Chu Lai Airport

Chairman of Quang Nam People's Committee Le Tri Thanh requested the completion of the planning and expediting investment mobilisation and development of Chu Lai International Airport in the central region.

Chairman Thanh has just given conclusions on the planning scheme of local transport network as well as the investment orientation and strategy of key transport works in the province in the forthcoming period.

Accordingly, in the past, the province has focused resources on constructing transport infrastructure, especially roads and waterways. The traffic network has been gradually upgraded, leveraging the approved transport development plan to 2020, with vision towards 2030.

Furthermore, Quang Nam Department of Transport was assigned to report on the actual situation of the transport network in the province and to co-ordinate with the Department of Planning and Investment and relevant localities to review their capabilities, balancing the resources, and proposing a list of key transport projects to be prioritised for investment in the public investment plan in 2021-2025.

Remarkably, the provincial leaders requested early completion of the planning and pushing up to call for investment into Chu Lai International Airport and Chu Lai Seaport, not using state budget sources.
Remarkably, the provincial leaders requested the early completion of the planning andpushing up calls for investment into developing Chu Lai International Airport and Chu Lai Seaport, not using state budget sources.

Chu Lai Airport is planned to become an international airport by 2030, with the capacity of five million passengers a year. However, in light of the 2030 vision of the Quang Nam Socio-economic Development Master Plan which was approved by the prime minister in 2018, the growth rate of gross regional domestic product is expected to be more than 2.5 times compared to 2020.

Regarding air transport in particular, Chu Lai International Airport will be further upgraded and expanded to gradually transform into a centre for the transshipment of goods, as well as repair and maintenance of large-sized aircraft. Therefore, it needs to study and adjust the planning of Chu Lai Airport to meet the development needs of Quang Nam province and the central region.

In addition, to ensure the connection of transport infrastructure, the Chairman of Quang Nam People's Committee requested an investment study of inter-regional transport routes, facilitating the development of dynamic urban areas and key projects in the eastern region.

State Treasury mobilises over 590 mln USD worth of G-bonds in February

The Hanoi Stock Exchange organised 13 Government bond auctions in February, raising 13.7 trillion VND (590.2 million USD), a month-on-month rise of 44 percent.

The rate of successful bids was 72.3 percent.

Interest rates of G-bonds at all terms posted decreases, with a reduction ranging from 0.09-0.25 percent a year, and the 30-year term recording the highest fall of 0.25 percent per year.

On the secondary G-bond market, the total volume of G-bonds sold by the outright method surpassed 1 billion, worth 125 trillion VND, up 27.6 percent month-on-month in value.

Meanwhile, the trading volume through repurchase agreements (repos) reached over 733 million bonds totalling 81 trillion VND, up 29.6 percent in value compared with that of January.

Foreign investors made outright purchases of more than 4.7 trillion VND and outright sales of over 6.4 trillion VND. They made repos sales of 330 billion VND during February.

According to the HNX, the total value of listed G-bonds reached over 1.13 quadrillion VND as of February 29./.

Hanoi seeks to promote typical handicrafts as epidemic knocks

Souvenir businesses and craft villages in Hanoi need to closely work together to improve production quality and designs.

The Hanoi Department of Tourism on March 2 organized a conference on developing traditional handicrafts for tourism purposes and preparing typical souvenirs for the upcoming big events in the city, Hanoimoi reported.

The event attracted participation of many artisans from a number of craft villages and manufacturers in the field of handicrafts and tourism gifts in Hanoi. They were represents from Chuong village that specializes in conical hats, bamboo dragonfly making Thach Xa village, Bat Trang pottery village, Xuan La making rice figurines, Van Phuc producing silk, among others.

According to the Hanoi Department of Tourism, Hanoi currently has more than 1,300 traditional craft villages, which hold great potential for developing tourism in the capital city.

The department’s Director Tran Duc Hai said that over the recent years, Hanoi’s traditional trade villages have made efforts in building its own attractive tourist products.

Hai stressed that craft village tourism will be promoted to revive the domestic market in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic wreaking havoc on the local economy.

However, many souvenirs in Hanoi have not been iconic and attractive enough to tourists because of poor designs, Hai admitted.

He added that, in the time ahead, Hanoi will host many international political, cultural and sporting events. Souvenir and gift businesses and craft villages need to anticipate these events and closely work together to improve production quality and designs.

Besides, craft villages should apply science and technology to promote and introduce products more widely to domestic and foreign tourists, Hai said.

Hanoi targets 200 sci-tech firms by 2025

Hanoi continues to encourage innovative startups to pursue the science and technology approach, forming a strong base of pioneer companies with high competitiveness.

The Hanoi People’s Committee has issued a plan detailing supporting measures for develop the science and technology sector in the city, targeting to have 200 enterprises in this field by 2025.

As part of the plan, Hanoi’s authorities would focus on promoting incentives for the establishment of science and technology firms, while conducting surveys and building a database on firms operating in the city.

Additionally, the municipal government plans to provide training courses and enhance capabilities for consultants and organizations specialized in supporting science and technology companies; supporting them to improve corporate governance and commercialize products post R&D process.

Hanoi is also expected to help high potential science and technology firms create products capable of competing in the market and developing sustainably; instruct firms to apply for incentive polices and seek recommendations from the business community to finalize legal framework for science and technology firms.

In the coming time, Hanoi would continue encouraging innovative startups to pursue the science and technology approach, which is considered key to form a strong base of pioneering companies applying technologies and sciences for greater competitiveness.

Statistics from the Ministry of Science and Technology revealed Vietnam currently has 3,000 firms operating in science and technology, including 468 certified as science and technology enterprises as of August 2019 and 36 as high-tech ones; over 1,400 software developers in IT sector and 400 operating in hi-tech parks, among others. However, over 800 enterprises with exclusive patent licenses have not registered as science and technology companies.

HCM City sees sharp drop in tourism, more pain expected

The number of foreign tourists visiting HCM City in the first two months of the year declined by 62 per cent year-on-year to 335,800, resulting in a 65 per cent drop in tourism revenues, according to its Department of Tourism.

Hotels and tour operators are suffering a rash of cancellations and sharp drop in bookings due to new coronavirus (Covid-19) fears, a report by the department said.

Twenty two major tour operators reported cancellations by nearly 88,000 domestic and international tourists of their trips to the city, causing revenue losses of VNĐ920.5 billion (US$21.4 million).

During the first two months of the year, hotels saw an average revenue drop of 25.4 per cent.

Three- to five-star hotels are expecting a year-on-year drop in revenues of 62 per cent in March and April.

Many hotels and restaurants have laid off workers, with the average rate being 9.5 per cent of employees.

Novotel Saigon and Tân Sơn Nhất Hotel have cut staff by 25 per cent and 20 per cent.

Almost all travel companies have suspended tours to South Korea, Japan, the US, Spain and France from March to August as the coronavirus outbreak worsens globally.

Việt Nam is expected to lose US$5.9-7.7 billion in tourism-related revenues in the three months from February, according to the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism.

City authorities have suspended major public gatherings as a protective measure against Covid-19, including the Áo Dài Festival.

The festival, organised annually by the city Department of Tourism and the Women’s Union, was scheduled to take place at the beginning of this month.

Residential suburban projects prove alluring to buyers

The western suburbs of HCM City has seen a rise in popularity among real-estate developers in recent years thanks to their natural environment – which mostly remains untouched – and vast areas of undeveloped land, according to industry experts.

Among the most sought-after are shophouses and villas, as Vietnamese buyers often prefer the option to own the land lot on which the property sits, seeing it as a long-term investment.

This is also in line with a number of government-sponsored initiatives to reduce the number of households living in densely-populated urban areas, especially major cities such as HCM City and Ha Noi.

“I know quite a few people who chose to leave the crowded city to live in the suburbs. As the infrastructure network continues to improve, especially in Dong Nai Province – a Mekong Delta province west of HCM City and home to future Long Thanh International Airport – I’ve made a decision to invest here,” said Le Thi Thu, a HCM City resident who recently purchased land in the province.

Nguyen Thi Thanh, a real-estate investor, said it was only a matter of course for buyers to look to nearby suburbs, such as Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces, as land is scarce in urban centres. Affordable price tag, generous and eco-friendly living space in well-planned new projects appear extremely attractive to buyers.

A report from batdongsan.com.vn, a popular real estate website in Viet Nam, said searches related to properties in HCM City's surrounding provinces surged by 48 per cent in 2019.

Former deputy head of the Central Institute for Economic Management Vo Tri Thanh said the demand for eco-friendly residential projects in close proximity to large cities such as HCM City and Ha Noi had been on the rise for some years.

Three major reasons have been identified as scantier supply in urban centres, new development plans for metropolitan areas and improved infrastructure, said Thanh. In addition, homeowners now prefer areas with cleaner air which play to the advantage of projects located in the suburbs, which often dedicate a large portion of their land for green space and community facilities.

Projects with flexible payment schemes, convenient location and established reputation hold even greater allure to potential buyers with the trend likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

Seafood processor Hung Vuong cuts revenue forecast, returns focus to aquaculture

Seafood processing business Hung Vuong has cut its revenue target by 8 per cent from the last projection to more than VND11.5 trillion (US$495 million) for the 2020 financial year.

The figure jumped from VND4.1 trillion earned in financial year 2019, which spanned from October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019.

Post-tax profit is forecast at VND350 billion, a big reverse from the loss of VND1.07 trillion made in the last financial year.

This year’s earnings forecasts are lower than previous projections, which were VND12.5 trillion in total revenue and VND790 billion in post-tax profit.

The company also plans to change its financial year for 2020, which lasts from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020.

Before 2020, its financial year lasted from October 1 to September 30 the following year.

The company would return its focus back onto aquaculture and leave pig-farming division to Thadi, a member of Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco) that signed a strategic partnership pact with Hung Vuong in early January 2020, chairman Duong Ngoc Minh said at the firm’s annual shareholder meeting on Friday.

Under the partnership agreement, Thadi will hold 35 per cent of Hung Vuong’s capital. The two firms will set up a pig-farming joint venture, in which Thadi holds a 65 per cent stake.

The change was made because banks had been hesitant to provide full support for the company, therefore, the board had to make the decision, Minh said.

Hung Vuong had troubles developing pig farms, he said, adding the number of pigs had fallen sharply and it would take the joint venture about two years to recover.

The company in 2020 would concentrate on its core business activities, which are tra fish processing, fishery feed and storage, the chairman added.

A frozen warehouse with total capacity of 60,000 tonnes was being constructed and it was planned to open in August, Minh said.

It was a tough year for the fishery sector in 2019 and early 2020 as market demand in China, the biggest trade partner that accounts for 30 per cent of Viet Nam’s total exports, was significantly down due to COVID-19, he said.

Seafood companies in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta had stalled for the last three months as global demand had been slashed by half, he said.

Hung Vuong on Friday proposed shareholders approve Thadi to increase its ownership to more than 25 per cent of the capital without making a public offer.

Thadi now holds 24.28 per cent in Hung Vuong, equal to 53.9 million shares.

The seafood firm also planned to issue 20 million shares to Thaco and related investors in a private deal at VND10,000 per share.

Income raised from the share issuance would be added into the firm’s working capital for 2020.

Hung Vuong shares (HoSE: HVG) plummeted 5.6 per cent to end Friday at VND6,800 apiece.

Nam Long eyes profit-taking in 2019 - 21

Nam Long Investment Corporation (NLG) achieved net revenues of VND1.221 trillion (US$52.5 million) in the fourth quarter of last year, a 50 per cent increase year-on-year, its financial report for the quarter shows.

The sharp increase was attributed to the company’s projects such as Flora Novia, Dao Nho villas and Valora Island projects, which it completed and handed over to customers.

Its after-tax profit was nearly VND560 billion ($24.1 million), more than four times the figure for the same period last year.

Of this, VND114 billion ($4.9 million) came from joint venture activities, with the major contribution coming from nearly 1,200 apartments at the Mizuki Park project (joint venture with Japanese partners).

The quarter numbers pushed Nam Long's net income after tax for the full year to VND1.007 trillion ($43.3 million), up 13.4 per cent from the previous year and 5 per cent higher than its target.

This was its highest profit ever while VND1 trillion was a nice, round figure.

By the end of last year Nam Long had accumulated VND1.839 trillion ($79.1 million) worth of undistributed profits and VND988 billion worth of equity surplus. The company also has more than 19.5 million treasury shares with a carrying value of nearly VND383 billion.

Nam Long currently has VND2 trillion in cash reserves while its loans decreased by 8 per last year to VND924 billion, with corporate bonds it issued in 2018 and maturing in 2025 accounting for VND626 billion.

Its debt-to-equity ratio is only 0.16. Nam Long has more than VND1.8 trillion worth of receivables, including nearly VND1.2 trillion in short-term advanced payment from buyers and VND694 billion in long-term unrealised revenues.

A company spokesperson said the period from the end of 2019 to 2021 would be a profitable period because the number of apartments to be delivered to customers would be three times the number in 2015 – 18.

So the company has set itself an annual profit growth target of 25-30 per cent in the period.

This year Nam Long will launch some 3,000 units worth around VND8 trillion at projects such as Mizuki Park, Akari City, a 165ha portion in phase 1 of the 355ha Waterpoint, and other some others in Can Tho City and Hai Phong.

Its collaboration with Japanese partners Nishi Nippon Railroad (Nishitetsu) and Hankyu Realty (Hankyu) has helped it raise relatively cheap funds and spread business risks.

By raising cheap capital, the company has been able to develop affordable projects, exactly what its main customer base demands.

The co-operation with the Japanese companies has also helped Nam Long hedge risks at a time when the real estate market has been volatile, especially recently.

It hopes to acquire 10-20ha of land a year in places in the southern region such as HCM City, Dong Nai, Long An, and satellite cities that have industrial parks and are densely populated.

It has also started to move into the north to places like Ha Noi and Hai Phong to expand its network and meet more customers’ demands.

SCIC plans higher revenue and profit

The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) plans to achieve revenue of more than VND6.9 trillion (US$298.5 billion) this year.

SCIC also plans to earn a profit before tax of VND4.84 trillion and contribute VND3.47 trillion to the state budget.

The plan was approved this week by SCIC’s managing agency the Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC).

This year, SCIC will continue its tasks of restructuring and equitising State-owned enterprises (SOEs) and making them public on the local market.

Last year, SCIC divested 12 SOEs with revenue of VND314 billion, earning VND232 billion.

However, SCIC chairman’s Nguyen Duc Chi said: “There are still many difficulties and obstacles to increase the number of successful capital-selling enterprises.”

Chi said: “There are many SOEs that are difficult to sell,” adding they failed many times in selling capital of large enterprises such as Vocarimex and Domesco.

Last year, SCIC achieved VND6.76 trillion in revenue and more than VND4 trillion in profit after tax.

Established in 2006 under the orders of the Prime Minister, SCIC acted as the State's representative at companies and is investing in key industries and sectors of the economy to reinforce the State's contribution to the economy with respect to market principles.

It is currently managing a portfolio of various companies that are operating in diversified industries of the economy, such as financial services, energy, industry and telecommunications, as well as construction, transportation, consumer goods, healthcare and IT.

Cyberspying groups haunt intel in Southeast Asia

Major advanced persistent threat (APT) groups have increased their activity and are waging sophisticated cyberespionage in the Southeast Asia region, according to cyber-security company Kaspersky.

APTs are complex attacks, consisting of many different components like penetration tools, network propagation mechanisms, spyware, tools for concealment (root/boot kits) and others, often sophisticated techniques, all designed to get undetected access to sensitive information.

In its 2019 APT report, the company said 2019 was a busy year for cybercriminals as they launched new attack tools, including spying through mobile malware to achieve their goal to steal information from government and military entities and organisations across the region.

Vitaly Kamluk, director of the global research and analysis team (GReAT) Asia Pacific at Kaspersky, said: “Geopolitics is one of the main factors that shape the cyber threat landscape in Southeast Asia. A number of our investigations into APT attacks targeting the region last year showed the main attack motivation was economic and geopolitical intelligence gathering. Inevitably the main victims are mostly government organisations, diplomatic entities and political parties.”

The main APT groups which targeted Southeast Asian countries in 2019 and 2020 were FunnyDream, Platinum, Cycldek, HoneyMyte, Finspy, PhantomLance, and Zebrocy.

Platinum, for instance, is one of the most technologically advanced APT actors with a traditional focus on the Asia Pacific region.

In 2019, Kaspersky researchers discovered Platinum using a new backdoor, dubbed Titanium and named after a password to one of the self-executable archives.

Titanium is the final result of a sequence of dropping, downloading and installing stages. The malware hides at every step by mimicking common software – protection-related, sound drivers software, DVD video creation tools.

Diplomatic and government entities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Viet Nam were identified among its victims.

Cycldek is a Chinese-speaking actor, is also known as Goblin Panda and is infamous for information theft and espionage across government, defence and energy sectors in the region using PlugX and HttpTunnel malware variants. Its target countries include Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Yeo Siang Tiong, general manager for Southeast Asia, Kaspersky, said: “Our findings about the threat landscape in Southeast Asia last year revealed a growing need for both public and private institutions to beef up their cybersecurity capabilities.

“These various groups, with covert infiltration schemes and attack methods and waging espionage campaigns in the region, show that security has to go beyond the usual anti-virus and firewall solutions.”

Kaspersky is currently monitoring over 100 APT groups and operations globally, regardless of their origin, he said.

TIBCO Software opens office in Ha Noi

TIBCO Software opened an engineering office in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

TIBCO Software is a US company specialising in integration, API management and data analysis.

Sharing about the decision to increase its presence in the Vietnamese market, Erich Gerber, senior vice president of TIBCO Software, said it was the perfect time for Viet Nam to seize and implement new opportunities from digital transformation.

Viet Nam was an attractive investment markets with a rising global innovation index and also a country with a growing digital background, he added.

The office aims to share knowledge with companies in Viet Nam on data management, how to comply with data security and management regulations, as well as how to use changes in overall data management to implement and realise business profits more effectively.

TIBCO also aims to co-operate with prestigious financial and academic institutions in searching talented personnel for the company's recruitment and internship programmes in Viet Nam.

MIC to submit national digital transformation programme this month

The Ministry of Information and Communications said it was completing the national digital transformation programme and expected to submit it to the Prime Minister this month.

The programme includes digital transformation plans, solutions and roadmaps in key sectors and fields.

The People's Committee of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue recently proposed the Ministry of Information and Communications to speed up digital transformation to create a foundation for forming a digital economy in accordance with the Government's plan.

Responding to the proposal, the ministry said that the Politburo's Resolution 52-NQ/TW on a number of guidelines and policies of active participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution had driven the digital transformation trend in Viet Nam.

One of the goals of the resolution is to make the digital economy account for 30 per cent of the country’s GDP by 2030.

In particular, the Ministry of Information and Communications declared that this year would be the year of national digital transformation to turn Viet Nam into a digital economy and digital society.

The fundamental elements in digital transformation, which are institutions, infrastructure, cybersecurity and training, will be given investment priority to make the country among 50 countries by 2025 and the world's top 30 countries in the IT field by 2030.

Also in the response to Thua Thien-Hue Province, the ministry said that for the effective implementation of the national digital transformation programme, the ministry required localities, especially localities with good IT background, such as Thua Thien-Hue, to work closely with the ministry to deploy specific contents.

Earlier, at a conference with the information and communications industry, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that Viet Nam would announce the national digital transformation strategy this year.

The Prime Minister requested the ministry to direct businesses to invest in digital infrastructure, leading the way in digital transformation.

Ford's Transit vans run on green fuel made from cooking oil

US automaker Ford has recently approved the use of hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) in its Transit vans.

This renewable diesel fuel is based on waste oils, including used cooking oil that can be sourced from restaurants, takeaways, and even kitchens at home, the company said.

The use of HVO, or renewable diesel, in place of conventional fossil fuels can contribute to improvements in air quality.

Greenhouse gases can be reduced by up to 90 per cent compared with regular diesel. Vehicles run on HVO emit less NOx and particulates than other diesel vehicles because the fuel contains no sulphur or oxygen, the company said.

Commercial companies across Europe collect used cooking oil from restaurants, caterers and schools.

“Enabling our vans to run on fuel made from waste, including used cooking oil, may sound far-fetched but using HVO is, in fact, a very real way in which Transit drivers and fleet operators will soon be able to help everyone enjoy improved air quality,” said Hans Schep, general manager for Commercial Vehicles for Ford in Europe.

Additionally, HVO, which also incorporates waste animal fats and fish oil, helps diesel engines start more easily in low temperatures. The creation process, using hydrogen as a catalyst, means HVO is both cleaner-burning than conventional biodiesels and has a longer shelf life.

Ford thoroughly tested HVO in its 2.0-litre EcoBlue engine to make sure no modifications would be needed, and servicing would not be affected. No further development of the fuel was needed before it could be used in Ford’s latest Transit vans.

HVO is on sale at selected fuel stations in Europe, mainly in Scandinavia and the Baltic states, where it can be offered in a pure form, or as a blend with regular diesel.

Vung Tau spends US$ 2.4 million on building wharf in Con Dao island

Ba Ria – Vung Tau government have decided to continue embarking on the wharf project in Con Dao island with total investment of over VND158 billion (US$2.4 million).

The project had in fact been approved in June, 2007 with initial investment of nearly VND57 billion but after it was adjusted three times in 2009, 2011, and 2013 with investment leaping to VND101 billion.
Work on the wharf got started in September, 2010; however, it has showed structural defects and bad architectural design which have been discovered during execution of construction.

Therefore, the provincial government decided to stop construction in June, 2014 for correction of structure and design. At present, total construction value is worth over VND73 billion.
The work is scheduled to complete in December, 2020.

60 percent of cultivation area in HCMC gets VietGAP certificate

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ho Chi Minh City, up to now, 1,354 organizations and individuals with a total cultivation area of 1,728 hectares, or 12,313 hectares of the growing area of vegetables and fruits, in suburb districts have received the VietGAP certificate, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total growing area in the city with an annual production of 212,098 tons.

Last year, the growing area of vegetables and fruits was 20,500 hectares with a production of more than 580,000 tons. This year, the growing area of safe vegetables of the city is more than 21,000 hectares but its self-sufficiency capacity reaches around 30 percent.

Moreover, 41,200 tons of various types of seeds, including vegetables, corn, and rice, produced by agricultural enterprises in the city have been provided for more than 1 million hectares of the growing areas across the country and 620 tons of seeds were exported, an increase of 27.8 percent compared to the same period in 2018.

Dong Nai province considers to halt opening of more industrial parks

The Southern Province of Dong Nai has been considering to halt opening of additional industrial parks in Bien Hoa Town and Long Thanh and Nhon Trach districts.

For years, the three localities have been becoming the province’s attractive investment destinations because increases in industrial zones brought challenges like housing matter, school problem, environmental pollution, traffic congestions, and negative impacts on residents’ lives.

Therefore, the province prefers to set up service establishments in economic axis routes Bien Hoa-Long Thanh- Nhon Trach because the government in Dong Nai is going to break ground on Long Thanh Airport in Long Thanh District.

Thirty-one existing industrial parks have been operating in Dong Nai Province and most of them are located in Bien Hoa Town, Long Thanh and Nhon Trach districts.

Vocational training needs breakthroughs to meet market’s needs

In the digital era when advances in science and technologies are significantly affecting trading and manufacturing, changes in the job structure and working methods have urged renovations in vocational training so that it is able to answer the labor market’s demands in the near future.

Thanks to the united management for vocational training since the previous year, capital uses, comprehensive planning, and learner routing have seen promising improvement regarding policy democracy and technology implementation. In particular, the use of information technology in admission tasks and the Internet in management tasks have made it more convenient to link schools, learners, and businesses.

Meanwhile, the establishment of job skill councils in various local areas also aid the vocational schools there maintain correct training direction to satisfy businesses sited in those places. This, in turn, forms a stronger relationship between educational institutes and companies.

The Prime Minister has just decided to establish an evaluation board of the planning task for a vocational training network in the period from 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050. This is a novel approach to policy making since there is no longer dependency on a single team in the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training.

This action allows other ministries such as the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and the Ministry of Education and Training to voice their opinions. It is expected that a variety of ideas and experience will help create a more precise planning of national human resources, a more feasible solution for student routing after junior high school, and a more balanced educational-leveled mechanism.

Small- and middle-scaled businesses which require simple-skilled workers still account for a large proportion in Vietnam. Therefore, in the current educational-leveled mechanism, there is a vast majority of low-skilled workers while the proportion of people receiving vocational training is rather modest. This is a great challenge to our country in its strategy for economic development.

Vocational education needs to have a more detailed vision on human resources need until 2030 in order for concerning state agencies to create a synchronous plan for the whole educational system, including primary, secondary, vocational, and tertiary levels.

This important plan should be then customized in accordance with specific characteristics of each local area. There must be a harmonious development between public and private schools, between tertiary education in more developed regions and vocational training in less developed ones. New community colleges are encouraged to be built in places that have sufficient conditions.

Simultaneously, autonomy in vocational institutes should be promoted to make them more active and confident in modernization and standardization processes to answer the demands of the labor market.

It is also essential to improve the image of vocational training to attract more young people who do not wish to pursue higher education.

These must not be deemed as the task of the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training only, but the responsibility of the whole society.

The 2019 Education Law, which will be effective as of July 1, 2020, clearly states that vocational schools are allowed to teach academic subjects besides training job skills. Hence, a detailed syllabus integrating these two aspects should be prepared as soon as possible, along with proper teacher training. Policies to ensure vocational training quality and standards should also be introduced timely.

Hanoi steps up measures to support exporters to overcome Covid-19 havoc

Hanoi’s exports in the first two months of 2020 dropped 19% year-on-year to US$1.72 billion, and most export products suffered declines in revenue.

As the Covid-19 epidemic is causing negative impacts on trade, Hanoi has taken measures to aid exporters and ensure the target of US$18-billion exports in 2020 remains on track, according to Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Doan Toan.

This include training courses for enterprises regarding new free trade agreements and information on foreign markets; stepping up administrative reforms and IT application in tax management process; issuing preferential certificate of origin for companies in industrial parks via public online services at advanced stages, among others.

Moreover, Hanoi’s authorities are set to provide support for specific export products. For electronic, computers and parts, the city plans to construct pilot electronic industrial parks, aiming to develop supporting industries. In the agricultural sector, Hanoi would mobilize financial resources for investment in new farming technologies and seedlings.

The municipal People’s Committee would request the State Bank of Vietnam to continue providing preferential loans for manufacturing and export companies.

Vice Director of Hanoi’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Ta Van Tuong said the agency is tasked with helping farmers and enterprises in branding promotion and adoption of safe production practices; geographical indication and traceability for labeling of agricultural export products; hi-tech farming, among others.

Director of Hanoi’s Department of Industry and Trade Le Hong Thang said trade disruption with China as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic is putting pressure on local enterprises, particular those in the fields of textile and electronics, in looking for input materials for production.

Thang added a number of industrial sectors are dependent on materials from China, which supplies up to 50% of input materials for textile and garment, 27% for footwear and 25% for phones, electronics and machinery.

Director of Thanh Vinh Agriculture and Foods Import Export Company Nguyen Duc Thanh said 60% of the company's revenue comes from exporting products to China. However, the epidemic is blocking trade flows to this market.

Data from Hanoi Statistics Office revealed the city’s exports in the first two months of 2020 fell 19% year-on-year to US$1.72 billion, in which most export products suffered declines in revenue, including phones and parts down 32.2%; electronic and computers down 30.5%; machinery, equipment and parts with 26.8%.

A representative of the Department of Industry and Trade suggested local enterprises diversify their export markets to economies having free trade agreements with Vietnam such as South Korea, Japan and the EU.

A recent study from Fitch Solutions said the Covid-19 epidemic in China would continue to exert heavy pressure on Vietnam’s manufacturing sector in the first half of 2020.

Fitch noted that China’s aggressive measures to prevent the spread of the virus have inevitably weighed on domestic manufacturing and production, as well as logistical mobility, which will lead to spillover effects into Vietnam, particularly as China is a key source of raw materials and a major export market for Vietnam.

Viettel head and shoulders above telecoms brands

State-owned telecommunications giant Viettel has surpassed other regional rivals to become the best performer in brand value in Southeast Asia.

The Global 500, which is an annual report on the world’s most valuable and strongest brands conducted by UK-based brand consultancy firm Brand Finance, has ranked Viettel as the top telecoms firm in Southeast Asia regarding trademark value.

Valued at $5.8 billion, up 34 per cent compared to $4.3 billion in 2019, Viettel was ranked 355th in the world (up 126 places compared to last year), 102nd in Asia, and fourth in Southeast Asia.

Among the seven Southeast Asian companies in the Top 500, Viettel was ahead of Singapore’s OCBC Bank, Telekom Indonesia, and UOB Bank from Singapore, and was behind only Thai oil and gas firm PTT, DBS of Singapore, and Malaysian giant Petronas, who were ranked 120th.

The Brand Finance report showed that this is the most impressive and highest jump in the rankings. In particular, Viettel achieved the highest brand value growth in the world in the telecommunications sector.

Brand Finance’s CEO David Haigh spoke about Viettel’s achievement, “A few telecom operators have achieved growth regarding brand value this year, but first position belongs to Vietnam’s Viettel brand. In 2019, Viettel’s consolidated revenue increased by 7.4 per cent on-year. In addition to the improved revenue from 4G services and overseas markets, the company has a large number of mobile customers.”

According to Haigh, the combined value of the Brand Finance Global 500 has increased by less than 2 per cent on-year, and while 244 brands have increased their brand value, a further 212 are down, including nearly 100 by 10 per cent or more. Those who once enjoyed long-term success are now needing to adjust in a world more unpredictable than ever, while many tech brands are suffering after failing to meet the bullish expectations of investors.

Do Cao Bao, a member of FPT Corporation’s Board of Directors, said that Viettel gained its lofty position thanks to the common slow growth in the world market. “Viettel’s profits actually reduced by VND3 trillion ($130 million) in 2019, and VND4 trillion ($173.9 million) in 2018. However, thanks to the growth of 10 per cent of its subsidiary, Viettel Global, in eight out of nine countries, the brand value of Viettel is still strong,” he said.

According to Bao, the total revenue of Viettel Global increased by VND2.3 trillion ($100 million), bringing the profit of VND2.15 trillion ($93.5 million) in 2019 while it lost in the previous year. “The price of Viettel Global’s shares doubled in 2019, and its current value is $3.45 billion,” Bao said.

In fact, there were only 36 telecoms brands in this year’s list, 80 per cent of which fell in value. The combined value of the telecom brands in the Brand Finance Global 500 stalled, at $558.4 billion in 2020, compared with $567.7 billion in 2015, while all other key sectors recorded significant increases. Revenues of major telecom companies are being affected by a reduction in use of over-the-top messaging apps and short message services, as well as price competition.

Therefore, said Bao, Viettel’s rise should be a source of pride for the company. “Vietnam ranks sixth and third regarding economy and population in the Southeast Asian region, but Viettel has surpassed all the opposition from Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and even Indonesia, whose population is nearly three times higher and which boasts an economy more than four times larger than Vietnam’s,” he said. “Even StarHUB and Singtel, two famous Singapore telecom companies, have been overtaken by Viettel in the last two years.”

According to Bao, Viettel has left telecom companies from around the world in their wake. The group has even managed to outperform companies from Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, and India, whose economies are up to 11 times larger than Vietnam’s.

“Viettel Global’s growth, particularly of Mytel in Myanmar, the world’s last telecommunication market with highest potential, will greatly contribute to Viettel’s growth in the future,” Bao added.

Bao compared Viettel with the two other prominent Vietnamese telecoms groups – Vinaphone and MobiFone. “Although the two operators are older, Viettel has more customers and its annual profit is bigger, so therefore its firm value is also bigger.”

Meanwhile, in its Vietnam 50 2019 report, Brand Finance listed Viettel at the very top, thanks to a value of over $4.3 billion, up 20 per cent, equivalent to more than $1.5 billion, compared to 2018.