Singapore has retained its top position in the world in food security for the second consecutive year in the Global Food Security Index. (Photo: straitstimes.com) Singapore (VNA) – Singapore has retained its top position in the world in food security for the second consecutive year in the Global Food Security Index, which assesses if people have access to affordable and quality food to meet their nutritional needs. Singapore is the only country in Asia ranked in the top 10 of the index. With a score of 87.4 out of 100, the city-state was ahead of second-ranked Ireland, the US (third), Switzerland (fourth) and Finland and Norway in joint fifth. Published annually, the Global Food Security Index considers the core issues of affordability, availability and quality & safety across a set of 113 countries. The index is a dynamic quantitative benchmarking model constructed from 28 unique indicators that measures the drivers of food security across both developing and developed … [Read more...] about Singapore tops food security index for 2nd straight year
Food i security
M&A gateway to firms’ growth and expansion
More and more foreign and domestic companies see M&A as an effective channel to fast-track their growth, Photo: Le Toan Vietnam’s largest dairy producer Vinamilk has recently snapped up over 90 million shares of GTNFoods, which holds Moc Chau Milk, Vinatea, and Ladofoods brands. With the share price of VND13,000 ($0.56), the total value of the deal is VND1.171 trillion ($50.91 million). Following the deal, Vinamilk has increased its holding in the dairy producer from 2.32 to 38.34 per cent. The move is significant as it reflects Vinamilk’s intention to milk the demand for dairy products in Vietnam amid unfavourable market conditions throughout 2018. According to its 2018 annual report, since the fourth quarter of 2017, the dairy industry had recorded negative growth, and there have only been signs of significant positive change only since the fourth quarter of 2018. To battle the dairy industry’s slowdown in 2018, Vinamilk is ready for mergers and … [Read more...] about M&A gateway to firms’ growth and expansion
Masan MeatLife loses more than $140 million of market value
Masan MeatLife officially debuted on the securities market on December 9 The day officially saw 323.3 million MML stocks worth VND26 trillion ($1.13 billion) launched on the UpCoM at VND80,000 ($3.48) per stock. However, after the first session, the stock fell by 12.6 per cent or VND10,000 ($0.43) in price, hence MML's market capitalisation shrank by nearly VND3.3 trillion ($143.48 million) to $976 million. Two years ago, VN Consumer Meat II Pte., Ltd. purchased 7.5 per cent of Masan MeatLife for $150 million. The stock price at the time was VND210,000 ($9.13), equalling $2 billion in capitalisation. At the time of launching on the securities market, the company gave wind to ambitions of conquering the local meat market the way Vinamilk has been dominating the milk segment. Masan MeatLife currently has 10 factories with the annual capacity of 3 million tonnes. Moreover, the Masan subsidiary also developed a distribution system of more than 4,500 dealers across the country. According … [Read more...] about Masan MeatLife loses more than $140 million of market value
10 Vietnamese start-ups with highest investment in 2019
This year continues to witness a wave of investments into Vietnamese start-ups, with millions of dollars of money announced. This is the list of 10 start-ups with highest investment based on public investment information, site ndh.vn reported. Some start-ups are believed to have successfully raised capital from US$75 million to $300 million, but specific amounts were not disclosed. 1 Sendo E-commerce platform Sendo of Sen Đỏ Technology JSC completed a $61 million Series C funding round. Besides previous investors, this round of fundraising has the participation of two new investors, Indonesian EV Growth and Thai Kasikornbank. Last year, Sendo successfully mobilised $51 million in Series B round. Trần Hải Linh, Sendo director general, said the company would use the new funding to expand its services, invest in AI technology and machine learning. 2 Lozi Lozi secured an eight-digit funding (in US dollars) led by South Korean investment firm … [Read more...] about 10 Vietnamese start-ups with highest investment in 2019
Fish sauce magnate off Forbes billionaires list
Quang, chairman and founder of private food producer Masan Group, made it to the billionaire list of Forbes magazine for the first time last March and became the 1,717th richest person in the world with a net worth of $1.3 billion. According to updates from Forbes on Wednesday, Quang’s total assets were estimated at $980.8 million, down 25 percent since last March. This data is updated based on the changes in the price of MSN shares on the stock exchange, which account for the majority of Quang's assets. The value of MSN shares of Masan Group have recently plummeted, leading to a decline in the value of assets of one of the richest men in Vietnam. At the end of Wednesday’s trading session, an MSN share was worth VND55,700 ($2.4), losing more than 26 percent of its value compared to a month ago. MSN's value began falling following an announcement by Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate Vingroup on December 3 that it had reached a deal with Masan to merge their retail … [Read more...] about Fish sauce magnate off Forbes billionaires list