VietNamNet Bridge - Under the Investment Law, there are seven prohibited business fields and 243 conditional business fields. However, according to the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM), it found 4,284 business conditions set by ministries and branches as of August 10, 2017.The economics institute believes that this is not the final figure, because business conditions and licenses are ‘born’ every day and in different forms.Business conditions include requirements on the number of workers, production capacity, the way workshops are located or financial capability. The requirements on businesses’ capacity account for the largest proportion (1,336), followed by requirements on workforce (1,100).According to CIEM head Nguyen Dinh Cung, the requirements create unreasonable barriers that prevent businesses from joining the market, and restrict the number of investors registering their business and discourage operational enterprises. He pointed out that … [Read more...]
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 1/11
SBV slashes deposit rate cap The annual interest rate cap for short-term Vietnamese dong deposits will be cut from 6 per cent to 5.5 per cent. The State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) made this announcement at its regular monthly meeting here yesterday and added that the decision, the second of its kind this year in support of business, would take effect as of today. The annual interest rate cap for US dollar deposits of one to six months duration will likewise be slashed from 1 per cent to 0.75 per cent. The interest rate cap for short-term dong loans granted to the five top-priority sectors of agricultural and rural development, exports, support industries, small – and medium-sized companies and high-technology enterprises, will likewise be reduced from 8 per cent to 7 per cent. People's credit funds and micro-finance organisation will be allowed to apply an interest rate cap of 8 per cent. The SBV also decided yesterday to maintain the policy rates for refinancing, discount and … [Read more...]
Vietnam business climate up 14 places: WB report
Business reforms continued at speed in East Asia and Pacific, with regional economies adopting 45 reforms during the past year, bringing to 371 the total number of private sector reforms enacted in the region over the past 15 years, says the World Bank Group’s latest Doing Business report.The report released on October 31 monitors the ease of doing business for small and medium enterprises around the world. Vietnam and Indonesia have implemented the most reforms in the past 15 years, with 39 reforms each. Today, an entrepreneur in Ho Chi Minh City spends 22 days and 6.5 percent income per capita registering a new company, compared to 61 days and 31.9 percent in 2003. In Jakarta, the average recovery rate for resolving insolvency today is 64.3 cents on the dollar, compared to 9.9 cents in 2003.“In the past 15 years, the East Asia and Pacific region has made significant progress in enabling entrepreneurship. As the reform momentum continues building up in … [Read more...]
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 2/11
Vietnam attends meetings of Int’l Association of Deposit Insurers The Deposit Insurance of Vietnam (DIV) group attended the 16th annual meeting of the International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI) and an annual conference hosted by the IADI and the Autorité des marchés financiers in Quebec, Canada, in early October. The conference was themed “Deposit Insurance for All – Adapting the Core Principles to Different Structures, Mandates and Types of Institutions.” Speakers from deposit insurance organisations and financial service agencies of the UK, Canada, Germany, Jamaica and the World Bank discussed the functions, tasks and structures of deposit insurance organisations, and the alignment of these bodies’ operations with international practices. Participants underscored the importance of financial inclusion in developing a financial system serving all people and providing services at reasonable prices, thus contributing to sustainable … [Read more...]
When women mean business, society thrives
Empowering female entrepreneurs is a no-brainer in the most important areas - employment generation and sustainable development; the evidence is that they are more responsible stewards, writes Thu Van.The sad, shocking sight of large amounts of dragonfruit being fed to cattle or left to rot on roadsides in many places smote her heart.Le Nguyen was also haunted by the fate of farmers in the southern province of Binh Thuan, a principal producer of dragon fruit in Viet Nam, as prices fell and they suffered huge losses in 2014 and 2015.She thought about ways to redeem the situation and ensure it would not be repeated. She came up with the idea of establishing a co-operative to buy dragonfruit at a stable and reasonable price from local farmers, and to make wine with it as an added value product.“I wanted to do this so that farmers wouldn’t have to sell their crops to traders at any price, or throw the fruit away, and of course I wanted to make a profitable product,” … [Read more...]
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 4/11
Vietnam rated as key market for DHL growth Leaders of DHL Global Forwarding on Tuesday emphasized that Vietnam was an important market for its business growth, especially in the future and would continue the company’s heavy investment in this market. Roger Crook, chief executive officer of DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, who just returned to Vietnam for a business trip to review DHL business in Vietnam, recognized the importance of this market for DHL business. “We see Vietnam having strong growth… our business (here) is very successful. We are growing by a double-digit rate,” Crook told reporters before leaving Vietnam today. “I’m visiting certain markets around the world every year and I chose Vietnam as one of the key markets to visit this year.” Crook told the Daily that the DHL business in Vietnam had been beefed up by both increasing imports and exports, particularly in the oil and gas, technology, retail and others, offering the … [Read more...]
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 5/11
Companies advised to exercise caution in choosing new partners Selecting strategic partners has become a serious concern for listed companies, as large shareholders have recently withdrawn from such partnerships, pocketing much profit but leaving behind operational shortfalls. Lately, PetroVietnam Drilling Services (PVD) announced that Mutual Fund Elite had reduced its stake in the company to 4.95 per cent and was no longer its large shareholder since October 27. The fund maintained a huge stake in PVD for only a month. After the divestment, the fund reportedly earned VND655 billion (US$30.8 million) in profits. Last September, Phu Nhuan Jewelry (PNJ) completely withdrew its 50 per cent stake in Saigon Fuel (SFC) and is estimated to have earned VND38 billion ($1.7 million). The jewelry trader reportedly helped SFC improve its productivity by providing management expertise. After PNJ sent its people to SFC's board, the energy company's profits more than doubled to VND53.7 billion ($2.5 … [Read more...]
BUSINESS IN BRIEF 6/11
Deputy PM urges acceleration of Noi Bai-Lao Cai highway Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Ministry of Transport and relevant agencies to manage and disburse investment to accelerate the construction of the Noi Bai-Lao Cai national highway. Inspecting the construction site in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai on November 3, he also asked the Vietnam Expressway Investment Corporation to join hands with the localities to address difficulties during the construction so that the highway will technically open to traffic in April 2014. Contractors must meet all technical requirements, he added. The Noi Bai-Lao Cai expressway, the construction of which was started in 2009, has a total length of nearly 265km and an investment capital of over 1 billion USD. It links Hanoi and the northern border province of Lao Cai. Bailout disbursed in dribs and drabs into real estate Only 120 individual clients in Ho Chi Minh City had been eligible to borrow capital from the … [Read more...]
Business-related activities in APEC 2017
In mid-September 2017, the 24th APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting was held in Ho Chi Minh City. The week consisted of a series of events and activities including the meeting of the APEC Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) on September 13-14 and workshops on APEC O2O Forum (September 10), seminar on Access to Finance for Small, Medium and Super-small Enterprises in the Digital Age, the Digital Economic Forum, and the Startup Forum. Particularly, the APEC Start-up Forum, which attracted 300 participants from Vietnam and APEC economies, was the meeting of the leading starts-up in the region and contributed to arouse the spirit of starting a business in Vietnam. The fourth APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Meeting is scheduled to take place in November 2017 in Da Nang City, with the participation of representatives from ABAC members and top business leaders in the region. VNN … [Read more...]
APEC 2017 benefits Vietnamese businesses and people
VietNamNet Bridge - Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said that during the APEC Year 2017 event Vietnam is expected to welcome tens of thousands of delegates and organize about 200 events across the country, opening up great opportunities for localities, businesses and the public. A press conference on the APEC Vietnam Year 2017 took place in Hanoi October 13, presided over by Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Vice Chairman of the APEC National Committee of Vietnam, and Chairman of SOM APEC. At the press conference, Deputy Minister Bui Thanh Son featured five outstanding results of the Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting (ISOM) of APEC on October 8-9, including: Attracting the participation of hundreds of experts, scholars, representatives of corporations, leaders of ministries, provinces of Vietnam. The support of member economies for the direction, theme and priority of APEC Year 2017. Agreement on the calendar of activities of the APEC Year 2017. Accordingly, 2017 will … [Read more...]