Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue receives Vice President of Talanx AG Group Christian Hinch in Ha Noi on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Chung Vice President of Talanx AG Group Christian Hinch has proposed to the Vietnamese Government to raise the ownership ratio of foreign investors at PetroVietnam Insurance (PVI) to 49 per cent. Hinch, who is also chairman of HDI Global SE, which owns over 47 per cent stake in PVI, said his group wanted to hold controlling stake in the enterprise, which is a member of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN), to meet the interests and requirements of PVI shareholders who were interested in expanding the scope of its activities to the ASEAN market. Hinch proposed this at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue in Ha Noi on Thursday. Hue said the market for life insurance and non-life insurance in Viet Nam was growing rapidly, but the scale was still modest compared to the country’s GDP (gross domestic product). “The Government will … [Read more...]

Food producer KIDO Group announced on Wednesday that it would strengthen co-operation with partners to further explore the enormous essentail foods market. — Photo Kido Group Food producer KIDO Group announced on Wednesday that it would strengthen co-operation with partners to further explore the enormous essentail foods market. According to the company, the market is worth VND250 trillion (US$11 billion), it said. It plans to diversify into areas like frozen foods, fresh foods and everything needed in a kitchen. A KIDO representative told Viet Nam News that the company was working with foreign original equipment manufacturing partners to study Vietnamese consumer tastes following which it would order products from the partners. If its efforts are successful, KIDO would make these products in Viet Nam, she said. There would be many tie-ups this year to expand the company’s distribution network and acquisition activities, she said. This way the company targeted revenue … [Read more...]

Viet Capital Securities Company (VCSC) will focus on investment banking in 2018, a sector expected to contribute VND458 billion (US$20.3 million) to the firm’s total post-tax profit this year.— Photo tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn Viet Capital Securities Company (VCSC) will focus on investment banking in 2018, a sector expected to contribute VND458 billion (US$20.3 million) to the firm’s total post-tax profit this year. VCSC targets VND1.7 trillion in total revenue this year and VND1 trillion in pre-tax profit, a yearly increase of 11 per cent and 26 per cent, if the benchmark VN Index ended above the 1,000-point level at the end of this year. If the VN Index falls below 500 points, VCSC would record VND250 billion in pre-tax profit, the firm’s management board said at the annual shareholder meeting this week. Besides investment banking, other core sectors that VCSC will focus on include trading brokerage (VND491 billion), stock investment (VND444 billion) and … [Read more...]

State-owned investment fund State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) may offload its stakes in Viet Nam Construction and Import-Export Joint Stock Corporation (Vinaconex) again this year after a failure in 2017. Nguyen Duc Chi, SCIC chairman, said there are two scenarios for the divesture of Vinaconex in 2018: the SCIC can sell the leftover stake in the previous sale of 22 per cent of Vinaconex’s equity in December 2017 or the SCIC can offer its entire stake of more than 57.7 per cent in Vinaconex. Vinaconex is one of the listed State-owned enterprises scheduled for divestment by 2020. Chi said if this deadline is missed, the company’s leaders and SCIC will be disciplined by the competent authority. On December 8, 2017, the SCIC put up for sale 96.2 million shares, equivalent to nearly 22 per cent of Vinaconex’s capital, but sold only 5.3 million shares. According to Chi, who is also Vinaconex’s chairman, the sale failed due to the “too good” … [Read more...]

Financial-banking stocks were the worst hit by a strong selling pressure on Wednesday morning trade. — Photo tapchitaichinh.vn Vietnamese shares declined on Wednesday morning as financial-banking stocks returned to negative territory amidst strong profit-taking pressure. The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange was down 0.50 per cent to close at 1,147.46 points. It gained 0.42 per cent on Tuesday. The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange fell 0.22 per cent to end at 133.95 points after rising 0.70 per cent in the previous session. Low trading liquidity continued on the stock market with more than 114.6 million shares being traded on the two local exchanges, worth VND3.14 trillion (US$139.8 million), proving investor confidence was quite low. Large-cap stocks underperformed as the large-cap VN30 Index dropped 0.65 per cent to 1,123.01 points with 19 of the 30 largest shares by market capitalisation going down. Financial-banking stocks were the worst hit by a strong … [Read more...]

SACOM Investment and Development Joint Stock Company has said it will continue to focus on financial investment this year. At its annual general meeting in HCM City on Tuesday, SAM Holdings, as the company is commonly known, reported that financial investment in the first quarter of this year had helped it achieve 40 per cent of the full-year profit target. CEO Tran Anh Vuong said based on the forecast for the stock market this year financial investment would continue to contribute greatly to the company’s business. SAM would withdraw from inefficient areas, he said. “The company will focus its investment in key sectors of the Vietnamese economy, IPO companies and start-ups with high potential.” Besides financial investment, real estate is also expected to be profitable for the company this year. Last year its member company, SAMLAND, had got approval to develop Samsora Riverside with 1,000 apartments. The project would bring revenues in 2018 and 2019, the company … [Read more...]

Vietnamese shares struggled to rise on Tuesday as bank stocks made gains, but investor confidence remained weak with low liquidity as the market showed no supportive information. The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange advanced 0.42 per cent to close at 1,153.28 points. It had fallen 2.1 per cent in the previous two sessions. The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange was up 0.70 per cent to end at 134.25 points, recovering from a two-day decline of total 1.7 per cent. Nearly 221.8 million shares were traded on the two local exchanges, worth VND6.16 trillion (US$273.8 million). Gaining stocks dominated the market trading and outnumbered losers by 243 to 190 while 136 others stocks were steady. Thirteen of the 20 sectors on the stock market saw share prices up, led by banks, insurance companies, securities firms and property developers. Those sector indices were up between 2.6 per cent and 1 per cent, led by bank stocks. Trinh Duy Viet, head of market analysis at Dong A … [Read more...]

Cat Dong Service Trading Joint Stock Company and Japan’s Scroll Corporation unite for e-commerce operations in Viet Nam, with the latter buying a 26.9 per cent stake in the Vietnamese firm. — VNS Photo Thu Ngan Cat Dong Service Trading Joint Stock Company on Monday reported that it had sold a 26.9 per cent stake to Japanese online marketer Scroll Corporation. But it did not disclose the value of the deal. On Monday the two companies signed an agreement to jointly develop e-commerce and tourism and provide e-commerce development solutions. Under the deal, they will maximise their management resources and strengths in various fields ranging from sales to e-commerce solutions and travel operations. Cat Dong will sell Japanese products provided by Scroll on its websites like CungMua.com, NhomMua.com and Shipto.vn. Furthermore, tours to Japan operated by Scroll will be sold on these websites. The two sides will together offer solutions in e-trading, logistics, warehousing and … [Read more...]

A production line at a Hoa Sen Group factory. The company said it plans to introduce hot dip galvanised steel pipes to the Vietnamese market this month. — VNS Photo Steel maker Hoa Sen Group said on Monday that it would unveil a new product this month: hot dip galvanised steel pipes. The new product will be produced at its Phu My Industrial Zone plant, which has a modern production line imported from Italy. The line has a capacity of 85,000 tonnes per year, and the new product is appropriate for coastal areas, which are hot and humid, the company said. The total output would be consumed domestically, it said. Hot dip galvanised steel pipes are highly corrosion resistant and their uses include in firefighting systems, gas pipes, and others. In the 2016-17 fiscal year it sold nearly 1.56 million tonnes of steel, an increase of 25 per cent from the previous year, Hoa Sen reported. Net revenues for the year were over VND26 trillion (US$1.1 billion), a 46 per cent increase. Despite … [Read more...]

Insurance companies and property developers were among the worst-performing stocks after they had made huge gains in the previous weeks. — Photo cafef.vn Viet Nam’s benchmark VN Index extended loss on Monday morning, driven down by insurance companies and property developers. The VN Index on HCM Stock Exchange edged down 0.64 per cent to close at 1,149.73 points. It had lost a total of 3.5 per cent last week. Nearly 83 million shares, worth VND2.48 trillion (US$110.3 million), were traded on the southern exchange. Gaining stocks were outnumbered by decliners on a ratio of 108 to 154, while 49 stocks ended flat, proving the benchmark index had suffered from a strong profit-taking pressure. Insurance companies and property developers were among the worst-performing stocks after they had made huge gains in the previous weeks. The two industry indices were down by 1.6 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. The insurance-finance sector was affected by the falls of Bao Viet … [Read more...]