raised by Japanese investors and promised to create the most favourable conditions for them and resolve problems quickly. He said Da Nang defines Japan as one of its important partners, noting that the dialogue will help the city improve its…

HCMC – Newly established businesses in the agricultural sector can have a lot of growth opportunities as demand for food is rising as a result of growing populations at home and abroad, according to experts at a forum in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho last week.  Huynh Quang Vinh, deputy general director of An Giang Fruit-Vegetables & Foodstuff JSC, told a discussion at the Mekong Connect CEO Forum that the Mekong Delta is in dire need of solutions and equipment to preserve post-harvest farm produce. Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israeli Ambassador to Vietnam, said in a video clip shown at the discussion that domestic business startups are mainly in…