ANT Lawyers

Vietnam Law Firm with English Speaking Lawyers

ANT Lawyers

Vietnam Law Firm with English Speaking Lawyers

ANT Lawyers

Vietnam Law Firm with English Speaking Lawyers

ANT Lawyers

Vietnam Law Firm with English Speaking Lawyers

ANT Lawyers

Vietnam Law Firm with English Speaking Lawyers

Thứ Hai, 25 tháng 4, 2016

RISK MANAGEMENT NECESSITY IN VIETNAM?

As Vietnam further integrates into the world business, more investors are eyeing Vietnam for investment. As part of investment due diligence, risk management are always well considered before foreign investors decide to do business with Vietnam partners.



In any parts of the world inluding Vietnam, risk is an inevitable factor in business operation activities; higher return is always accompanied by higher risks. Coping and managing risk is an integral part of any business in order to make profit and create value to shareholders in import export transaction, investment, or merger and acquisition activities in Vietnam.
However, in our daily consulting practice, we have seen a number of businesses whom do not manage risk effectively and furthermore not fully understand about the risks that they are facing.

Typical risks in developing countries like Vietnam are political risks, policy risks, regulations risks, credit risks, bribery and corruptions, and organized crimes.
On daily transaction in trading, according to Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade, there are situations a number of corporate scams between Vietnam and foreign enterprises are reported. In particular, foreign companies sell goods or provide services to partners in Vietnam and in return the Vietnam partner fail to pay.
On a larger scale in FDI through business formation or M&A origination and execution, businesses that do not improve the risk management process will have to face with a lot of different types of risks: serious financial losses, adversely affecting cash flows and the value of shares, decreasing prestige with customers, employees and investors.
Many business leaders often put heavy emphasis on the business activity, profit, and revenues instead of concentrating more on risk management especially understading business partners through corporate intelligence investigation, background studying, adverse media search through professional consultants in Vietnam whom understand languages, cultures, legal environment and busieness practices. Further searches could help foreign investors to understand the company itself, owners, shareholders, members of board of directors of partner companies whom make daily decisions of the business.
In the period that global crisis has been predicted that almost bottom out and start to show signs of recovery, although the recovery process can occur with different speed and characteristics depending on sector and location of the business, the fully preparation of business in all aspects including process and risk managementstrategy could helps business not falling into the passive and also have more possibilities to take advantage of growth opportunities after the recession.
Recently in Vietnam with the impact of high inflation rate and economic recession caused by the global financial crisis, enterprises are increasingly concern about risk management activities. Many experts believe that an effective and well organized risk management system will help businesses withstand and overcome fluctuations.

Thứ Sáu, 22 tháng 4, 2016

risk management in vietnam

The concept of risk is not strange to businesses in particular and those who do business in general. “Doing businesses is taking the risk” became a popular saying of the business people, whether they are owners of large or small businesses.

Although business has to face with risk every day and every hour but risk management is relatively new concept, not many businesses have understanding about it. Therefore, the risk management activities of the business are often being conducted in a half-hearted way. Not many businesses, including large enterprises, have proper risk management departments in their organizational structure. Hence, the uncertainties and crises are usually occurs, causing negative effects and sometimes become disaster for the business.
There are always potential risks in any business environment, whether that environment is developed with clear and transparency rules, or that environment is primitive environment with many confusing and complicated. If the business environment is primitive with inexperienced entrepreneurs, there will be more risks. Risk can be derived from many factors in which the subjective factors may cause risk to occur more with more severe consequences, or vice versa, enterprise can stop the risk or significantly reduce its impact. This depends on the risk management capacity of organizations and businesses.
Risk management is the process of analyzing the environment (inside, outside) to identify, analyze, evaluate, classify, ranking and implementing appropriate solutions to respond to risks to eliminate or minimize the negative impacts that may have. In many cases, risk management includes identifying opportunities within the risk, in order to exploit, take advantage of them and bring benefits to compensate for the damages caused by the risk.
Risk management is different from risk control and risk handling. Risk control is the response activities for the risks that have been identified. Risk handling is dealing with risks and crisis after it has actually occurred. Risk management is the systematic activities, maintaining at every level and assigning to a specialized department.
Properly understand the nature and importance of risk management, business will definitely not hesitate in setting up a professional risk management system. An effective risk management system helps businesses to identify risks early (which are very diverse, extensive and constantly changing), evaluate the possibility to occur and the degree of harm to have effective response measures. Unfortunately, the subjectivity is still the characteristic of many businesses in the risky business environment.

Thứ Tư, 20 tháng 4, 2016

RISK MANAGEMENT: A VITAL ELEMENT WHEN DOING BUSINESS

Risk management is a vital element when doing business but so far, not many enterprises concern about it.

According to a recent survey with 522 companies, there are only 43 companies, accounting for about 8%, have the independent risk management department in their business. More noteworthy, the majority of these 43 companies operating in the banking and financial sector, which has nothing new to risk management. In fact, not all banks have independent and effective risk management departments. The negative problems related to the banking system in recent times somewhat showed the picture about the risk management of this sector.
Risk is understood as any events and situations that could harmful to the ability to achieve the business objectives of the enterprise. Risk management is organized in a formal way and is conducted continuously to identify, control and report the risks that may affect the achievement of the business objectives of the enterprise.
So why businesses are not interested in risk management? Part of this problem stems from the awareness of the leaders. In order to build and operate the risk management system in the enterprise, it needs the commitment of the senior leaders. If senior leaders do not aware of this problem, the administration process will be difficult to achieve the desired effectiveness.
Recently, there are many theories and systems of risk management but small and medium enterprises should be cautious when apply because system and theory are just general and they should be adjusted when applying to each business.
In order to form the culture of risk management, the leaders must along with the employees to implement it regularly and for each project. In theory, the risk management process is carried out in 5 steps: identify risk; evaluate its impact; determine the likelihood; action and measures; monitoring and evaluation.

Thứ Ba, 19 tháng 4, 2016

ALIBABA FROM CHINA ACQUIRES LAZADA VIETNAM

buying company in vietnam

Recently, there is a trend that foreign company comes and buy company in Vietnam, in order to expand their business operation and also set foot in Vietnam market, where is emerging as a potential market of the area.
Alibaba Group – China’s giant technology corporation has spent 1 billion USD to acquire Lazada, thereby officially set foot in the online sales market of Vietnam.
On April 12th 2016, the China’s giant technology group named Alibaba Group announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire the control of e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, which is Lazada with an amount of 1 billion USD , thereby officially set foot in Vietnam.
The transaction includes an investment of 500 million USD in Lazada’s newly issued equity and the repurchase of shares of some Lazada’s shareholders include Rocket Internet SE, Tesco Plc and Investment AB Kinnevik with a total investment value of Alibaba reach approximately 1 billion USD.
This acquisition is expected to help worldwide brands and distributors that are trading on the platform of Alibaba, as well as local vendors can reach the consumer market of Southeast Asia. In addition, Alibaba deal with a certain number of shareholders of Lazada, giving Alibaba the right to purchase and shareholders the right to sell its remaining shares in Lazada at the market prices in 12-18 months after the completion of the transaction.
Lazada is headquartered in Singapore, which was founded and operated by Rocket Internet SE from Germany. The company carries out e-commercial activities in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
According to Bloomberg, the deal came from the objectives set by the billionaire cum Alibaba’s chairman Jack Ma, targeting at least half of company revenue comes from markets outside of China.
Through the deal with Lazada, Alibaba generate more revenue from sale of clothing and electronics in 6 regional markets in Southeast Asia where Lazada if operating, including Vietnam.

Thứ Năm, 14 tháng 4, 2016

VIETNAM RETAILING 2015: FIERCE COMPETITION

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It is easy to see that 2015 was a very active year of Vietnam’s retail market, especially in merger and acquisition (M&A), association and joint venture activities… both in manufacturing and trading of retail businesses such as Kinh Do, Citimart, Metro and Nguyen Kim.
According to Euromonitor International – a market research firm, the retail sales in Asia – Pacific was about 4,000 billion USD in 2012 then the top 500 leading retailers accounted for 1,000 billion USD, representing for 24% of total sales. Vietnam retail market is considered attractive and high potential despite the world economy remains difficult.
In 2014, most of the domestic businesses tend to cluster and maintaining position, except some large enterprises like Co.opmart and Saigon Trading Corp (Satra). Even a few enterprises withdrew locations like Fivimart withdrew all locations in the South or Intimex, Hapro also withdrew some locations in the North. This was intended to reinforce the quality of the business and rebranding. Excepting for Satra and Co.opmart still have more new locations this year. Currently, Saigon Co.opmart has presented on 71 locations including 29 supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and expanded to 42 nationwide supermarkets, along with around 100 Co-op Food convenience stores.
According to the experts, the retail market of Vietnam is shifting from the model of mature market to postmodern market. The market is gradually concentrated and the number of companies decreased. Some large retailers failed, saturated real estate market. The model of hype supercenters dominates the retail industry in the postmodern period. At the end of the growth period will be an important change in the retail market for both retailers and suppliers.
Retailers seek future growth because there is no retail channel dominates the growth. Part of the development of hypermarkets in the mature phase will focus on the discount channel. According to the trend, the discount channel continues to grow in the postmodern period. Currently and in the coming time, retailers will frequently launch discount programs and deals to attract customers.
The factors that impact the global distribution market are the speed of technological change, change in demographics, buying behavior requires lasting communication connection and knowledge-based purchases. Therefore, retailers must take care of customers regularly with the best service.
As for foreign companies, except Walmart corporation (USA) is in the exploratory stage, most of the major corporations in the world have joined the Vietnam retail market such as Lotte, Big C, Metro, Parkson , Aeon… Foreign enterprises are entering Vietnam market by many different ways: joint venture, association, cooperative transfer location.
Vietnam retail market is very potential. Currently, Vietnam has more than 90 million people, in which the young population accounts for more than half. The average GDP of this country is approximately 2,000 USD / person. In the future, this figure will increase and that will be a prerequisite for the development of Vietnam retail industry, especially modern retail. According to statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the market share of modern retail in Vietnam makes up only 25% of total retail sales. The whole country has about 724 supermarkets and 132 shopping centers. Moreover, the number of truly convenience store, which is branded and operated in store chain, is just hundreds stores. Most supermarkets and shopping centers concentrated in major cities and urban areas. In rural areas and suburbs, they are virtually absent from the retail system, they are major distribute in installments. Therefore, the market share of modern retail market of Vietnam is still quite a lot.
However, this market will have fierce competition between domestic and foreign enterprises. Foreign investors are not only penetrating into Vietnam by the ways of joint ventures in the distribution chain right from production process. For example, C.P Company, which is belong to C.P Group (Thailand) is accounting for 50% market share of eggs, 30% market share of chicken, 7% market share of animal feed in Vietnam. Hence, foreign companies are holding a supply chain from production to distribution. Besides, foreign companies are mostly big enterprises that have advantages in capital and experiences. They have good strategies and that will be the biggest challenges for domestic businesses on the path to affirm its position.
2015 and the coming years, Vietnam retail market will continue to be active and witnessing fierce competition among enterprises, particularly between foreign and domestic firms. We will continue to witness the landing of foreign enterprises in Vietnam market such as: Aeon Japan with the Aeon Mall Him Lam project in Sai Dong, Long Bien; the Lotte Group plans to open 60 locations (now have 9 locations). The domestic businesses are making plans to expand the distribution points not only in the city center but also the suburban areas such as Citimart has extended an additional 70 locations with scale from 1,000 to 2,000 m2 / location in the coming time…
2015 is also a year full of opportunities and challenges for the retail sector of Vietnam. From the date of November 1st 2015, Vietnam allows the establishment of 100% foreign investment capital retail companies under Vietnam’s commitments upon WTO accession. Besides, 2015 is year that ASEAN economic community (AEC) has officially been established, which allows the flows of resources, goods and human capital… to be freely moving in the area. Moreover, the TPP agreement with 12 participating countries that was signed in 2015. With this agreement, more than 10,000 kinds of goods from the member countries will be completely tariff eliminated. This will cause many difficulties and disadvantages for domestic goods but it is also the motivation for the production and distribution, enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in Vietnam.
According to the survey, the majority of retail brands that selected Vietnam in 2015 on par with Hong Kong, Singapore, even higher than Indonesia and Malaysia. Three big cities that are Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang belong to the top 10 of the most vibrant retail markets in Asia – Pacific region due to its large and young population, after-tax income growth rapidly, quality retail networks that can attract multinational enterprises.
Vietnam currently has about 8,546 markets, 1 million small shops, 724 supermarkets, 132 trade centers and more than 400 convenience stores. Currently, the rural market with nearly 70% of the population but almost completely overlooked. As planned by 2020, Vietnam would grow up to 1,200 – 1,300 supermarket, 180 trade centers and 157 shopping centers. This suggests that the Vietnam retail market is very attractive for manufacturers, businesses and retailers to penetrate.

Vietnam growing more attractive to foreign investment, including tech

In this Southeast Asian country where millions still live on $2 a day farming rice or fitting buttons onto shirts, Silicon Valley chip maker Intel raised eyebrows a decade ago when it launched a semiconductor factory here — the single largest American investment in the country ever.
 Kết quả hình ảnh cho business

Now, the Santa Clara company's $1.04-billion assembly, testing and manufacturing plantis "moving up the product stack," executives say. It is adding more complex products to the mix, such as central processing units and systems on a chip, and sending some of its 1,100 Vietnam employees as far as Oregon for training.

"Vietnam has positioned technology at the center of its growth and development goals," said Sherry Boger, general manager with Intel Vietnam. "We see our facility and the broader technology ecosystem in Vietnam steadily rising up the value chain."


Vietnam is one of the 12 countries participating in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a landmark 12-nation free-trade deal whose negotiations concluded this week. The accord will let Vietnam ship many products tariff-free to countries that constitute two-fifths of the world's trade.


Initially, the biggest boost will be for Vietnam's apparel and footwear exports. But the U.S.-led trade pact should also help Vietnam attract more high-tech investments like Intel's and push the country up the value chain. Neither China nor Vietnam's main rivals in Southeast Asia have joined the accord; the Peterson Institute of International Economics forecasts that of all the TPP participants, Vietnam stands to gain the most.


The trade deal is just part of Vietnam's strategy as it aims to move up the value chain after three decades as a hub for low-cost manufacturing. The country is also easing investment and tax rules, improving infrastructure and pursuing other trade deals as it seeks to position itself ahead of nearby competitors such as Cambodia and Myanmar.


Vietnam opened to investors in 1987, and within a few years became an alternative to China for companies looking to outsource basic factory work. China's slowing economic growth since 2011 and its strategic shift away from low-value export manufacturing have been raising Vietnam's competitive edge for making auto parts, furniture and garments.


Labor costs 20% less in Vietnam than in China, Ho Chi Minh City business advisory firm Infocus Consultants estimates. An 800-mile land border with China makes it relatively inexpensive to import Chinese raw materials and supplies for factory work. Value-added manufacturing made up 17% of Vietnam's economy last year.


Investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts that Vietnam's economy, now the 55th largest in the world, will surge to No. 17 by 2025, with a gross domestic product of $450 billion, up from $186 billion currently.


The nation's economy grew 6% last year and is forecast to expand at about the same rate this year. Since Vietnam opened its economy to foreign investment, its growth rate has ranged between 5% and 10% annually.


"Vietnam is among the more competitive destinations for foreign direct investment in the region," said Sandeep Mahajan, the World Bank's lead Vietnam economist. "So the question is how do they leverage that to the maximum extent?"


In addition to participating in the trade pact, Vietnam expects to sign a separate free-trade agreement by 2018 with the European Union, a pact that would drop tariffs on many goods to the country's major export market. And to entice even more overseas investment, Vietnamese officials are finalizing rules to let foreign investors fully own locally listed companies.


Overseas fund managers appear eager; already, half the top 50 Vietnamese companies by market capitalization have reached the old 49% foreign ownership limit. Many foreign investors started taking an interest in 2013, when the Ho Chi Minh City stock exchange rose by 20% over the course of the year.


"I've talked with a lot of people, and they are optimistic," because as soon as foreign investors can buy majority shares, stock goes up and then you can make money on that, so they're quite excited, said Pham Luu Hung, associate investment advisory director with SSI Research in Hanoi. Hung's parent company, Saigon Securities, has declared itself formally open to majority foreign investment.




Foreign direct investment — led by Japan, Taiwan and South Korea — accounts for almost a fifth of the Vietnamese GDP.


Taiwanese high-tech fabric maker Singtex is among those putting money into Vietnam. Last November, the company opened a factory near Ho Chi Minh City employing more than 400 workers.


Singtex President Jason Chen said low labor costs factored into the decision, as did the expectation that TPP would offer his company's products a leg up. Singtex makes high-performance fabrics used by companies including Nike and Timberland.


"TPP is just one reason to go to Vietnam," Chen said at his company's headquarters in New Taipei City recently. "We have very good relationships with the Vietnamese; for the last nine years they have been working in our company here, so they are trained and know the corporate culture. They can return home and manage things and we don't have to worry too much."


To help keep Vietnamese exports competitive, Vietnam has let its currency, the dong, weaken three times since January (1% each time), with the latest move in August after China's move to devalue its renminbi by 3.5%. A weaker currency makes exported goods cheaper overseas.


But production of some basic goods, particularly garments, is already moving from Vietnam to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, where labor is even cheaper. So Vietnam is trying to stay ahead of its neighbors and attract more high-tech production by upgrading its transport infrastructure with Japanese development aid.


The assistance has helped fund Vietnam's first metro line, due to open next year in Ho Chi Minh City, the country's financial hub. Congestion at the Hanoi airport, a major international gateway, eased this year with the opening of a Japanese-bankrolled $210-million terminal.


In high tech, Samsung Display broke ground last year on a $1-billion screen production plant, after opening a $2.5-billion smartphone assembly center in Bac Ninh province near Hanoi. Taiwan's Foxconn Technology Group — a key Apple contractor — makes cameras, computers and other electronic devices in the same province.


A lack of skilled workers is Vietnam's chief shortfall. Vietnam has 90 million people but only 3% are graduates of its 400 colleges and universities. Many of those institutions lack teachers for the subjects that foreign investors want employees to learn, human resource consulting firm ManpowerGroup said in a research report. Universities may feel stuck for lack of autonomy to decide fees and curricula.


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Intel helped start a program to improve university-level engineering programs at Vietnamese institutions. And the company has sent 73 of its Vietnamese workers to study for two years at Portland State University in Oregon.


"We understood from the outset that there would be a need for capacity-building in skills development," said Boger, the Intel executive. "Our Vietnam graduate and post-graduate entrants are progressing well.… We are at an early stage in our investment."

latimes.com

Thứ Tư, 13 tháng 4, 2016

FOREIGN EXPERTS FELT “BREATHE EASY” WHEN LIVING IN VIETNAM

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Vietnam ranked 21st in the economic ranking, but ranked 5th when talking about the saving ability of foreign experts.

According to the survey from HSBC. Most of foreign experts believe that Vietnam had a more comfortable life with less spending on housing costs (62%), travel (73%), clothing (68%), goods and necessities (62%), essential services like electricity, water, telephone (70%) and bills (77%). Thus, experts are likely to save more (68%) while living in Vietnam.
More than half of the foreign experts (62%) said that in Vietnam they can afford to hire a maid and nanny, something that they cannot afford while living at home country, and can enjoy the luxury vacation (52%), compared with only 28% and 36% of global experts.
The survey from HSBC also showed that Vietnam ranked 22nd in the ranking on experience, but 2nd in the ability to make friends. More than half of the foreign experts (56%) find that they integrate quickly into life and culture of Vietnam, and the majority of foreign experts find it easy to make new friends in Vietnam (68%).
Stabilize the life in Vietnam is relatively easy, with 36% of the experts feel like home once or within six months after moving to Vietnam. Most of foreign experts also enjoy integrated into in Vietnam (61%), enjoy and cook Vietnamese foods (78%).
Vietnam ranked 31st in the ranking about family. Almost half of the foreign experts (43%) said that the cost of child care in Vietnam is less expensive than at home country, and most of foreign experts (74%) send their children to the international School.
Vietnam is developing very fast and owns a dynamic business environment. This is an attractive destination for entrepreneurs seeking start-up opportunity and new business projects.
As an emerging market, Vietnam brings foreign experts many challenges and chances to develop career. With significant attractions in terms of tourism, culture and people, Vietnam also brings foreign experts wonderful experiences along with ease of integration and stabilizes the life in Vietnam.

Business in Vietnam

Thứ Hai, 11 tháng 4, 2016

VIETNAM AND EUROPEAN UNION WILL ELIMINATE OVER 99% IMPORT TARIFFS ON EACH OTHER

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At a press conference on October 30th in Vietnam informed of important agreements between Vietnam and European Union (EU), Mr. Bruno Angelet – Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) said that early August 2015, the EU and Vietnam has announced the conclusion of negotiations but the negotiation group continues to resolve the remaining technical issues, while improving documents.
Once completed, the Agreement must be approved by the National Assembly of Vietnam, the Council and the European Parliament. Accordingly, Vietnam and the EU will eliminate over 99% of import tariffs.
For the few remaining tariffs, both parties will grant each other tariff quota or tariff reduction. This can be seen as the highest level of commitment that Vietnam has achieved in the FTA has been signed so far.
In the investment sector, the commitments to ensure an open business and investment environment to help promote high quality investment flows of both the EU and other partners in Vietnam. Thus, Vietnam has the opportunity to become the connection for trade and investment activities between EU and other countries in the region.
In addition, the commitments related to investment, liberalization of trade, service, Government procurement and intellectual property protection… will also open up opportunities for both sides to approach each other’s markets and ensure balance overall benefit.
EU can become the best partner in the future of Vietnam because Vietnam is also becoming one of the most dynamic countries and have good relationship with EU in the region. EU can support Vietnam in many fields such as governance models and provide excellent services in the field of infrastructure, training and education, the judiciary and law, health, social insurance and sustainable energy.
ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing intelligence, information, management or support and administrative services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation.  Our services are as following:
We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows.  We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.
We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848 3520 2779 .  To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

Chủ Nhật, 10 tháng 4, 2016

ITALIAN BUSINESS EXPAND INVESTMENT IN BINH DUONG

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Ambassador of Italy in Vietnam and Binh Duong provincial leaders have attend the opening of the investment support office of Emilia Romagna (Italy) in Binh Duong.
This is the first representative office of the business community, investors of Emilia Romagna in Vietnam, which functions to create a bridge of cooperation between the two countries and promote Italian businesses to invest in Binh Duong.
On the same day in Binh Duong province, the ceremony to sign a memorandum of cooperation between Becamex IDC Corporation (under Binh Duong Provincial People’s Committee) with the Emilia Romagna region, Bonfiglioli Group and Unimore University (Italy). Content of the memorandum is to cooperate in economy, science, technology and education between the parties.
The Italian Embassy in Vietnam said Emilia Romagna is a dynamic economic region with many Italian famous enterprises in the field of manufacturing industry.
Through the opening of a representative office for the business community in the Binh Duong and signed a cooperation will open more opportunities, create the wave of investments by Italian enterprises to Vietnam in general and Binh Duong in particular.

Thứ Năm, 7 tháng 4, 2016

VIETNAM: THE POTENTIAL DESTINATION FOR VENTURE CAPITALS

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If we see the business, the attention of Venture Capitals (VCs) and foreign investors are the indication then Vietnam is emerging as a potential environment for the startup operation.
Besides the investment funds that have been presented in Vietnam as IDG Ventures Vietnam, a number of new VCs have joined the Vietnam entrepreneurship ecosystem and are very optimistic about the ahead opportunities.
On August 2015, the Captii Ventures owned by Captii Corporation has invested a sum of 6 numbers to the startup OnOnPay phone recharge. This represents the first venture investment of Captii in Vietnam.
Factors attracting investors here are the demographic advantages and business models that can be replicated. According to Techlist.asia, the startup figure in Vietnam has risen to 1,400, bringing this country becomes the 3rdlargest startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia after Singapore and Indonesia.
With a population of 90 million people who are in the process of economic growth, young population structure, emerging middle class and the rate of Internet user is increasing rapidly, especially mobile phone, Vietnam is in the beginning phase of a very exciting cycle.
Moreover, Vietnam is a large, young and growing rapidly economy, the technology index such as the ratio of using the Internet and smart phone are in large-scale, the leading founder generation have achieved success and demonstrate the potential of the talent and market of Vietnam.
Compared to other Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam), Vietnam has strong advantages in the available technique human resources, energy, resources and potential growth the market.
Moreover, the new policy on foreign investment has entered into force on July 1st 2015 with more freedom for foreigners to own real estate in Vietnam and simpler procedures for projects or portfolios.
In the 3 areas that Captii Ventures is focusing on that are market, digital media and apps for business, they will participate more actively in at least two areas that are market and apps for business.
Not only with the VCs, Vietnam startup is also attractive to other foreign companies such as Yello Mobile from South Korea, the company has invested in CleverAds advertising company and Websosanh – the price comparison site.
Garena, a Singapore’s internet company has invested Series B for Foody, startup locations that in the same month continued to receive Series C investment from Tiger Global Management – US venture capital fund.
Transcosmos, a software manufacturing company based in Tokyo, had previously acquired a 30% stake in Hotdeal e-commerce platform in a deal signed on August 2015.

Thứ Tư, 6 tháng 4, 2016

HOW VIETNAM REAL ESTATE SECTOR PERFORMED IN 2015?

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The the real estate industry in 2015 have beee influenced by foreign investors and easier access to credit source.
With the credit easing policies, foreigners are allowed to buy houses in Vietnam and the infrastructure development has been the driving force for the recovery of the real estate market in 2015. The real estate industry outlook in 2015 will come from foreign investors and the easier access to credit source. Then, the B and C class apartment segment with prices ranging from 50,000 USD/apartments with full infrastructure, near the metro will attract attention in 2015.
Credit easing policy and interest rates on deposits and loans are at their lowest in 3 years; therefore, this is a good time to invest. Moreover, changes in Circular 36 will help reducing the risk factors for real estate loans, thereby creating more room for credit loan and lending rates are at their lowest in 3 years will encourage real estate businesses continue to develop projects to serve the increasing demand. It is expected that low interest rates will make the cash flow moving into other investment channels such as real estate.
Foreigners now can own houses are also the catalyst for the real estate market in 2015. Currently with nearly 80,000 foreigners are working in Vietnam, the home owning is expected to be a catalyst for the real estate market to become more active in 2015.
In addition, the lending conditions for the 30,000 billion VND lending package will be simplified, thereby helping to speed up the disbursement of this package in 2015.
The year 2015 witnesses the return of speculators, private investors in the real estate market. Mainly the apartments in segment A and B are their targets when the price of those segment decreased by 20 -25% compared with the peak of the market.
Besides, the development of infrastructure is also the motivation for the growth of the real estate market. With the expectation that in 2015 the Government will maintain the spending of over 3 billion USD for infrastructure, construction and expansion of roads, railways, power grids…, that will actively support the development of real estate market. The most obvious evidence is the construction of Metro no.1 in 2014 has attracted more real estate projects on the path of the Metro line.
Some notably infrastructure projects in 2015:
+ Complete Nhat Tan Bridge: The Ring Road 2 connect with the Nhat Tan Bridge will help reducing the travel time around Hanoi as well as connecting to Noi Bai International Airport. This will be a positive landmark for real estate projects in the  northwest corridor of the capital.
+ Complete the Hanoi – Hai Phong highway: The 106 km long highway linking Hanoi and Hai Phong – the largest port city in Northern of Vietnam will help real estate projects in Long Bien and Gia Lam becomes more vibrant.
+ Complete the Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) – Dau Giay highway and continue building the Ring Road 2 in HCMC will help the real estate projects in the Eastern of the city (District 2, 9, Thu Duc) becomes more attractive.
+ Construction of Ben Luc – Long Thanh highway: This is a part of Ring Road 3 that will connect Long An to Long Thanh International Airport in the future without having to go through the central districts of HCMC. The project is expected to help improving the real estate market in the Southern of HCMC.
ANT Consulting is here to assist you from the outset; providing corporate intelligence, risk advisory, management consulting services that assist market entrance, and ensure efficient business start-up operation.  Our services are as following:
We strive to save your cost by guiding you towards economical solutions that comply with local legislation and procedures. We support you through early logistic solutions and carry you through as your business grows.  We aim to bridge the gap between international best practices and local cultures and assist foreign companies and organizations entering Vietnam market to overcome commercial and regulatory issues.
We could be reached at email: ant@antconsult.vn or tel: +848 3520 2779 .  To learn more about us, please visit www.antconsult.vn

Thứ Ba, 5 tháng 4, 2016

Challenges of doing business in Vietnam

Expanding gross domestic product (GDP), modern infrastructure and a dramatic increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) are signs that Vietnam has transformed into an attractive investment destination, but there are still barriers to doing business which are best navigated with local help on board.

Since 1988, there have been 13,544 foreign investment projects with a total registered capital of US$213 billion in Vietnam, building a large overseas investment sector which occupies about 17% of GDP and 43.4% of industrial product value. Overseas firms are attracted by Vietnam’s 87 million-strong population which supports a large and young workforce and that has also seen an increase in disposable income in recent years.

Strong economic growth rates have been a common feature of the Vietnamese economy since the 1990s, and even though the high levels slumped slightly during the global financial crisis, the country has rapidly returned to pre-crisis growth trends and is expected to continue on this path. Infrastructure, tourism development, and related real estate and retail sector development in urban areas are all attracting large amounts of FDI, and overseas firms are increasingly attracted by the country’s move from a centralised to a market-orientated economy.

However, The World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) rank Vietnam in 99th place in the world for ease of doing business, which means it is essential to seek local help when expanding in the country.

Starting a Business

There are 10 procedures to undertake when starting a business in Vietnam, making it among the most complex start-up environments in the world. What’s more, many tasks facing new corporate entities may be unfamiliar to overseas companies, making the task far more rigorous. Registration of the seal-sample at the Police Department, for example, or publically announcing the formation in a local newspaper are procedures most companies generally don’t have to complete.

Dealing with Construction Permits

It takes 110 days and 11 procedures to get permits for construction in Vietnam, once again requiring interaction with several official departments. Inspections must be carried out by the Department of Construction and the municipality, and certificates should be obtained from the Firefighters Prevention Department, the Department of Construction and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Getting Electricity

Getting electrical connection is among the most rigorous tasks facing startups in Vietnam, taking 115 days to complete and costing a significant percentage of income per capita. Inspections by the local power corporation are required before completing processes with the Traffic and Transport Department and the Firefighters Prevention Department.

Registering Property

Registering property takes 57 days to complete, which is far higher than the OECD norm but around average for East Asia and Pacific. Contracts between the transferor and the transferee are signed before taxation is paid and registration for the right to use land is complete.

Getting Credit

Vietnam is home to quite a stable credit environment, and obtaining capital is a relatively smooth process for businesses. However, the lack of a private credit bureau can make the process a little trickier for overseas firms.

Protecting Investors

Investor protection is an area in which Vietnam fails miserably. It is ranked in 169th place by the World Bank and IFC, with a weak director liability index and shareholder suits index.

Paying Taxes

There are a massive 32 corporate tax payments to be made each year which takes an average of 872 company hours to complete. Compared to the OECD norm of 176 and the East Asia and Pacific average of 209, taxation is one of the most burdensome processes of doing business in Vietnam.

Trading Across Borders

Given its strong manufacturing base and reliance on interconnectivity, trading across borders is a cheap endeavour. However, that isn’t to say the process is not complicated, and the stream of documentation required for both importing and exporting highlights that cross-border trade can be difficult at the best of times.

Enforcing Contracts and Resolving Insolvency

Enforcing contracts takes 400 days to complete and 34 procedures. Resolving insolvency is a far more laborious process, taking five years on average to complete and with a low recovery rate.

Culture

The Vietnamese believe in the teachings of the early Chinese philosopher Confucius which emphasise the importance of relationships, responsibility and obligation. Vietnam is also a collectivist country and community concerns will almost always come before business or individual needs.

TMF

NESTLÉ SET UP THE 6TH FACTORY IN VIETNAM

set up factory in vietnam

This is the 6th plant of Nestlé in Vietnam and the 2nd factory located in Hung Yen. The project has investment capital of 70 million USD, which is expected to come into operation in 2017.

Nestlé Vietnam Company has just started construction of a new factory in Thang Long II Industrial Park in Hung Yen. As reported by the company, the new plant with capital investment of 70 million USD was built on an area of 10 hectares and expected to go into operation in 2017, creating jobs for hundreds of local workers.
In 3 years, Nestlé has continually set up new plants and expand existing plants. The investment activities are continued to expand expressed the firm belief in the rapid development of Vietnam’s economy. At the same time, assessing that Vietnam is having many advantages in attracting investment with a young and dynamic population, growing consumer markets and favorable business environment.
Nestlé Group specializes in manufacturing and supplying nutrition and health products. Founded in 1866 and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, till now, the group has developed 447 plants in 86 countries with 339,000 employees, owns more than 2,000 brands with 10,000 products.
Estimating that every day, there are about 1 billion of Nestlé products are sold worldwide. Nestlé operates in Southeast Asia since the early years of the last century, the first sales offices located in Saigon in 1912. In 1995, Nestlé Vietnam was born. So far the total investment capital of Nestlé in Vietnam reached over 520 million USD, employs approximately 2,000 employees and operates 5 plants.
Earlier, in 1992, Nestlé joint ventured with Long An Trading Company to founded La Vie Co., Ltd. In 2001, the company continues to build La Vie mineral water plant in Nhu Quynh town, Van Lam district, Hung Yen with registered capital of more than 10.3 million USD.
As noted by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Nestlé Vietnam is one of the 100% foreign investments that have invested very soon in Vietnam. Since going into operation so far, the company has maintained a fairly annual growth rate, especially in 2015, the growth rate of the company reached approximately 15%.
According to the Swiss Ambassador in Vietnam, Switzerland is in the list of 20 largest investors in the world. In Vietnam, investment projects of Swiss firms are growing significantly. The Swiss company has been operating in Vietnam for many years, contributing more than 2 billion USD of investment capital in Vietnam, bringing the Swiss became the 4th largest investor in Vietnam, surpassing Germany.

US GOVERNMENT SPONSORED 1 BILLION USD FOR VIETNAM WIND ENERGY

vietnam wind power plant
US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City has just signed a non refundable sponsorship for Cong Ly Construction, Trade and Tourism Co., Ltd an aid amount of nearly 1 billion USD to conduct a feasibility study program to develop Bac Lieu wind power plant with capacity of 300MW.
Accordingly, the research project involves conducting assessments on resources and wind energy; review of licensing issues and land controlling; grid connection and foundation design; estimating construction costs… The project has been approved by the Prime Minister and this is the first private project of Vietnam in the field of offshore wind power, which is benefit from the supporting programs of the US Government to Vietnam.
This activity is part of the implementation of commitments to comprehensive support Vietnam of the US Government. At the same time, the connection and promote cooperation between the two Governments will help organizations and enterprises of the two countries to have the opportunity to connect with many commercial activities.
According to the project investor, Bac Lieu wind power plant is implemented in 3 phases. The 1st phase has been operated since August 2013 and used 10 wind turbines which were produced by the General Electric Company, with capacity of 16MW. After 19 months of operation, it has provided about 60 million KW of electricity into the national grid. The 2nd phase of the project is being implemented and the number of wind turbines will increase by 50, which is expected to go into operation by mid 2016.
Directed to complete a project with capacity of 300MW, in the 3rd phase, the project will be extended to the sea of about 2.1 km. According to leaders of Bac Lieu province, the construction of the Bac Lieu wind power plant is included in the overall plan to solve the problem of energy, especially clean energy. Moreover, through the deployment of wind power plant project, it is showed the benefits for ecology, culture, protection of forests and fisheries resources.
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