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Tag: Vietnam

  • Vietnam’s demand for cool air attracts Japanese investors

    Vietnam’s demand for cool air attracts Japanese investors

    Japanese air conditioner manufacturers are set to expand in Vietnam, touting their high-quality products and appeal to the country’s growing urban middle class.

    Leading Japanese electronics corporation Panasonic is ready to manufacture air conditioners in Vietnam, where it already has a consumer electronics factory. Panasonic’s plans to ramp up its air conditioner business in Southeast Asia, where rising incomes are fuelling demand.

    Panasonic Vietnam said in a statement that its investment scale and timing schedule are not finalised at the moment, but will be completed soon.

    Panasonic looks to earn $6 billion from global air conditioning sales by March 2019. The Japanese market will account for 40 per cent of this however.

    Vietnam is the second biggest market for air conditioners in Asia, after Indonesia.

    Another big name in air conditioning, Daikin, received an investment certificate last year for the $100 million project in Thang Long II Industrial Park.

    Ly Thi Phuong Trang, a representative from Daikin Air Conditioning Vietnam JSC, said the project is on track and expected to see operation in April 2018, with a capacity of 500,000 units per year.

    Japanese firms like Daikin and Mitsubishi chose Vietnam for their new plants because nearly all Daikin and Mitsubishi air conditioners in Vietnam are currently imported from Thailand, where their production facilities have been operating at full capacity.

    Vietnam’s infrastructure development coupled with increasing investment in the industrial and commercial sectors are responsible for the higher demand for air conditioners in the country. The development of major cities, growing construction activities in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and growing government investment are expected to propel demand for air conditioners in Vietnam to even greater heights.

    In residential areas, split system air conditioners are popular, as one unit can service multiple residences.

    A report released by the Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association (JRAIA) on the demand for air conditioners in major countries around the world also said that the demand for both residential and commercial air conditioners is rising sharply in Vietnam.

    Some of the leading air conditioner manufacturers operating in Vietnam include LG Electronics, Gree, Samsung, Midea, Hitachi, Toshiba, Nagakawa, Mitsubishi, and Carrier.

    Last year, Samsung Vina Electronics Co., Ltd. said “Fifty percent of air conditioners sold globally are split system air conditioners. The total value of the segment is worth $74 billion. Vietnam is a very promising market for this segment, which has seen many advanced technological developments recently.”

    Seven years ago, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation established a Vietnamese company to co-ordinate sales of air conditioning systems, home appliances, and automated products.

    The Japanese company has primarily conducted sales in Vietnam indirectly through distributors, and has only recently shifted to direct sales.

    “Due to Vietnam’s remarkable growth prospects, Mitsubishi Electric is now classifying the country as a priority market, and has decided to establish a local company to co-ordinate sales,” the manufacturer said in its announcement.

    While competition for greater market share is stiff, some countries in the region are moving to tighten environmental regulations. Vietnam has also raised awareness of energy consumption standards for air conditioners. The move could be a boon for Japanese air conditioner manufactures who already have competitive energy-saving technologies on the shelves.

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  • Vietjet signs deals worth USD 4.7 billion

    Vietjet signs deals worth USD 4.7 billion

    Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company yesterday signed an agreement with CFM International – a joint venture of GE and Safran, in Washington on supporting 215 engines to power the airline’s fleet under the witnesses of Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. The 12 year-long agreement which is valued at USD 3.58 billion includes other technical services, engines and components maintenance.

    Speaking at the signing ceremony, Vietjet’s President and CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said: “We are orienting our fleet to aircraft families and engines which are of efficient fuel consumption and environment friendly. The engines under today agreement will help us to save up to 15 percent of fuel consumption as well as to obtain other comprehensive services in technical support, maintenance and training. It is our great honor to be a partner of GE and CFM International. Thanks to this agreement, Vietjet’s fleet can enjoy new technical and technological advances which enhance our flight quality and operation reliability and reduce costs. We strongly believe that this agreement will promote economic and trade exchange between the two countries and create million jobs for the two peoples.”

    “We appreciate the high level of confidence this agreement shows in CFM and in our ability to support Vietjet over the long term,” said Gaël Méheust, President and CEO of CFM International.  “It has been an honor to be a part of the very dynamic and exciting team for the last six years.  It is a privilege to know that this very special relationship will continue for many more years to come.”

    On this occasion, Vietjet and GECAS under GE signed a Memorandum of Understanding in aircraft financing worth USD 1 billion. Accordingly, GECAS will support Vietjet to finance and/or purchase and enter into leaseback arrangement of 10 aircraft ordered by Vietjet.

    Vietjet and Honeywell Aviation also inked an agreement on auxiliary power unit supply and technical maintenance to power the airline’s 98 airplanes. The agreement which is worth USD 180 million, is aimed to help Vietjet’s fleet be maintained under world leading standards.

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  • Vietnam to have more airlines

    Vietnam to have more airlines

    On May 31, the FLC Group announced that they will set up Viet Bamboo Airlines with VND700bn (USD31m) in charter capital. Viet Bamboo Airlines will also invest in the real estate and other sectors. The capital is just enough to allow FLC Group to join both local and international transportation markets with 10 planes. The money will be frozen to prove the investor’s financial capacity.

    As of now, three firms have announced their plans to establish and expand new airlines are Viet Bamboo Airlines, Vietstar Airlines and a joint-venture carrier by Malaysian AirAsia Group and Hai Au Aviation JSC.

    Vo Huy Cuong, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Civil Aviation Administration, said he hadn’t received registration documents from FLC Group or Hai Au Aviation JSC and AirAsia Group. Vietstar Airlines’ registration has been halted while the government tries to deal with overloading at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat Airport.

    Cuong said they would receive and check the documents before submitting to the Ministry of Transport. However, if the airlines will also operate at Tan Son Nhat Airport, the investors are warned that they won’t be given permit before the new airport planning is completed.

    Hai Au Aviation JSC first started their seaplane services in Ha Long Bay in 2014. The company’s representative said they were completing legal procedures in order to establish an airline. They will submit the documents in the next two months for 2018’s operations.

    “Our plan is related to Tan Son Nhat Airport’s expansion so it won’t be affected, unlike other projects,” he said.

    According to Hai Au Aviation JSC, they will open completely new routes. In the first phase, they will invest in routes from Hanoi and Danang to other Asian countries.

    Meanwhile, Vietstar Airlines has decided to cut half of its fleet from 23 to 10 planes to suit Tan Son Nhat Airport’s capacity so that they can begin operations in 2018.

    Many private firms asked to set up new airlines between 2005-2010. But due to lack of financial capacity, they suffered losses and went bankrupt such as the Indochine Airlines and Air Mekong. Vietjet Air was given a permit in 2007 but had to wait until 2011 before officially entering operation.

    The situation is different now as the average growth of the South East Asian aviation market is over 16%. The growth of the local market could reach 30%. Vietnam has a prime position and can allow narrow-body aircraft to go to most major cities in North Asia, South East Asia and India within five hours.

    The number of passengers in Vietnam is low, yet the demand is still higher than the supply. Vietnam has seven licensed airlines but only four have public transport services. Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air top the list with over 40% of market share.

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  • European firms lose confidence in Vietnam’s market

    European firms lose confidence in Vietnam’s market

    The overall business climate index has fallen 7 points since the last quarter. The number of European businesses and companies with links to Europe that have a positive outlook about their futures in Vietnam has fallen slightly, according to the Vietnam Business Climate Index (BCI) for the first quarter released on Monday by the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham).

    When asked about their business outlook for the next quarter, 9 percent said the outlook was “excellent”, compared to 10 percent the previous quarter, and 60 percent said it was “good”, compared to 67 percent.

    The number of firms that forecast their outlook as “not good” jumped from zero to 7 percent, and “very poor” climbed from 2 to 4 percent.

    With regards to their current business situation, 67 percent of respondents described theirs as “excellent” and “good”, around a 5 percent drop from the previous quarter.

    A slight rise was seen in the “not good” and “very poor” answers, with 9 percent and 3 percent, respectively, compared to 3 percent and 2 percent in the last quarter.

    EuroCham members that expressed confidence in a stable and continuously improving macroeconomic scenario for Vietnam in the next quarter have dropped by around 10 percent to 43 percent.

    Conversely, businesses that believe the macroeconomic conjuncture could get even worse has risen 11 percent to 18 percent.

    In general, the index for the first quarter stood at 78, dropping 7 points.

    In an interview with Bloomberg at the Government Office in Hanoi on Saturday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said he is confident that Vietnam’s economic growth this year will meet the government’s goal of 6.7 percent without adding to inflation, despite weak expansion in the first quarter.

    “The main economic indicators in May are all very good with a strong pickup in exports, foreign investment and agriculture production, laying the ground for faster growth in the third and fourth quarters,” he said, adding that the growth target was difficult but not impossible.

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  • Private jet market warming up

    Private jet market warming up

    The news that Thai Aerospace Services has been chosen by Honda as the distributor of HondaJet in the SE Asian market has caught public attention.

    HondaJet was launched in December 2015; the manufacturer received 100 orders from all over the world.  The plane is offered to businessmen who want to save time on traveling. It entered the US market after FAA granted a certificate on meeting technical requirements.

    A representative of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said CAAV has not received any information from Honda about bringing HondaJet to Vietnam.

    To put a new airplane model into exploitation, manufacturers will have to work with local aeronautical authorities and fulfill procedures to obtain a license.

    Besides, every aircraft has to satisfy a series of requirements to obtain two other kinds of certificates, including ownership registration and certificate on meeting requirements to fly.

    The manufacturers also have to prove they can satisfy requirements on radio communication systems.

    “This is important for small private airplanes, because the planes have low flying range. They make noise and affect residential quarters if they fly at night,” an official from CAAV explained.

    For the last 10 years, Vietnam has been the target of many private plane manufacturers and lessors, from luxury planes such as Bombardier Inc (Canada) to helicopters such as Azur Helicopter (France).

    Analysts commented that Vietnam is a market with the number of super-rich people expected to increase by 170 percent in the next 10 years, to 540. The super-rich are defined as ones with total assets of over $30 million.

    The analysts said it would not be a problem for Vietnamese businesspeople to spend several million dollars to buy airlines. Doan Nguyen Duc, a well-known businessman, once owner two private airplanes. However, the maintenance costs and the licensing fee are big challenges.

    Jet owners will have to obtain licenses for every flight, while the owners of helicopters with low flying range will have to obtain approval from the Ministry of National Defence.

    Some years ago, Jussi Hoikka, Commercial Manager of Vinacopter, a distribution firm,  commented that though the Vietnamese average income per capita remains at “low average” level, the demand for private aircraft in Vietnam would soar in the time to come.

    One of the Vietnamese businessmen who first ordered a private helicopter in Vietnam is Chair of the Hoa Phat Group, Tran Dinh Long.

    Long placed the order about the private helicopter with Eurocopter, of which Vinacopter is a subsidiary, in Singapore in 2008.

  • Vietnam’s job market boils hotter than regional peers

    Vietnam’s job market boils hotter than regional peers

    Another good sign for job hunters in Vietnam is that none of the surveyed companies said they had any plans to freeze recruitment, compared to a fifth of companies in Singapore who said they won’t be hiring more staff this year.

    The report was based on a survey of 8,109 employees and 2,964 employers from across various industries, with respondents from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

    Candidates in Vietnam were the most optimistic in the region, with half saying they felt the job market had improved this year, followed by job seekers in the Philippines. Looking for jobs in Singapore and Indonesia is likely to be more stressful this year, the survey found.

    Those with experience in merchandising, marketing and information and technology are more likely to get job offers in 2017, stated the report.

    In this booming job market, Vietnamese candidates indicated they prefer job hunting online through job boards, company websites and social media.

    Employers across the region are all having difficulties hiring experienced candidates. In Vietnam, finding people to fill managerial positions is another challenge.

    The positive market outlook in Vietnam shows that the talent war is becoming increasingly tough. Employers are encouraged to adopt clear and transparent recruitment strategies and career development paths to ensure their competitive edge in this booming job market.

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  • HCM City tax department to monitor social media businesses

    HCM City tax department to monitor social media businesses

    The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation has said recently that its data center is checking Facebook accounts used for conducting business, with a view to determining any tax obligations.

    Not all individual Facebook accounts, however, have to pay tax on their business. Those that are conducting “non-professional” business on an irregular basis and with low turnover will not have to pay tax.

    Only those with large sales and unpaid taxes are targeted, according to the head of the city’s tax department.

    Upon completing the checks, the department will submit plans to the city’s People’s Committee to coordinate with other departments to collect e-commerce business management taxes, including business Facebook accounts.

    At a meeting between city leaders and the department in February, the Department of Industry and Trade proposed collecting taxes from Facebook businesses.

    The Department of Tax Policy under the General Department of Taxation (GDT) is also studying the management of taxes on business activities conducted via social networks such as Facebook, YouTube, and Zalo.

    According to experts, collecting sales tax from Facebook business is not an easy task. Every organization and individual can now own multiple accounts on social networks for their business.

    Sales are mainly made in cash, so it is difficult to monitor. In addition, some people only do business via Facebook as a seasonal job or to earn more income, which also challenges tax management.

    The department’s current solution is to require people doing business on social networks to provide information such as their name, address, telephone number, and personal tax code, in order to control their business activities more strictly.

    In 2015, revenue from e-commerce in Vietnam reached $4.1 billion, an increase of five-fold compared to 2012, according to the latest data from the GDT. It is expected to reach $10 billion by 2020, accounting for 5 per cent of total retail sales in the country. E-commerce will therefore play a significant role in Vietnam’s retail sector in the future.

  • Vietnam rice exporters face challenges

    Vietnam rice exporters face challenges

    The rice price is forecast to continue soaring in near future, buoyed by the higher demand for rice of some countries, but Vietnam is having difficulty boosting rice shipments, heard a seminar in Hanoi last week.

    A study conducted by the Institute of Policy and Strategy for Agricultural and Rural Development shows there are nine million rice farming households nationwide, but around 300,000 of them account for the bulk of Vietnam’s rice export volume.

    Meanwhile, the nation has over 300,000 rice milling facilities, but a majority of them are small. But in Thailand, there are a mere 1,000 rice milling plants. Besides, Vietnam has around 100 rice exporters, but a mere 22 of them focus on China, one of Vietnam’s largest rice buyers.

    Industry experts said these two hindrances had led to the global market share of Vietnamese rice shrinking. Statistics of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show the country’s rice shipments last year dropped 27% in volume and 23% in value against 2015.

    Vietnam has seen gradual declines in rice exports to China, European Union, Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Despite the decrease in rice exports, local enterprises have shown little or no interest in the domestic market.

    Vietnamese rice producers have not been able to develop premium rice brands, according to Sergio René Araujo Enciso, an economist from the Trade and Markets Division under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

    Key importers of Vietnamese rice products have adopted food security policies. China, for instance, is buying rice from different countries, said Pham Kim Dung, the study’s lead researcher.

    The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund forecast that rice prices might inch up in the short term as some countries are stocking up on rice, such as Malaysia with 950,000 tons and Bangladesh with 600,000 tons.

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  • Over 20,000 Vietnamese work as Uber motorbike drivers

    Over 20,000 Vietnamese work as Uber motorbike drivers

    The ride hailing company releases business data for the first time, one year after launching its motorbike service in Vietnam.

    More than 20,000 Vietnamese men and women have registered to work as motorbike taxi drivers for Uber, a representative of the ride hailing company said Sunday.

    Dang Viet Dung, general manager of Uber Vietnam, did not break down the number but he seemed eager to share that the top motorbike drivers clocked in more than 5,000 rides within a year.

    This is the first time the company, since the launch of UberMOTO in April last year, has released such figures. It also has a network of cars for the traditional Uber service.

    For future plan, Uber will offer English courses for its drivers to serve foreigners in Vietnam, Dung said.

    Before Vietnam, the UberMOTO service had been launched in Thailand, India and Indonesia.

    After Uber entered Vietnam in June 2014, collecting tax from for the U.S.-based car hailing service had been a headache for local authorities.

    Then in September last year, Uber paid taxes to Vietnam for the first time.

    In April this year Uber’s car and motorbike services were finally legalized here, even though local passengers rarely paid attention to these legal formalities.

    Before Uber, Vietnam’s transport authorities approved a pilot scheme for Grab Vietnam, Uber’s main rival, which also entered Vietnam in 2014.

    The Malaysia-based Grab is operating both car and motorbike services in the country.

    Their market shares have not been disclosed but other service providers, from taxi companies to xe om drivers, have felt threatened.

    Retail News earlier this year interviewed motorcyle taxi drivers, who said they were being beaten by Uber and Grab on their own turf.

    Some even predicted that these newcomers could eventually put old-fashioned drivers, now usually referred to as “traditional” drivers, out of business.

    This month, a video spread on social media showing a group of xe om drivers in a heated conflict with Grab drivers in front of a hospital in Hanoi.

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  • Vietnam’s budget airline VietJet seeks overseas listing

    Vietnam’s budget airline VietJet seeks overseas listing

    The plan comes amid the government’s easing of rules to potentially allow more foreign investment in the aviation market. VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co., which controls almost half of Vietnam’s domestic airline market, is in talks to become the first company in the Southeast Asian nation to list its shares in an overseas stock exchange, Bloomberg reported.

    “We’ve been approached by some foreign stock exchanges including London, Hong Kong and Singapore, which expressed their interest in our stock,” Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, VietJet’s founder and chief executive officer, was quoted as saying on Sunday. She added that she will meet exchange officials in New York later this week.

    Hanoi-based VietJet reportedly received shareholder approval in April to boost its foreign ownership limit to 49 percent from 30 percent.

    The increase will need to be approved by the government because foreign ownership in the industry is currently capped at 30 percent.

    “We don’t want to hide our hope to become the first Vietnamese company to list shares overseas,” Thao reportedly said.

    Her “bikini” airline, nicknamed after its unique yet controversial promotional campaign for depicting a female crew in bikinis, now rivals national carrier Vietnam Airlines in the local market.

    It went public in Vietnam in late February in a move deemed successful by local media.

    Thao, Vietnam’s richest woman, said publicly in April that her carrier was not competing directly with Vietnam Arlines. “We create our own customers. We do not take them from others.”

  • Finance Ministry updates registration fees for autos, motorbikes

    Finance Ministry updates registration fees for autos, motorbikes

    The Ministry of Finance has recently updated the list of registration fees for automobiles and mortobikes, which has increased the price of many luxury models.

    In Vietnam, the registration fee is between 10 per cent and 12 per cent of the car value in different cities and provinces.

    According to the revised Decision 942/QĐ-BTC issued on May 24, the ministry has added the registration fees for 135 types of imported auto with nine seats and less, 19 types of locally-assembled cars with nine seats and less, two kinds of imported electric cars, 29 types of imported motorbikes and 127 kinds of locally-assembled motorbikes.

    Topping the list are luxury imported cars, which have high engine displacement.

    McLaren 650S Spider, with an engine displacement of 3,800cc, is priced at VNĐ22.02 billion (US$966,637); 6,000cc Bentley Flying Spur is priced at VNĐ19.5 billion; and 3,800cc McLaren 570S is priced at VNĐ12.57 billion. With a registration fee of 12 per cent in Hanoi, customers will have to pay VNĐ2.64 billion, VNĐ2.34 billion and VNĐ1.5 billion more to own these cars, respectively.

    The ministry added in the list imported Audi models and BMW models of X4 and X6, with prices ranging from VNĐ850 million to VNĐ3.4 billion and from VNĐ2.3 billion to VNĐ3.4 billion, respectively.

    The ministry also updated the prices of locally assembled models with nine seats and less into the list, including 2,400cc Toyota Hiace, which is priced at VNĐ802 million, Mercedes-Benz C200K, E250, E200 and E300 with prices ranging from VNĐ1.08 billion to VNĐ2.77 billion, 2,000cc Mazda CX5 AT-2WD at more than VNĐ1 billion and 2,400cc Ford Transit at VNĐ1.25 billion.

    Insiders said that the increase in registration fees was foreseen because it had been adjusted according to the market prices, as proposed by auto businesses.

    The ministry also added several imported motorbike types, including Harley-Davidson Cvo Limited, Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited Low, Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special and Honda CB1100 EX, which is priced between VNĐ455 million and VNĐ1.86 billion.

    The registration fee is being applied at 2 per cent of the motorbike value in cities and provinces nationwide, excluding two major cities of Hanoi and HCM City, where customers have to pay 5 per cent.

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  • Vietnam ranks 8th among world’s top gold consumers

    Vietnam ranks 8th among world’s top gold consumers

    Vietnam ranks eighth among the countries in the world with the highest gold consumption in the first quarter of 2017, shows a recent report by the World Gold Council.

    Vietnam ranks eighth among the countries in the world with the highest gold consumption in the first quarter of 2017.

    As per the report, the demand for gold in Vietnam in Q1 was close to 17 tonnes, a slight rise compared to last year.

    In the first quarter, China topped the list, with a total demand of 280 tonnes of gold, an increase of 8 per cent compared to the same period last year. India came second with 123 tonnes.

    Overall, the total global demand for gold touched 1,035 tonnes in the first quarter of this year, an 18 per cent drop against the same period in 2016.

    Vietnam’s gold consumption has declined over the years, from nearly 100 tonnes in 2013 to 58 tonnes in 2016.

  • Vietnam’s May coffee exports extend downtrend to finish at 6-month low

    Vietnam’s May coffee exports extend downtrend to finish at 6-month low

    Coffee exports for the 2016/2017 season have already fallen nearly 7 percent, based on government data. Vietnam, the world’s largest exporter of robusta coffee, will ship an estimated 120,000 tons (2 million bags) of coffee this month, the lowest volume in six months and a drop of around a quarter from a year earlier, the government said on Monday.

    This figure would bring the accumulated volume since October 2016 at the start of the current 2016/2017 crop year to 1.09 million tons, down nearly 7 percent from the previous season, based on data from the General Statistics Office’s monthly report.

    The forecast for May, which is down 25.5 percent from the same month last year, is the lowest since November 2016 when the country exported 114,600 tons.

    Falling shipments from Vietnam, the world’s second largest coffee producer after Brazil, suggest dwindling stocks. Last month’s shipments hit a five-month low of 134,800 tons, based on government data.

    Strong exports in the first months of 2017 have left foreign buyers with adequate stocks and Vietnam with less coffee beans.

    In March, a senior executive from Vietnam’s top coffee export firm Intimex warned the country could fall short of the bitter beans in May or June due to rising shipments and dwindling domestic stocks.

    The country’s stocks at the end of the 2016/2017 crop year are forecast to plunge 64 percent from the previous season to 1.38 million bags, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its May report released last week.

    Vietnam’s coffee crop year lasts between October and September.

  • Vietnam’s online gaming firm VNG eyes IPO in US

    Vietnam’s online gaming firm VNG eyes IPO in US

    It is now in a race with budget carrier VietJet to become the first Vietnamese company to list abroad. Vietnamese online gaming and messaging firm VNG Corp said Tuesday that it has signed a preliminary agreement with U.S. bourse operator Nasdaq Inc to explore an initial public offering, a move that could make it the first Southeast Asian firm to be listed overseas.

    The agreement, which could see Nasdaq help VNG prepare for the listing, was signed on the sidelines of Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to the U.S.

    Founded in 2004, VNG provides online games, music streaming and messaging applications. Its statement did not disclose details about the IPO plans.

    The company was not immediately available for comment.

    In his Tuesday meeting with Robert H. McCooey Jr, vice president of Nasdaq, PM Phuc hailed the agreement between Nasdag and VNG. According to a government report, he said that Vietnam’s government always encourages the cooperation between local firms and U.S. partners.

    In a report on Sunday, VietJet Aviation Joint Stock, which controls almost half of Vietnam’s domestic airline market, is in talks to become the first company in the Southeast Asian nation to list its shares in an overseas stock exchange.

    “We’ve been approached by some foreign stock exchanges including London, Hong Kong and Singapore, which expressed their interest in our stock,” Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, VietJet’s founder and chief executive officer, was quoted as saying. She added that she will meet exchange officials in New York later this week.

    VietJet reportedly received shareholder approval in April to boost its foreign ownership limit to 49 percent from 30 percent. The increase will need to be approved by the government because foreign ownership in the industry is currently capped at 30 percent.

    “We don’t want to hide our hope to become the first Vietnamese company to list shares overseas,” Thao reportedly said.

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  • Vietnam wood firms to refuse contraband

    Vietnam wood firms to refuse contraband

    Vietnamese wood companies will not exploit, transport, process, produce or trade in illegal wood and wooden products, according to the Viet Nam Wood and Forest Association (VIFORES).

    With a view to achieve sustainable development of its exports, the wood industry has committed to refrain from illegal trading at a conference in Ha Noi late Friday, VIFORES chairman Nguyen Ton Quyen said.

    Member companies of the VIFORES, Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City (HAWA), Forest Products Association of Binh Dinh (FPA Binh Dinh) and Binh Duong Forest Products Association of Binh Duong (BFPA) have all agreed to support the Government and management offices of the central and local administration in building, completing and implementing suitable policies and mechanism, in accordance with the Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VPA/FLEGT) signed between Viet Nam and the European Union (EU).

    This action aims to promote competition of Vietnam’s wood and wooden products enterprises in the world market, developing a mechanism to manage wood in natural forests, and encourage sustainable development of planted forests.

    The enterprises will promote the use, processing and trading of wood and wooden products that are made from trees of planted forests in Vietnam and from legally-imported wooden material.

    They will also commit to co-operation in building and developing comprehensive and transparent information system and database on local wood processing industry, Quyen said.

    These commitments will encourage local enterprises, organisations and individuals to produce, process and trade only legal wood and wooden products, and promote plantation of forests in the nation to create active and legal wood material for local wood processing industry, he said.

    The commitments will also provide solutions to building a brand for Vietnam’s wooden products, and developing legal wood trading relationships with countries supplying wood material to Vietnam and countries importing Vietnamese wooden products.

    To Xuan Phuc, an expert from NGO Forest Trends, said wood material imported to Viet Nam has played an important role in the production and processing of Vietnam’s wooden products for export and the home market.

    Viet Nam has annually exported four million to 4.5 million cubic metres of wood, earning US$1.8 to $2 billion, so there are risks of illegal wood being exported, he said.

    Quyen said the United States, European Union and Australia have strict rules to regulate imported wood material. Thus, it is difficult for local enterprises to export their wooden products to these markets.

    The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that in the first four months, Viet Nam had earned $2.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 12.7 per cent in the export value of wood and wooden products. The US, China and Japan were the three largest export markets for local wooden products.