Showing posts with label investors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label investors. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Brokers see slight rebound this week

HCMC – Although the local market suffered a losing week due to low liquidity last week, securities companies predicted the VN-Index would bounce back slightly as company earnings reports are out this week.

With three rising and two falling sessions, the VN-Index lost 0.87 point, or 0.19%, from the previous week to 458.39. Liquidity plunged deeply as the daily trading volume averaged at 25.2 million shares worth VND664 billion, down 33.6% and 31.8% from a week earlier respectively.

APEC Securities Co. said listed enterprises are expected to report good earnings results this week and this will help improve investor sentiment after a couple of weeks of dull trading. This is seen as an opportunity for long-term investors to buy stocks with positive financial outlooks as share prices have fallen to attractive levels.

“The market, however, will not recover strongly this week as most investors are still cautious. The VN-Index may move within the range of 445 and 465 points given flat trading in the coming time before entering into a sustainable rally,” APEC said.

Fiachra Mac Cana, managing director of HCMC Securities Corp., said last week the market saw a couple of trends being confirmed such as the appetite of foreign investors for a number of large cap stocks and the inactivity of the domestic investment community that seemed to be paralyzed by the overhang of a number of factors. The gold price rally certainly drew some attention away from equity markets, while the renewed weakening of the dong against the U.S. dollar on the unofficial market forced people to rush to the greenback as a safe haven.

“All these factors seem to have created an environment that resembles a bear market, but if we look over a longer period we have to conclude that we are just still in the correction phase that started in October last year,” Mac Cana said.

“The short-term strategy of the domestic investment community makes it look like we are in a correction on the way down, while from a non-emotional perspective it seems more likely that we are in a correction or consolidation on the way up.

“The difficulty here is, of course, the timing of the end of the consolidation. It could easily take a number of months for the market to digest supply issues, higher average monthly inflation and the upcoming political event early next year.”

Vietnam International Securities Co. (VIS) said investors were pessimistic due to lack of positive changes of the international and domestic economy last week. Foreign participation turned lukewarm as the investors were net buyers to the tune of 4.7 million shares worth VND282 billion, falling 3.8 times and 2.5 times from the previous week respectively.

“Liquidity will be the biggest challenge for the market this week. However, business results of listed firms will help support the market rebound as positive reports will draw the attention of investors,” VIS said.

Meanwhile, the Hanoi market shed two points, or 1.64%, from the previous week, to close at 119.69. The market’s daily trading volume averaged at 18.8 million shares worth VND421 billion, both down around 18% from a week earlier. The market is predicted to recover slightly this week.

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Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Investors face tougher financial capacity tests

HA NOI — A new regulation being drafted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment would impose stricter financial capacity requirements on foreign investors.

Disbursement of foreign investment has lagged far behind the commitments made by foreign investors, suggesting that investors without sufficient financial capacity have still been receiving licences from investment authorities, says the director of the ministry's legal department, Pham Manh Dung.

In many cases, Dung added, foreign investors had registered projects without an intention to bring foreign capital into Viet Nam to implement the projects. Instead, they had sought financing in Viet Nam after obtaining an investment licence.

To deal with these issues, the ministry has drafted a decree that would require investment agencies to verify investors' financial capacity, requiring investors to provide confirmation from internationally reliable banks and credit institutions or other investor guarantees on the source of funding for a project.

The decree would also allow for the withdrawal of investment licences after an assessment of financial capacity of an investor, Dung said.

Thousands of foreign-invested projects had been licensed and allocated land, only to remain idle for years, he noted. Some projects in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, for instance, had not broken ground a full decade after being licensed.

Without regulations providing for the withdrawal of licences, some provinces have required foreign investors to post a security deposit equal to 5 per cent of the project's total budget in order to keep the land.

The draft decree would authorise municipal and provincial planning and investment departments to set up boards empowered to suspend foreign-invested projects that have not been put into operation as scheduled without a valid explanation for the delay.

Under the draft decree, projects with investment capital in excess of VND300 billion (US$15.4 million) would also have to be examined for compliance with development master plans for industries and localities.

Projects that had a small scale of investment but required large areas of land could also be turned down on the basis of waste, Dung said, with the regulation aiming to make the most efficient uses of available land.

The draft decree would guide the implementation of the 2005 Law on Investment and, if approved, would replace Decree No 108/2006/ND-CP issued in 2006, Dung added. — VNS

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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Foreign investors boost City shares

Shares made only modest gains on the HCM Stock Exchange Oct. 7, on
sluggish trading totalling just 36.5 million shares, worth only 977
billion VND (50 million USD).


The VN-Index closed up just 0.29 percent to 462.05 points after reaching as high as 467 points earlier in the session.


Heavy purchases by foreign investors in many blue chips helped lift
some shares, such as software giant FPT, developers Hoang Anh Gia Lai
(HAG), Masan Group (MSN) and Vincom (VIC), insurer Bao Viet Holdings
(BVH) and Phu My Fertilisers (DPM), but decliners outnumbered advancers
overall by 163-58.


Foreign investors accounted for over
half of overall market value on Oct. 7, responsible for transactions
totalling nearly 11.5 million shares and worth about 473.5 billion VND
(24.3 million USD). They were net buyers by a volume of nearly 6.7
million shares and a value of 301.2 billion VND (15.4 million USD).


Beta Securities Co analysts commented that Oct. 7's market gains were
entirely due to heavy foreign buys in blue chips and were not
sustainable.


Strong fluctuations on the foreign currency
market drove several institutional investors to increase securities
investments to disperse risk, added analysts from Saigon Securities Inc.


On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, which saw less impact from
foreign investors, the HNX-Index declined 1.78 percent on the day to
close at 122.62.


The volume of trades dropped by 20
percent from Oct. 6's session to about 23 million shares, with a value
of nearly 539 billion VND (27.6 million USD).


Losers
outnumbered gainers by 208-76, with PetroVietnam Construction (PVX)
again being the most-active share on a volume of 2.7 million. PVX closed
down 0.44 percent to 22,700 VND (1.15 USD).


Of the 10
leading shares by capitalisation on the northern bourse, Bao Viet
Securities (BVS), Tien Phong Plastics (NTP), PetroVietnam Insurance
(PVI) and PetroVietnam Technical Services (PVS) rallied.


Dramatic hikes in gold prices and the rising value of the US dollar on
the black market has spooked many domestic investors over the stability
of the economy, said Bao Viet Securities Co analyst Nguyen Duc Thi.


"There is no positive news currently supporting investor psychology,
and the market has not given any signs of a stable uptrend," Thi said./.

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Friday, January 7, 2011

Market to stay flat again this week, brokers

Local stock investors follow prices on the electronic quotation board of a securities firm in HCMC. Securities companies have forecast the market will remain flat with the key index moving between 443 and 460 points this week - Photo: Le Toan
HCMC – Since investors are still worried about huge share supplies in the future while cash flow remains weak, many securities enterprises forecast the market to remain flat with the VN-Index oscillating within 443 and 460 points this week.

The market closed the first week of October with a modest change of the stock index but a strong decline in trading volume. On the southern bourse, the VN-Index gained a slight two points, or 0.44%, against the previous week to close at 451.71.

Liquidity, meanwhile, tumbled as there was an average 37.1 million shares worth VND1 trillion traded daily, dropping by 20.4% and 21.3% against the previous week respectively. With three rising and two falling sessions, the market saw 64 stocks advancing, 174 stocks closing down while 25 others moved sideways at the end of the week.

Last week brought positive information of the macro economy, including strong growth rates of total retail and service revenue and gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter and the first nine months of this year. However, local investors were very cautious and decided to stand back to gauge the huge supplies in the last quarter of 2010, according to Vietnam International Securities Co. (VIS).

Foreigners, after a strong purchase on Thursday to beautify the third quarter financial reports, suddenly decreased trading the next day. The investors were still net buyers for around 7.1 million shares worth VND314 billion during the week.

“Foreigners are net buyers for a tune of over VND9.5 trillion this year, suggesting that they have bought a large number of stocks given narrow trading on the local market. They are expecting at a long-term index rally when both domestic and international economies actually recover,” VIS said.

Fiachra Mac Cana, managing director of HCMC Securities Corp., said the third quarter earnings season is of course about to begin and with strong credit growth seen this quarter, investors expect on the whole results will be positive. “We note that credit growth is a good leading indicator of corporate activity and even profitability and we suspect most earnings surprises will be positive,” he said.

“However, it must be said that equity markets are slipping into inactivity once again characterized by tight trading ranges and low volumes. It was not surprising really with gold markets popping and attracting retail interest while the bond market sprang into life last week and drew attention from banks. We had thought we might see a short term bounce this week but clearly it has not happened. The short-term risk is slightly to the downside. We keep our view that medium to long term investors can continue to pick up stock at these levels,” Mac Cana added.

The Hanoi market also witnessed three rising and two falling sessions last week, with the HNX-Index losing 3.82 points, or 2.95%, against the previous week to close at 125.81. The market’s liquidity was sharply low with the average daily volume of 28.4 million shares worth VND660 billion, falling by 22% and 26% from the week earlier respectively. VIS said the market would see seesaw trading this week.

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Saturday, January 1, 2011

Property investors dominate rich-list

Property investors dominate rich-listMost of the ten richest people on the Vietnamese stock market are real estate moguls.

Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai, reclaimed his top position on the list after falling to number two last year. As of Monday, his stockholdings were valued at more than VND10.5 trillion (US$541 million), according to data compiled by Thanh Nien.

Duc was followed by Pham Nhat Vuong, board member of both Vinpearl JSC and Vincom JSC, and Dang Thanh Tam, chairman of Kinh Bac Urban Development.

Three new investors who made their debut in this year’s top ten are also leaders of large real estate firms: chairman of Ocean Group Ha Van Tham, chairman of Phat Dat Real Estate Development Nguyen Van Dat, and chairwoman of Quoc Cuong Gia Lai JSC Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan.

Dat told Thanh Nien that he was happy to make the top ten. This meant his efforts so far have paid off and he is now recognized by shareholders and investors, he said. The goal for his company was to continue to expand its business and generate more profit, Dat added.

Analysts said the domination of property stock investors in the top ten meant that the sector still remains attractive. Meanwhile, some bank and technology stockholders lost their places in the list due to stock transfers and sharp declines in these stocks.

Together, the ten richest investors by stockholdings owned more than VND45 trillion ($2.3 billion) worth of stock, up 10 percent from last year. This is equivalent to 6.5 percent of the total capitalization of Vietnam’s stock market.

Two people in the top ten, Duc and chairman of Hoa Phat Group Tran Dinh Long (ranked fourth on the list), are the first private aircraft owners in Vietnam.

Economist Le Dang Doanh said it was normal to rank people based on their wealth in other countries, but it is a new trend in Vietnam, and hence some people were still uneasy about the practice.

“But I think it’s necessary to promote transparency,” he said. “Rich people should be acknowledged by society.”

Doanh said information disclosure will also improve the reputation of a company and give investors more confidence.

Vietnam has around 600 listed companies on two stock exchanges in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The exchanges’ total capitalization is equal to 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Economic growth accelerated in the third quarter, expanding 7.16 percent compared to 6.4 percent in the second quarter, according to figures released on Tuesday by the General Statistics Office.

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Property investors dominate rich-list

Property investors dominate rich-listMost of the ten richest people on the Vietnamese stock market are real estate moguls.

Doan Nguyen Duc, chairman of Hoang Anh Gia Lai, reclaimed his top position on the list after falling to number two last year. As of Monday, his stockholdings were valued at more than VND10.5 trillion (US$541 million), according to data compiled by Thanh Nien.

Duc was followed by Pham Nhat Vuong, board member of both Vinpearl JSC and Vincom JSC, and Dang Thanh Tam, chairman of Kinh Bac Urban Development.

Three new investors who made their debut in this year’s top ten are also leaders of large real estate firms: chairman of Ocean Group Ha Van Tham, chairman of Phat Dat Real Estate Development Nguyen Van Dat, and chairwoman of Quoc Cuong Gia Lai JSC Nguyen Thi Nhu Loan.

Dat told Thanh Nien that he was happy to make the top ten. This meant his efforts so far have paid off and he is now recognized by shareholders and investors, he said. The goal for his company was to continue to expand its business and generate more profit, Dat added.

Analysts said the domination of property stock investors in the top ten meant that the sector still remains attractive. Meanwhile, some bank and technology stockholders lost their places in the list due to stock transfers and sharp declines in these stocks.

Together, the ten richest investors by stockholdings owned more than VND45 trillion ($2.3 billion) worth of stock, up 10 percent from last year. This is equivalent to 6.5 percent of the total capitalization of Vietnam’s stock market.

Two people in the top ten, Duc and chairman of Hoa Phat Group Tran Dinh Long (ranked fourth on the list), are the first private aircraft owners in Vietnam.

Economist Le Dang Doanh said it was normal to rank people based on their wealth in other countries, but it is a new trend in Vietnam, and hence some people were still uneasy about the practice.

“But I think it’s necessary to promote transparency,” he said. “Rich people should be acknowledged by society.”

Doanh said information disclosure will also improve the reputation of a company and give investors more confidence.

Vietnam has around 600 listed companies on two stock exchanges in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The exchanges’ total capitalization is equal to 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Economic growth accelerated in the third quarter, expanding 7.16 percent compared to 6.4 percent in the second quarter, according to figures released on Tuesday by the General Statistics Office.

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Experience shared to make IPOs less exclusive

Issuing shares in Vietnam differed from procedures in other countries as Vietnamese companies offered shares exclusively to existing shareholders rather than seeking new ones, said State Securities Commission at a conference in Hanoi on Thursday.

The SSC drew attention to this distinction at the at the "Steps preparing for a successful IPO of enterprises" conference jointly held by itself, the business and financial news Bloomberg and Singapore's Mileage Communications Group.

When collecting opinions of existing shareholders, almost all investors volunteered to buy additional shares, which led to successes for the majority of share issuers, said Bui Hoang Hai, deputy director of the SSC.

"This can be considered a method to force existing shareholders to buy additional shares," he added.

In other nations, shares are usually auctioned off to new shareholders, the public or strategic investors. To ensure success, issuers must then be transparent with all financial information and reports to demonstrate their potential and improve their image in the eyes of investors, Hai said.

Vietnamese enterprises actually did not pay much attention to how best to attract investors so as to make IPO successfully, he said.

To prepare for IPO, most companies only submit a prospectus and documents to meet the minimum requirements. "To make a successful IPO, companies need to map out long-term strategies," Hai said.

Nguyen Ngoc Canh, director of SSC's international co-operation department, said in the context of the slowed local stock market, firms were faced with many difficulties for their IPO despite profitable company performance.

Canh emphasized the crucial role professional consultants and securities firms play in helping issuers create transparent and comprehensive documents and financial reports as well as advising better management and business strategies.

"Issuers could publicize information in a timely manner and investors could understand more about their businesses, as a result they could auction shares or make IPO effectively," Canh said.

Yah Boh Tiong, chairman of Mileage Communications Group, advised firms to facilitate strong communication with shareholders, raise investor awareness of company profiles and business performance.

Strategies to improve companies' images should be undertaken carefully throughout three phases, including before IPO, leading up to IPO and post-IPO, Tiong said.

Chairman of the Singapore Securities Investors Association David Gerald said that it was essential to create knowledgeable investors through education and information, promote corporate transparency and corporate governance and safeguard investors' rights.

"Good corporate governance practices translate into good corporate performance," he said.

According to the SSC, the aggregate value of all shares issued to the public, employees, strategic partners and those auctioned at stock exchanges by companies in the first half of this year reached about VND74.96 trillion (US$3.84 billion).

The conference drew about 100 businessmen, security companies, as well as local and international experts.

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Sunday, December 5, 2010

Experience shared to make IPOs less exclusive

Issuing shares in Vietnam differed from procedures in other countries
as Vietnamese companies offered shares exclusively to existing
shareholders rather than seeking new ones, said deputy director of the
State Securities Commission Bui Hoang Hai at the "Steps preparing for a
successful IPO of enterprises" conference in Hanoi on Sept. 23.


The SSC drew attention to this distinction at the conference jointly
held by itself, the business and financial news Bloomberg and
Singapore 's Mileage Communications Group.


When
collecting opinions of existing shareholders, almost all investors
volunteered to buy additional shares, which led to successes for the
majority of share issuers, Hai said. "This can be considered a method to
force existing shareholders to buy additional shares," he added.


In other nations, shares are usually auctioned off to new
shareholders, the public or strategic investors. To ensure success,
issuers must then be transparent with all financial information and
reports to demonstrate their potential and improve their image in the
eyes of investors, Hai said.


Vietnamese enterprises
actually did not pay much attention to how best to attract investors so
as to make IPO successfully, he said.


To prepare for
IPO, most companies only submit a prospectus and documents to meet the
minimum requirements. "To make a successful IPO, companies need to map
out long-term strategies," Hai said.


Nguyen Ngoc
Canh, director of SSC's international co-operation department, said in
the context of the slowed local stock market, firms were faced with many
difficulties for their IPO despite profitable company performance.


Canh emphasised the crucial role professional consultants and
securities firms play in helping issuers create transparent and
comprehensive documents and financial reports as well as advising better
management and business strategies.


"Issuers could
publicise information in a timely manner and investors could understand
more about their businesses, as a result they could auction shares or
make IPO effectively," Canh said.


Yah Boh Tiong,
chairman of Mileage Communications Group, advised firms to faciliate
strong communication with shareholders, raise investor awareness of
company profiles and business performance.


Strategies to improve companies' images should be undertaken carefully
throughout three phases, including before IPO, leading up to IPO and
post-IPO, Tiong said.


Chairman of the Singapore
Securities Investors Association David Gerald said that it was essential
to create knowledgeable investors through education and information,
promote corporate transparency and corporate governance and safeguard
investors' rights.


"Good corporate governance practices translate into good corporate performance," he said.


According to the SSC, the aggregate value of all shares issued to the
public, employees, strategic partners and those auctioned at stock
exchanges by companies in the first half of this year reached about
74.96 trillion VND (3.84 billion USD).


The conference drew about 100 businessmen, security companies, as well as local and international experts./.

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Friday, November 26, 2010

New rules on foreign investment in companies

Lawyers of Bizconsult Law Firm

A year after Decree No 88/ 2009/QD-TTg was issued to govern capital contributions and share purchases by foreign investors in Vietnamese enterprises, the Ministry of Finance has finally issued its guiding regulations.

Circular No 131/2010/TT – BTC of September 6, 2010, repeats the list of foreign investors stipulated in Decree 88, which includes: (i) institutions incorporated and operating under foreign law and their branches in or outside of Viet Nam; (ii) enterprises in which a foreign entity holds of over 49 per cent of charter capital; (iii) investment funds with foreign capital of more than 49 per cent; and (iv) individuals who are not Vietnamese by citizenship.

The circular permits these foreign investors to invest or purchase shares or interests in all types of Vietnamese enterprises, including limited liability companies, unlisted joint stock companies, State-owned enterprises, and private enterprises. To do so, foreign investors must maintain bank accounts at licensed commercial banks in Viet Nam, and individual investors must pass a criminal background check.

Any change in the corporate form of the target which results from a capital contribution or share purchase must be registered in accordance with provisions in the Law on Enterprises and Government and Decree No 139/2007/ND-CP of September 2007.

Circular No 131, which takes effect on October 15, also includes specific guidelines for conducting capital contribution and share purchases. Under the circular, foreign investors may conduct transactions themselves or through qualified agents.

Residential real estate transactions regulated

The Ministry of Construction issued Circular No 16/2010/TT-BXD on September 1, providing detailed guidelines for the implementation of Government Decree No 71/2010/ND-CP of June 23, 2010, regarding residential real estate transactions.

Under Article 8 of Circular 16, developers can raise capital from banks, credit institutions, investment funds, corporate bonds, secondary investors and other organisations or individuals. However, each individual or household within a city or province may contribute capital in-kind only once to only a single residence.

Under Article 20 of the circular, enterprises licensed to conduct real estate transactions must meet conditions on business registration, legal capital, and publication of transactions on real estate exchanges, before entering into any transactions.

But the regulation gives individuals and organisations not licensed to conduct real estate transactions more favorable conditions. These investors are not required to meet business registration and legal capital conditions, and their transactions can be certified by the developer of a particular real estate project without any costs and fees.

The circular, which includes related model contracts, takes effect in 45 days from its promulgation.

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Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Tougher approvals urged on foreign projects

HA NOI — Experts have called on authorities to provide strong, clear conditions, not merely open offers for foreign investors, before granting FDI licences.

The new concept in luring foreign direct investment (FDI) was prompted by the fact that a number of major FDI projects have had their licences revoked or have been liquidated and shifted to other investors due to slow deployment or inefficient operations.

Prof & Dr Nguyen Mai, the country's leading expert in FDI, said the FDI strategy should focus on quality and efficiency, sustainable development, minimal carbon emissions and commitments to transfer advanced technology and skilled personnel.

He said that if advanced technology was applied to steel production, the industry may save up to 40 per cent of energy and cut by half the emission of carbon to the environment.

These figures are very significant at a point when Viet Nam is popular with the major world producers in steel production, which is always a leading energy guzzler, Mai pointed out.

Dr Nguyen Minh Phong from the Ha Noi Institute of Social Economy warned of risks if authorities care only about economic interests.

Management agencies and local administrations should take into account national security during the FDI project licensing procedures, especially in regard to those projects using vast areas of land and afforestation and mining located in strategic positions, Phong said.

For all these reasons, experts called on responsible agencies to make public both conditions and offers or take initiative in gaining information about foreign investors before granting licences.

These steps are necessary to avoid "bad" or "virtual" projects, and to being able to apply incentives to those projects that are proven to be positive and sustainable, they argued.

The Foreign Investment Agency estimated that Viet Nam is expected to attract some US$21 billion in FDI and disburse between $14 and 15 billion in 2010. — VNS

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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Experts call for new FDI strategy

audit

Experts have called on authorities to provide strong, clear conditions, not merely open offers for foreign investors, before granting FDI licenses.

The new concept in luring foreign direct investment (FDI) was prompted by the fact that a number of major FDI projects have had their licences revoked or have been liquidated and shifted to other investors due to slow deployment or inefficient operations.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Mai, the country’s leading expert in FDI, said the FDI strategy should focus on quality and efficiency, sustainable development, minimal carbon emissions and commitments to transfer advanced technology and skilled personnel.

He said that if advanced technology was applied to steel production, the industry may save up to 40 percent of energy and cut by half the emission of carbon to the environment.

These figures are very significant at a point when Vietnam is popular with the major world producers in steel production, which is always a leading energy guzzler, Mai pointed out.

Dr. Nguyen Minh Phong from the Hanoi Institute of Social Economy warned of risks if authorities care only about economic interests.

Management agencies and local administrations should take into account national security during the FDI project licensing procedures, especially in regard to those projects using vast areas of land, afforestation and mining located in strategic positions, Phong said.

For all these reasons, experts called on responsible agencies to make public both conditions and offers or take initiative in gaining information about foreign investors before granting licences.

These steps are necessary to avoid “bad” or “virtual” projects, and being able to apply incentives to those projects that are proven to be positive and sustainable, they argued.

The Foreign Investment Department estimated that Vietnam is expected to attract some US$21 billion in FDI and disburse between $14 and 15 billion in 2010.

 

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Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Experts call for new FDI strategy

Experts have called on authorities to provide strong, clear conditions,
not merely open offers for foreign investors, before granting FDI
licences.


The new concept in luring foreign direct investment (FDI) was prompted by
the fact that a number of major FDI projects have had their licences
revoked or have been liquidated and shifted to other investors due to
slow deployment or inefficient operations.


Prof. Dr.
Nguyen Mai, the country’s leading expert in FDI, said the FDI strategy
should focus on quality and efficiency, sustainable development, minimal
carbon emissions and commitments to transfer advanced technology and
skilled personnel.


He said that if advanced technology
was applied to steel production, the industry may save up to 40 percent
of energy and cut by half the emission of carbon to the environment.


These figures are very significant at a point when Vietnam is popular
with the major world producers in steel production, which is always a
leading energy guzzler, Mai pointed out.


Dr. Nguyen
Minh Phong from the Hanoi Institute of Social Economy warned of risks if
authorities care only about economic interests.


Management agencies and local administrations should take into account
national security during the FDI project licensing procedures,
especially in regard to those projects using vast areas of land,
afforestation and mining located in strategic positions, Phong said.


For all these reasons, experts called on responsible agencies to make
public both conditions and offers or take initiative in gaining
information about foreign investors before granting licences.


These steps are necessary to avoid “bad” or “virtual” projects, and
being able to apply incentives to those projects that are proven to be
positive and sustainable, they argued.


The Foreign
Investment Department estimated that Vietnam is expected to attract some
21 billion USD in FDI and disburse between 14 and 15 billion USD in
2010./.

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Friday, October 29, 2010

Seize post-crisis opportunities to attract FDI: experts

HCMC – Several experts at a seminar in HCMC on Thursday called participants’ attention to the opportunities in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, saying Vietnam is having good advantages to attract foreign direct investment in tough times.

As the global economy has now entered the initial stage of recovery, there has appeared a good chance to draw FDI, especially from the U.S. and Japan, they said at the “Vietnam Economy: Opportunities and Challenges after the Global Financial Crisis” seminar.

“The recovery is just in the initial step,” Pham Do Chi, an economic expert, told the seminar organized by Dau Tu newspaper and the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises.

The world economy is still in difficulty, but “this is also an opportunity for Vietnam to grasp,” he said.

Nguyen Cong Ai, deputy general director of KPMG in Vietnam, agreed on the existing global difficulty, and shared Chi’s view that the difficult time would also present a good opportunity for Vietnam to attract foreign investors, especially from the U.S.

As a consulting firm catering to investors, Ai noted how foreign investors were still showing interest in Vietnam.

“Some U.S. enterprises realized difficulties in their own economy, so they have landed in other countries like China, India and Vietnam for investment or outsourcing to reduce their business costs,” he said.

In this scenario, Vietnam has its own advantages, Ai said.

“In China, the investment costs are increasing strongly lately, so it is not a good choice for investors,” he said. Meanwhile, Vietnam is as a good destination owing to political stability and fast-growing economy, he commented.

He said some American investors of late have come to KPMG for consultancy about Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Tri Dung, who has assisted many Japanese enterprises to invest in Vietnam in recent years, said some big Japanese enterprises were also showing keen interest in Vietnam’s fast economic growth.

“When given good conditions, many more Japanese investors will come to Vietnam, especially big corporations,” he said.

Nguyen Mai, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, suggested fine-tuning on the part of Vietnam to attract good FDI only.

He remarked the FDI flow into the country continued increasing, but “Vietnam needs to have better control and should reject projects with outdated technology and using unskilled labor.” He warned against those projects finding their way into Vietnam after being rejected by China.

Mai also urged the country to speed up infrastructure construction, accelerate administrative reform and develop the human resource to attract multinational corporations.

To attract hi-tech projects, he said, the country needs high-quality labor force and an adequate system of socio-technical infrastructure to meet foreign investors’ requirements.

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Friday, October 8, 2010

Japanese want clear, fair retail rules

Japanese want clear, fair retail rulesJapanese investors eager to break into the Vietnamese market have called for a reform of the country’s procedures for licensing foreign retail outlets.

Any firm wishing to open more than two retail outlets in Vietnam must apply for a license and meet a WTO criterion known as the Economic Needs Test (ENT). The ENT is a criterion that each member state may establish to prevent market overkill in the retail sectors.

But it is not clear which agency administers the test and what calculations it uses to grant permission.

Last week, members of the Japanese Business Association of Ho Chi Minh City asked local officials to issue the ENT guidelines so they would know what conditions they had to meet to develop their businesses here.

Representatives from the Japanese firms said they were interested in the Vietnamese retail market, which was fully opened to foreign investors early last year, but they were hesitant to implement their projects because they were not sure what they needed to do to pass the ENT test.

The Japanese businesses also claimed that some foreign retailers, like Korean Lotte Mart, Malaysian Parkson and German Metro Cash & Carry were allowed to open more than two outlets in the country without passing the ENT test.

Local governments licensed the outlets with support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, they noted.

Hirota Nakanishi, senior investment advisor at the Japan External Trade Organization’s office in HCMC, said that retail outlets and convenience stores would thrive in Vietnam, if prerequisite regulations were clear to foreign investors.

Nakanishi added that the government should not only issue the ENT guidelines soon, it should also simplify licensing procedures.

These procedures have been complicated by local governments who have begun granting licenses without following any uniform guidelines, he said.

Lu Thanh Phong, deputy director of HCMC’s Planning and Investment Department, responded to Nakanishi’s claims by saying that some foreign retailers like Lotte Mart were licensed before Vietnam joined the WTO in 2007.

About 216 licenses have been granted to foreign investors to import, export and trade in the country since then, he added.

Other concerns

Shimasaki Ryuhei, deputy chairman of the association, said Japanese investors are also concerned about issues like traffic and taxi services in Vietnam that could dampen investor interest.

Upon arriving at the international airport in HCMC he said, most prospective investors run immediately into rude and fraudulent taxi drivers who demand unreasonably high fares and refuse to serve them at night.

Ryuhei said Japanese investors are also worried about illegal strikes that might affect their investments in the country. He asked what measures the local government was taking to rectify the situation.

Le Thanh Tam, director of HCMC’s Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Department, said no court had yet issued a ruling on the legality of strikes in Vietnam.

He said the country has seen more strikes occur in foreign firms than their local counterparts.

Moreover, Tam said the number of strikes shrank from 200 in 2008 to 70 last year in HCMC.

None of these involved Japanese businesses, he added.

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

FDI funds to get serious boost

Bien Hoa Industrial Zone in the southern province of Dong Nai has lured many FDI projects. The MPI has urged cities and provinces in the south to further accelerate disbursement of funds for FDI projects. — VNA/VNS Photo Van Khanh

Bien Hoa Industrial Zone in the southern province of Dong Nai has lured many FDI projects. The MPI has urged cities and provinces in the south to further accelerate disbursement of funds for FDI projects. — VNA/VNS Photo Van Khanh

HCM CITY — The Ministry of Planning and Investment is working with provinces and cities nationwide to accelerate disbursement of funds for foreign – invested projects as many of them have fallen behind schedule.

Many localities in recent years have granted investment permits for many large-scale projects that have registered capital of more than US$1 billion each, according to Nguyen Thi Bich Van, deputy head of the MPI's Foreign Investment Agency.

The disbursement rate at many of these projects has been very low, with some not disbursing capital at all.

Localities are currently reviewing some projects to identify problems and solutions faced by investors and to find solutions.

Withdrawal of project licences will occur if investors fail to prove their competence to carry out projects.

"It's time for us to review the practicality of these projects," she said, noting that investment promotion not only sought new projects but also assisted investors to carry out projects on schedule.

Van said difficulties in land clearance and poor infrastructure had been the primary reasons for the sluggish progress.

In addition, infrastructure systems were weak and incomplete, which had increased production costs for enterprises and affected investor commitment.

Because of the global economic downturn last year, many investors faced financial difficulties and could not carry out their projects as planned.

Some investors, however, failed to begin work because of poor technical competence, and decided to transfer their project to other investors, she said, adding that other investors, particularly local ones, would lose opportunities if this continued. — VNS

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Thursday, September 16, 2010

Vietnam needs to target quality FDI

SINCOM; M&A

Vietnam needs to adjust its policies on foreign direct investment (FDI) and target quality investors as the competition to attract investment becomes fiercer at both regional and international levels.

The Chairman of the Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, Dr. Nguyen Mai, stated this after witnessing the slow progress of a number of FDI projects, with capital of several billion US dollars. A number of projects have already almost had their investment certificates withdrawn.

In an interview granted to the Lao Dong (Labour) daily issued on August 25, Do Nhat Hoang, Head of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), said that the agency has conducted an inspection of 24 projects captalised with more than US$1 billion across the country to select eligible investors.

Accordingly, the FIA will withdraw the licenses of virtual projects and not grant certificates to investors with only a limited capacity, said Hoang. However it will still consider supporting projects which are only now slowly making progress, due to the impact of the global economic crisis, or projects that have faced unexpected difficulties.

This year, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) plans to select and guide FDI projects into pivotal areas such as supporting industries, infrastructure development, the manufacture of high export value products and human resources projects in line with restructuring the economy.

However, said Hoang, to reach the target, more effort and responsibility are needed from the MPI as well as local agencies to attract more investment.

Therefore, localities need to improve their ability to appraise projects and the capacity of investors, while holding legal responsibility, instead of taking a back seat and performing only supervisory tasks.

According to the MPI, Vietnam will attract about $21 billion in FDI this year and disburse $14-15 billion during the global economy’s recovery.

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Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Vietnam needs to target quality FDI

Vietnam needs to adjust its policies on foreign direct investment
(FDI) and target quality investors as the competition to attract
investment becomes fiercer at both regional and international levels.


The Chairman of the Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, Dr.
Nguyen Mai, stated this after witnessing the slow progress of a number
of FDI projects, with capital of several billion USD. A number of
projects have already almost had their investment certificates
withdrawn.


In an interview granted to the Lao Dong
(Labour) daily issued on August 25, Do Nhat Hoang, Head of the Foreign
Investment Agency (FIA), said that the agency has conducted an
inspection of 24 projects captalised with more than one billion USD
across the country to select eligible investors.


Accordingly, the FIA will withdraw the licenses of virtual projects and
not grant certificates to investors with only a limited capacity, said
Hoang. However it will still consider supporting projects which are only
now slowly making progress, due to the impact of the global economic
crisis, or projects that have faced unexpected difficulties.


This year, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) plans to
select and guide FDI projects into pivotal areas such as supporting
industries, infrastructure development, the manufacture of high export
value products and human resources projects in line with restructuring
the economy.


However, said Hoang, to reach the
target, more effort and responsibility are needed from the MPI as well as
local agencies to attract more investment.


Therefore, localities need to improve their ability to appraise projects
and the capacity of investors, while holding legal responsibility,
instead of taking a back seat and performing only supervisory tasks.


According to the MPI, Vietnam will attract about 21 billion USD in
FDI this year and disburse 14-15 billion USD during the global
economy’s recovery./.

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