Businesses at pease international tradeport

The central province of Quang Nam, home to UNESCO-recognized Hoi An Ancient Town, is expected to be Vietnam’s first locality to apply ‘vaccine passport’ policy once approved by the prime minister.

The Quang Nam People’s Committee, the local tourism sector, and businesses had spent months drafting a detail plan on such vaccine passport policy, said Nguyen Thanh Hong, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

The plan has been supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and will soon be submitted to the national government for approval.

According to the scheme, the reopening of some international routes to Vietnam will be piloted from July to September, with target groups being South Korean visitors who seek resort-oriented vacations and golf tourism.

The top priority is to ensure safety for tourists as well as local workers and residents, said Le Tri Thanh, chairman of the Quang Nam People’s Committee.

The South Korean visitors would travel to the Vietnamese province on charter flights and land at Chu Lai Airport.

The tourists will then be transported to Hoiana and Tui Blue Nam Hoi An resorts for their vacations lasting five to ten days.

They must have vaccine passports and test negative for the novel coronavirus. The visitors will undergo another COVID-19 test before heading back to their home country.

The transportation and provision of services to these visitors will have to strictly follow COVID-19 prevention and control regulations.

The two resorts are separated from residential areas, which will minimize the risk of virus spread, while all staff members will also be vaccinated and required to wear protective clothing when having contact with the foreign tourists.

“If the results are promising, the plan will be applied to other tourist areas and groups of visitors,” Chairman Thanh stated.

Nguyen Phu Khanh, deputy general manager of Tui Blue Nam Hoi An, said that all units of the resort have been focusing on preparing for the welcoming of international tourists.

Separate welcoming areas have been established, and special training sessions have been provided to all staff members, Khanh elaborated.

Hoiana has also been making necessary preparations for the upcoming trial phase.

The resort complex covers hundreds of hectares, has a private gate, and consists of premium hotels, suites, golf courses, and restaurants.

Nguyen Van Trung, representative of Chu Lai Airport, said that the airdrome is waiting for specific instructions from competent authorities.

Exclusive terminals will be designated to welcome foreign visitors, while certain areas and equipment will also be renovated, Trung added.

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Passengers arrive at Chu Lai Airport in Quảng Nam Province. The central province plans to host international tourists with vaccine passports as part of a pilot project. Photo courtesy of Jetstar Pacific

QUẢNG NAM — The central province of Quảng Nam has put forward plans to host international tourists with vaccine passports and negative coronavirus tests.

As part of the plans, arrivals at Chu Lai Airport will stay at the assigned Hoiana resorts in Duy Xuyên District and Tui Blue Hotel in Núi Thành District for five or 10 days.

Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Lê Trí Thanh confirmed the plans to Việt Nam News , stating that the province and managing boards of the two resorts and Chu Lai Airport authorities held a working session on preparations to soon host tourists with the proposed vaccine passports.

Thanh said the province will register with the Government to become the first province in Việt Nam to pilot the hosting of international visitors and roll out a ‘safe tourism’ programme.

“We plan to receive South Korean ‘vaccine passport’ tourists on chartered flights as part of the pilot project, and they (tourists) must test negative for coronavirus by Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR),” Thanh said.

“Chu Lai Airport will be given better medical testing equipment and coronavirus prevention measure for arrivals as well as the reception sites at the two hotels,” he said.

The chairman said the two hotels are far from community and residential quarters, and the two sites had been tested and surveyed by the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also agreed with the pilot plan.

Thanh said all staff of the two hotels and task force members will be vaccinated and implement coronavirus preventive measures before hosting tourists.

Beach-front Hoiana integrated resort and hotel comlex and Tui Blue in central Quảng Nam Province are assigned to host the first  international visitors with vaccine passports. Photo by Thanh Hà

Quảng Nam Province’s tourism industry saw poor growth in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and storms and floods.

The province, which is home to the UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites Hội An ancient town and Chàm Islands-Hội An world biosphere site, saw tourism revenue decline by 82.7 per cent in 2020, hosting only 1.46 million tourists – an 81 per cent reduction from 2019.

The tourism association of Quảng Nam has inked an agreement to boost post-COVID-19 tourism in the region in 2021 with Đà Nẵng and Thừa Thiên-Huế. — VNS

International lenders signing the credit facility to support VietinBank Securities

VietinBank securities has received additional funding support with the recent signing of $60 million of syndicated loans, following a $30 million facility just a month ago.

On April 15, a consortium of major international lenders operating in Vietnam – Woori Bank Vietnam (Bac Ninh Branch), Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank Vietnam, and Cathay United Bank Vietnam – has inked an agreement to facilitate $60 million for the additional financial needs of VietinBank Securities.

In particular, Woori Bank Vietnam (Bac Ninh Branch) specifically provided $50 million, while Taipei Fubon and Cathay United provided $10 million altogether.

Last month, a group of four Taiwanese lenders – the Union Bank of Taiwan, Taichung Commercial Bank Co., Ltd.’s Labuan branch, Taishin International Bank, and Huanan Commercial Bank – also rolled out a $30 million syndicated loan with a 12-month tenure for VietinBank Securities.

“We firmly believe that $90 million of high-profile syndicated loans would bring about more additional capacity for us to increase our foothold in Vietnam’s equity market and access to more potential customers,” noted Ho Thi Thu Hien, chairwoman of the board at VietinBank Securities.

On the same note, Lee Myoung Ho, Woori Bank Vietnam (Bac Ninh Branch) director and chief representative, applauded the brokerage’s vast potential and how the syndicated loans could pave the way for the company to bolsters its strength thanks to the competitive capital.

“Woori Bank is one of the largest South Korean banks with extensive years of experience in providing top-notch financial services. With our vast experience, we believe in VietinBank Securities’ strong standing and impressive performance in the past year,” he told VIR .

The deal is envisaged to lay concrete foundations for the company to boost its activities related to international loan advisory and financing arrangements.

At the signing ceremony, VietinBank Securities also connected businesses in various areas, such as Novaland Group, Minh Phu Seafood Group, Viet Hung Industrial Investment JSC, Louis Agro Group JSC, and other enterprises.

As one of the eldest, most experienced seven brokerage companies in the country, VietinBank Securities – as a part of state-owned lender VietinBank – has a proven customer-centric approach, with a wide range of tailored financial services such as underwriting-capital raising, mergers and acquisitions advisory, and asset management, to name a few.

By Luu Huong

Illustrative photo

JOURNALIST: – Sir, do you think the USA will return to renegotiate the terms for the CPTPP deal with other countries?

Dr. VO DAI LUOC: – The question of whether the USA will return to the CPTPP deal or not is a matter of great concern, not only for countries that are members of the CPTPP but also for other ally countries of America. I think that although the US President Joe Biden wants to rejoin the CPTPP right now, there is also an overwhelming leaning towards multilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). So in the short term, the US may not be able to renegotiate to rejoin the CPTPP. The reason is that the more Free Trade Agreements develop, the less are the chances of the US once again rejoining the CPTPP.

For instance, at present many countries are benefiting much more from FTAs because of more capital flow, and better markets, labor, and technology. However, voters in developed countries, like the US, believe that they are at a disadvantage because large corporations will lean towards the developing countries to take advantage of cheaper labor, growing markets, and preferential tax policies.

Former President Donald Trump launched the concept of fair and free trade, which is also how he sympathized with voters and had the support of his voter base. However, that which is fair is also not easy to do. Hence, although President Joe Biden wants to renegotiate the CPTPP for benefits to the US, it is unlikely he can do it at this time. The US still has many unresolved domestic issues that need to be tackled before thinking of rejoining the CPTPP, such as consent of congress on issues related to businesses and labor.

– Sir, will China be able to rejoin the CPTPP, given that its leaders have repeatedly expressed their will to do so?

– China has officially declared that they want to rejoin the CPTPP, but it is still a far cry from wanting and actually realizing. First of all, there are terms in the CPTPP that can be considered progressive, but also binding. If China wants to participate, they will have to reform very strongly, especially in their policy towards current state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The Chinese SOE block is too strong, and the Chinese SOE support and protection policy is also too huge. Therefore, the question arises if China will reform this policy to conform to the terms of the CPTPP. Besides this, there are also intellectual property rights and labor issues to upgrade.

Such reforms in China are not easily implemented, especially the policy of economic development, for which the Chinese prefer a very nationalistic approach. Therefore, in my opinion, both China and the US will not be able to participate in the CPTPP in coming time.

– Sir, there is also an opinion that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) plays a key role in China, so they will put pressure on the US to return to the CPTPP soonest. What is your opinion on this?

– RCEP associates have long-term strategic interests with China and neighboring countries. This is also believed to be a factor that motivates the US under the leadership of President Joe Biden to rejoin the CPTPP. Besides, this agreement is the best tool for the US to deepen economic relations with the region. In fact, the US can still maintain flexibility in that it seek a narrower agreement with CPTPP member countries on topics such as digital trade, the environment, and climate change, or on the sale and purchase of medical equipment and other essential products. Such an agreement will help build trust and serve as a starting point for the US to rejoin the CPTPP.

– Sir, what are the trends in US trade policy under President Joe Biden?

– I think that the trade policies will still serve the long-term strategies of the US. It will be a reassertion of their position as a world leading power, and show control over emerging nations that threaten America’s superpower status, of which China is number one. The US trade policy under President Joe Biden may be both competitive and controlling, though it must also clearly define a restructuring of relationship on the basis of mutual benefits.

On a broader scale, the US wants to reestablish its own set of rules, rather than reestablish new global governance, including in trade. Although this global governance model is in context of a current multilateral world, the US still maintains its superpower status across the world, as well as over its core interests. The problem is how the new rules will be introduced by President Biden, which are still unclear, and only time will tell.

– Thank you very much.

Luu Thuy (interviewer)

Most of its customers in the country are in technology, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, while financial organizations are among the new ones, Elizabeth Laws Fuller, WeWork’s head of growth in Southeast Asia, told VnExpress .

It entered Vietnam in 2018 and now has two locations in Ho Chi Minh City out of its 30 in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam is seeing rising demand for coworking space.

A recent survey by WeWork and market research firm International Data Corporation found that 80 percent of companies plan to use coworking space in the next three years.

Another reason for the improving figures in Vietnam is its success in containing the Covid-19 pandemic and sustaining economic growth, Fuller said.

Many global corporations have been investing or expanding in Vietnam in recent years, and they have demand for flexible workspace, she said.

The pandemic has changed companies’ perception of coworking space, and in the long term customers would not be only small and medium-sized players but also large companies, she added.

A customer views products at a PNJ store in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo courtesy of PNJ.

At its annual general meeting Saturday, it also announced a revenue target of VND21 trillion, up 20 percent.

But Phu Hung Securities Corporation has forecast revenues of VND18.4 trillion and profits of VND1.09 trillion, explaining that the volatility in gold prices and consumers’ increasing preference for imported jewelry would keep numbers down.

BSC Securities expected the jewelry industry to recover this year, and forecast PNJ a 22 percent rise in profits to VND1.3 trillion on revenues of VND19.8 trillion (up 13 percent).

PNJ chairwoman Cao Thi Ngoc Dung said the targets are achievable since the pandemic would be contained this year and the economy would recover.

The company aims to open 40-45 stores in 2021 and buy machinery for its jewelry workshops.

Its CEO, Le Tri Thong, said demand for jewelry among young people in major cities is high, and this would boost the company’s revenues and profits. Smaller cities and rural areas too however show promise, he said.

Last year, revenues edged up 3 percent to VND17.5 trillion, but Thong pointed out though the growth was lower than the average of 32 percent in recent years, the fact that PNJ managed to grow its revenues amid the pandemic was a success for it.

It opened 29 stores and closed 36 existing ones in 2020, most of them were silver jewelry stores in shopping malls with modest business and high rentals.