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Tag: Vietnam

  • Tiki.vn attracts investors despite $26 million in accumulated losses

    Tiki.vn attracts investors despite $26 million in accumulated losses

    A prominent case in instance is that of Tiki.vn, a popular e-commerce platform in the country.

    Tiki Jsc. (Tiki) started off as an online book store in 2010 before venturing into e-commerce. Just six years later, the firm was valued at $45 million, following domestic tech firm VNG injecting some $17 million in a 38 percent stake acquisition deal.

    However, at the end of that year, 2016, Tiki’s financial statement showed accumulated losses of nearly VND308 billion ($13.39 million). Tiki had posted revenues of nearly VND62.4 billion ($2.71 million) in 2016, a six-fold increase over 2015. However, this was accompanied by a loss of around VND179 billion ($7.78 million) because of high operational costs.

    In its annual report for 2017, VNG showed Tiki making a loss of VND282 billion ($12.26 million) for the year, raising its aggregate losses to VND590 billion ($25.65 million).

    Despite its losses, Tiki has remained attractive to investors as a leading brand in the market. In mid-January this year, JD.com Inc., a giant retailer in China, injected an unspecified sum into Tiki. The Chinese firm had announced last November that it would pump $44 million into the Vietnamese e-commerce platform, making it Tiki’s largest shareholder.

    Unlike other types of firms, startups like Tiki are not valued on the profit it makes, but on other key elements like market growth, market share, sales, average purchase value, and customer retention rates.

    Tiki, which ships goods across the length and breadth of Vietnam, has annual sales of about $240 million, according to the Financial Times. And it is not the only e-commerce firm recording continual losses in Vietnam.

    Ralf Matthes, managing director of market research company Infocus Mekong said that e-commerce platforms are in the red largely because of their fragmented logistics chains.

    He said that with up to 80 percent of consumers paying cash on delivery, the logistics required in just collecting payment leads to losses.

    E-commerce firms in the country were also drawn into a cash-burning battle as they spent on massive sales and marketing campaigns to promote their platforms, he said.

    The Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM) said that the local e-commerce market grew 25 percent last year and that this growth is expected to continue through 2020.

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  • Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways moves a step closer to starting operations

    Vietnam’s Bamboo Airways moves a step closer to starting operations

    Privately owned FLC Group last month agreed a $5.6 billion deal to buy 20 Boeing Co planes at current list prices and in March signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for up to 24 planes.

    The government said on Tuesday that Bamboo Airways will invest 700 billion dong ($30 million) during 2019-2023 on 10 Airbus or Boeing planes, but it was unclear whether it would rent or buy planes initially.

    It will become Vietnam’s fifth airline. It has yet to receive an aviation licence but the government said in a statement on Tuesday that it had authorised “The Ministry of Transportation to evaluate and issue an air transport business license in accordance with the law.”

    FLC has said it expects the airline to begin operations in 2019 and launch direct flights to the United States and Europe and position itself as a hybrid airline, combining traditional and low–cost models, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

    Vietnam’s four airlines are flag carrier Vietnam Airlines; budget operator Jetstar Pacific Airlines which is partly owned by Vietnam Airlines; budget carrier Vietjet Aviation and Vietnam Air Services Co.

    The country’s airport capacity has been reaching its limits as fast economic growth means more people in the nation of 90 million are taking flights.

    Hanoi-based FLC, whose main businesses are housing, resorts and golfing, had said it planned to operate international flights through Bamboo Airways to tourist spots in Vietnam including where FLC has properties and also plans domestic flights.

  • Vietnam can import beef from Brazil again, says Deputy PM

    Vietnam can import beef from Brazil again, says Deputy PM

    Vietnam will consider importing beef from Brazil again if food safety conditions are ensured, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has said.

    At the recent Vietnam-Brazil Trade and Investment Forum attended by around 100 enterprises in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he also said Vietnam could become the top importer of corn and soybeans.

    A quality control scandal in Brazil early last year led to 20 countries, including Vietnam, suspending the import of Brazilian meat. Many countries have since resumed imports after receiving explanations and commitments from the Brazilian government.

    It was said the forum that Brazil will also increase import of coffee, catfish and shrimp from Vietnam.

    Hue noted that in 10 years of trading and investment relations, import-export turnover of Vietnam and Brazil has reached $4 billion, most of it from agricultural products.

    Vietnam’s imports from Brazil in 2017 reached $1.8 billion, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

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  • Rentals rise in downtown Saigon as supply stagnates

    Rentals rise in downtown Saigon as supply stagnates

    Office rentals in downtown Ho Chi Minh City have been rising steadily over the last three months, a new report says.

    Grade A office rent has seen a 7 percent increase in the second quarter over the first quarter and 17 percent increase over the same period last year, the report said.

    A similar increase, of 7.3 percent over last year, has also been seen in Grade B office rentals.

    The report attributes the rice in prices to high demand and limited supply.

    In the last one year, office vacancies in new buildings have been rapidly filled, with vacancy rates for both Grade A and B offices at below 5 percent, the report says.

    In the second quarter of 2018, the HCMC market has not received new office space supply. Total Grade A office supply remained unchanged at 382,763 square meters, while Grade B office space rose slightly by 968 square meters to 814,330 square meters.

    Dang Phuong Hang, managing director of CBRE Vietnam, predicted that Grade A office rents would continue to increase through 2019 or early 2020, with supply remaining limited. Office vacancies will become increasingly scarce, she said.

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  • Soft drink firms make big money, pay small taxes in Vietnam

    Soft drink firms make big money, pay small taxes in Vietnam

    Business has been sweet for the four major companies that dominate Vietnam’s soft drinks market, but they pay a relative pittance in taxes.

    The big 4 in Vietnam’s sweetened beverage market are: Coca-cola Vietnam, an arm of American Coca-cola, Suntory Pepsico, a fully foreign owned joint venture between U.S. PepsiCo Inc. and Japan’s Suntory Holdings Limited, URC Vietnam based in the Philippines, and Vietnamese firm Tan Hiep Phat.

    High consumption in Vietnam has boosted revenues for these firms, Suntory Pepsico leading the way.

    Truong Tuyet Mai, deputy director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said in June that Vietnamese people are forecast to consume over 5 billion liters of sweetened drinks in 2018, nine times more than in 2000, and the figure is estimated to reach 11 billion by 2025.

    According to Vietnam Association of Liquor, Beer and Beverages, a Vietnamese person currently consume more than 23 liters of soft drinks per year and the figure will keep rising in the future.

    To date, Vietnam has not imposed a special consumption tax on sweetened drinks, collecting just corporate income tax. The tax paid by firms making the sweetened drinks has, therefore, been quite modest, compared to their revenues.

    Economist Vu Dinh Anh said on Friday that “there might be two reasons for the low income of these companies: one is transfer pricing and the other is the high expenditure on advertisement.”

    As for advertisement, it is easy to understand that those companies have to spend a big sum each year on all media channels for their products, Anh said.

    Vietnam used to put a cap on the spending for advertisement but that policy is no longer applied, said Anh.

    Those two reasons might result in the low income and lead to the low corporate income tax payment, he added.

    The Ministry of Finance has proposed a 10 percent special consumption tax on different type of beverages, including sweetened drinks.

    If passed, the proposal will go into effect in 2019.

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  • Vietnam government urged to limit petrol imports

    Vietnam government urged to limit petrol imports

    The Nghi Son Refinery, which is now in its trial phase, is burdened by unsold inventories, Chairman of Thanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Dinh Xung said at a recent government meeting.

    The unsold inventories signal challenges in product sale when the oil refinery commercially operates this August/September. If the current situation continues, it will cause difficulties for enterprises and negatively affect the province’s budget, says Xung.

    Thanh Hoa’s authorities suggested that the Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade set up a mechanism to consume all products from the refinery.

    “We suggest that the government issues policies to limit petrol imports and prioritize products from Nghi Son refinery,” Xung said.

    A month ago, the $9 billion refinery produced its first commercial gasoline product – more than 5,000 cubic meters of RON92 gasoline.

    According to Thanh Hoa authorities, during the trial period, Nghi Son oil refinery has produced 14 percent of the province’s total industrial production value. With a planned production of 4-4.3 million tons of gasoline when commercial operations officially begin in August or September 2018, the plant is expected to contribute more than 15 percent to the province’s growth.

    The Nghi Son Refinery, located in the Nghi Son Open Economic zone in Thanh Hoa province, will have a capacity of 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day in the first operational phase, equaling 10 million tons of crude oil per year. This is almost double that of the Dung Quat oil refinery in Quang Ngai Province.

    This project has been invested in by 4 domestic and international investors: Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), Kuwait Petroleum International (Kuwait), Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsui Chemicals (Japan). Total investment for the project is $9 billion.

    It is expected that the Nghi Son and Dung Quat refineries will together meet 80 percent of Vietnam’s fuel demand.

  • Big players hit hard by unstable stock market in Vietnam

    Big players hit hard by unstable stock market in Vietnam

    In the first half of 2018, at least 13 major funds and investors on Vietnam’s stock market suffered negative growth rate in their net asset value (NAV), which is value per share of a fund on a specific date or time.

    Leading this was Hanoi-based Hestia Joint Stock Company registered on the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), which saw its NAV falling by 19.4 percent.

    Thien Viet Securities Joint Stock Company came second with its Thien Viet Growth Fund 2 (TVAM TVGF2) on the Ho Chi Minh stock exchange (VN-Index) dropping 11.6 percent.

    Other funds and investors in the negative growth list include U.S.-based VanEck Vectors Vietnam ETF (VNM ETF), Passion Investment, Pyn Elite Fund, the TCEF fund of Techcom Capital Co. Ltd, SSI Sustainable Competitive Advantage Fund (SSI SCA), VCBF Leading Investment Fund (VCBF-BCF), Vietfund Management Company (VMFVF4) and Vietnam Enterprise Investment Limited (VEIL), managed by Dragon Capital Group.

    Why this happened to these major investors is not so difficult to understand, market observers say.

    It is common that big investors tend to pour investments into blue chip stocks, and from the second half of 2017 to the first few months of 2018, it was those blue chips that pushed the Vietnam stock market up high, and the investors profited, duly.

    The country’s stock market hit a 10-year high and reached 984.24 points in the last trading session of 2017. It had not broken the 800-point barrier since 2008.

    Continuing its good run, the VN-Index, the benchmark stock index of Vietnam, grew 19.33 percent in the first three months of this year, becoming the best-performing market in the world.

    It passed the 1,200-point level on April 9 and has stayed at 900 something before things started to turn bad in the second quarter when the market plunged 18.19 percent, making it the worst-performing market in the world.

    In such a reversal, it was the blue chips investors that suffered the most, and now, have to face the consequences.

    A typical example is Passion Investment.

    This fund spent almost 95 percent of its total VND220 billion ($9.5 million) acquiring 3.24 million shares of the Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank), as shown it its Q1 report.

    The price of VPBank’s shares kept rising from the year’s beginning to early April when it reached the peak of nearly VND70,000 ($3) per share.

    Then it dropped to VND50,000 and fell nonstop to around VND25,000 recently.

    “When all investors are pinning their hopes too high and the stock market is pushed for a long time, a small impact can worry investors and make them scatter,” an expert said as he explained the plunge.

    Nguyen The Minh, director of analysis at Yaunta Securities Vietnam Company, said that many investors had started selling their stocks back in the first quarter.

    Other experts said the global situation, from the tensions in Syria when the U.S.-led air strikes targeted Syrian military sites to the U.S.-China trade war and worries about global capital movements as the U.S.’s Federal Reserve System raised interest rates, might have affected the stock exchange in the second quarter.

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  • Vietnam’s inflation target under pressure: experts

    Vietnam’s inflation target under pressure: experts

    Several economic factors including high commodity and fuel prices will make it difficult for Vietnam to keep its inflation within targeted limits this year, economists say.

    The country’s consumer price index (CPI) in June increased 0.61 percent from May, the highest such increase in the last seven years, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

    The CPI in June was 4.67 percent higher than the same month last year, and CPI in the first six months was 3.29 percent higher, the GSO said.

    The National Assembly, Vietnam’s parliament, has set a target of inflation not rising beyond 4 percent this year.

    Several economists believe that the target can be met but also express their concern over factors that can spoil set plans.

    The rise in world oil prices is one factor. Crude oil is now at $72.94 a barrel, higher than the estimate of $70 when the parliament set the target.

    Higher oil prices will see fuel prices rise, leading to a higher CPI, said economist Ngo Tri Long, former director of Research Institute of Market Price under the Ministry of Finance.

    Vietnamese fuel prices in the first six months went up year-on-year by 13.95 per cent, resulting in a 0.59-percent increase in CPI, according to the GSO.

    If global oil prices continue to climb, this year’s CPI increase will be higher than that of last year, Long said.

    Other experts are concerned about the new environmental tax on fuel that is set to be imposed this October. The tax will certainly impact the average CPI this year, increasing it by 0.11-0.15 percent, Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai said in March.

    The tax will be discussed at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly next week. Should it pass, it will affect the transportation and production costs of local goods, weakening their competitiveness, said Vu Vinh Phu, former chairman of the Hanoi Supermarket Association.

    Phu said he was also concerned about current commodity prices in the country. In local supermarkets, rice was being sold at VND16,000-18,000 ($0.70-0.78) per kilogram, 44 percent higher than their export price.

    Sugar is being sold at VND21,000-23,000 per kilogram, twice as much as export price, Phu said. “If the retail prices of essential commodities keep rising, CPI will definitely be impacted,” he added.

    Echoing Phu, economist Long said he believed that with pork prices being high in the first 6 months, they are likely to increase further in the second half of the year.

    As the country is often hit by storms in the second half of the year, prices will climb up, making CPI increases even higher, Long added.

    Within reach

    However, Long also saw potential for achieving the National Assembly’s inflation target.

    Thanks to new government policies starting this July, citizens will enjoy lower prices for certain health services, and the Prime Minister has ordered no increase in electricity prices for the rest of the year.

    These are positive factors for keeping inflation in check, he said.

    Vietnam’s control of inflation in the first half this year has been a notable positive achievement, said Dr. Vu Dinh Anh with the Economy and Finance Academy.

    Although fuel prices will be higher, with good policy and management, the target of keeping CPI increase under 4 percent will “not be impossible,” he said

    Vietnam’s GDP in the first half of 2018 increased 7.08 percent, the highest ever recorded in the same period since 2011. The Asian Development Bank estimates annual growth at 7.1 percent.

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  • Vietnam fuel tax set to rise to highest level

    Vietnam fuel tax set to rise to highest level

    Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will persist with a controversial plan to increase environmental tax on fuel to the highest level permitted, a source said.

    A Finance Ministry official who did not want to be named said the plan will be discussed at the meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, Vietnam’s parliament, which is scheduled on July 11-13.

    Should it pass, the new tax will take effect starting this October, three months later than the original schedule.

    The reason for the delay, the official said, was that the Finance Ministry did not want to impose the tax in September, as a majority of students would be starting a new school year then.

    The ensuing surge in transportation could affect the consumer price index, the source explained.

    Under the proposal, the environmental tax on petrol and diesel will increase by 33 percent, or VND4,000 (17 cents) per liter and VND2,000 per liter respectively.

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  • Wealthy Vietnamese foot big bills for high-end furniture

    Wealthy Vietnamese foot big bills for high-end furniture

    Affluent Vietnamese have become big spenders on interior goods and Italian furniture is particularly favoured, industry insiders say.

    Research and consulting firm Concetti says Vietnamese consumers spent $15.6 million on luxury furniture from Italy in 2017.

    “With enhanced living conditions and developed taste, many wealthy Vietnamese are buying high-end, imported furniture from European countries,” said Pham Tu, Vice President of HCMC Architecture Federation.

    He was backed by Paolo Lemma, Italian Trade Commissioner to Vietnam, who said: “Over the last three years, import of furniture to Vietnam grew at an average rate of 33 percent. Italy ranks first among European countries exporting to Vietnam and the third worldwide, covering seven percent of Vietnamese market.

    Italian interiors are also popular among the well-heeled, and price is not a major factor when they make purchasing decisions.

    “Our prices range from $1,500 to $23,000 and can go even higher for customized products. We mainly focus on rich and upper class customers in Vietnam,” said Leonardo Cangioli, representative of an Italian lamp-making company.

    “We know the prices are not low, but we are confident that our products are going to sell well in Vietnam, because the number of moneyed and affluent people here is on the rise, as is the demand for imported goods,” Cangioli said.

    Below the top rung of luxury interiors, China remains the leading exporter of furniture to Vietnam, because its products are more diverse and cheaper.

    The “middle and affluent class” in Vietnam, categorized as those earning $714 a month or more, will double to 33 million people, about a third of the population, between 2014 and 2020, citing the Boston Consulting Group.

    Meanwhile, market research firm Nielsen estimates that the number of middle and affluent class Vietnamese citizens will reach 44 million by 2020 and 95 million by 2030.

  • Vietnam’s first driver-less car gets the green light

    Vietnam’s first driver-less car gets the green light

    An FPT Software request to pilot its self-driving cars in Vietnam’s hi-tech zones and software parks has received a positive response from the Transport Ministry.

    The ministry said it supports FPT’s plan because it was in line with global trends and confirmed to the Government’s agenda to foster the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0).

    It instructed FPT to seek authorization from the high tech parks’ management board before testing the autonomous cars on internal roads of the Saigon High Tech Park in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 9 and take responsibility for traffic security during the trial.

    The tech giant has also been asked to report on tests carried out with the driver-less car and propose solutions to tackle any possible problems that may arise once it is put to test on public roads.

    Pham Minh Tuan, general director of FPT Software, said that the company had established two years ago a strategic unit specializing in automotive technology solutions.

    FPT Global Automotive (FGA) has three main focuses: self-propelled car, safety system, and entertainment system, he said.

    The unit now has a 2,000-person team dedicated to hardware and software development, and mechanical design. It is ready to develop most of the car’s functions, he said.

    FPT had introduced the first self-propelled car in Vietnam on October 31, 2017.

    The Hanoi-based company has been operating autonomous cars around the FPT complexes in the central city of Da Nang and F-town campus within the Saigon High Tech Park.

    The self-driving vehicles have an average speed of 20-25kph and can reach up to 40kph on straight stretches. They can self-align, change lanes and avoid obstacles or tripping when needed. The vehicles have had over 1,000 hours of self-steering, with no problems in weathering different conditions including sunshine, rain and low light.

    FPT is working to perfect the vehicle’s brake system and other functions like GPS, direction guide and built-in voice response control.

    The new initiative builds on FPT Software’s work in implementing more than 150 projects in the automotive industry for more than 20 clients in Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States.

    It aims to reach $200 million in automotive-related sales by 2020, including software, design, analysis and IC design.

    The corporation also aims to supply 10 per cent of the world’s self-propelled automotive software by 2025.

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  • Vietnam textile firm bets on eco-friendly products

    Vietnam textile firm bets on eco-friendly products

    For price conscious Vietnamese consumers, an organic product more expensive than its normal version is not an attractive option, but one firm has decided to be persistent.

    The Phong Phu Textile and Garment Company introduced its made-in-Vietnam eco-friendly towel brand last December, attracting media attention as one of the first firms in the country to produce an organic textile product.

    The Mollis Organic towels are made from 100 percent organic cotton. No genetically modified organism, chemical fertilizer or pesticides are used in the making of this product, the company asserts.

    The company would strive to bring organic products to its customers although their production costs are high and profits uncertain, Pham Xuan Trinh, CEO of the Phong Phu Textile and Garment Company said.

    The company prices its organic towels from VND60,000-250,000 ($2.62-$10.91) depending on the size, about 20 percent higher than conventional products, while made-in-China towels are sold for just VND15,000 ($0.65).

    Since awareness of the importance and advantages of organic products is relatively low among a majority of Vietnamese consumers, Phong Phu is struggling to sell its organic towels to local customers.

    “We’ll continue to invest in organic products despite low profits with the hope that one day Vietnamese customers will see the true value of organic products,” he said.

    The company spent VND4 billion ($174,600) last year on research and development for its organic products.

    As Vietnam’s conditions are not currently suitable for growing organic cotton, the company imports its material from Bangladesh, India and Israel. The processing and manufacturing processes happen in Vietnam.

    The company has so far exported its organic towels to Japan and South Korea, aiming at the high-income customers in these countries.

    Phong Phu recorded a profit of VND149 billion ($6.5 million) in the first half this year, a growth of 7 percent from the same time last year, but most of it came from conventional non-organic products, including towels and denim jeans.

  • Vietnam stock market hits new low, could go lower

    Vietnam stock market hits new low, could go lower

    Vietnam’s stock market fell 4.11 percent on Tuesday afternoon, hitting its lowest point this year, following a dramatic plunge in the second quarter.

    The country’s benchmark stock index, VN-Index, fell 39 points to 908.26 by 2:25 p.m. Tuesday, while the VN30-Index, representing a group of 30 largest capitalization stocks in the country, also fell by 3.7 percent to 895.86.

    The smaller HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange and the UPCoM-Index for unlisted companies also dipped 3.7 percent and more than two percent, respectively.

    Shares of banks, including Vietcombank and ACB, plunged 4-5 percent.

    Meanwhile, blue chip stocks like Vinhomes JSC (VHM), Vingroup JSC (VIC), and steelmaker Hoa Sen Group (HSG) were being sold en masse, driving down the entire market.

    This marks a further drop in Vietnam’s stock market after it plunged 18.19 percent in the second quarter this year, making it the worst-performing market in the world.

    Local stock companies have anticipated that the VN-Index could fall to 900 points and even further.

    Vietnam’s stock market had experienced its heyday since last year, when it hit a 10-year high and reached 984.24 points in the last trading session of 2017. It had not broken the 800-point barrier since 2008.

    Continuing its good run, the VN-Index grew 19.33 percent in the first three months of this year, becoming the best-performing market in the world.

    It passed the 1,200-point level on April 9, and has hovered at above 900 since then.

  • Innisfree Vietnam, Malaysia to go bigger

    Innisfree Vietnam, Malaysia to go bigger

    Amorepacific-owned Innisfree Vietnam has opened its first store in Hanoi, the brand’s fifth in the country.

    Located at 290 Ba Trieu Street, Innisfree Hanoi ranges skincare and makeup products for men and women.

    Opening day saw long queues of the brand’s fans who had been looking forward to the brand having a Hanoi presence for two years.

    In Malaysia, Innisfree has teamed with travel retailer Dimensi Eksklusif to make its debut at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

    KLIA is Innisfree’s latest airport store outside Korea after Singapore’s Changi and Hong Kong International Airport.

    Sales of perfumes and cosmetics at KLIA in the first quarter of this year grew by 29 per cent and are expected to continue to grow, attracting more world-renowned brands to open there.

    Innisfree has nine stores in Malaysia.

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  • Vietnamese consumers among world’s most positive

    Vietnamese consumers among world’s most positive

    Vietnamese consumer confidence index achieved its highest score in the last decade, placing it as the fourth most optimistic country in the world, according to market research firm Nielsen.

    The index reached 124 points in the first quarter of 2018, up 9 points over the same period last year.

    “The great economic growth across industries, combined with strong foreign investment flows, increasing household incomes and proper government policies have resulted in optimism among consumers,” said Nguyen Huong Quynh, Managing Director of Nielsen Vietnam.

    “However, positive sentiments did not lead to strong fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales in Vietnam, with the market up just 1.8 percent in Q1. The growth was slower than expected and reflected the characteristic of FMCG industry in Vietnam, possibly due to changing consumer behaviors,” Quynh added.

    Having a stable job and good health remains key concerns of Vietnamese consumers. In this quarter, the top five concerns of Vietnamese consumers remained the same as last year. Job security topped the list with 43 percent, followed by health and wellness (41 percent). Other concerns included work-life balance and economic status with both at 23 percent.

    The Nielsen report said Southeast Asia and North America showed the highest level of consumer confidence. The confidence score of consumers in Southeast Asia increased 2 points from 119 in fourth quarter of 2017 to 121 in first quarter of this year.

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