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The Hanoitimes – IFC will work with Hanoi to formulate a new-generation FDI strategy in response to the government’s master plan on foreign investment promotion toward 2030.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today [June 27] signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the People’s Committee of Hanoi to support its efforts to attract new-generation foreign direct investment (FDI) and diversify its funding sources, thereby sustaining the city’s rapid economic development, competitiveness, and inclusive prosperity.

IFC will work with Hanoi to formulate a new-generation FDI strategy. Photo: Nguyen Tung.

As one of the fastest growing cities in Asia and home to over eight million inhabitants, Hanoi accounts for one-fifth of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Hanoi attracted US$8.45 billion in FDI in 2019, highest among the country’s 63 cities and provinces. Three areas namely property development, processing and manufacturing, and telecommunication and information drew the largest shares of FDI.

To sustain robust socioeconomic development, Hanoi aims to attract higher-quality streams of FDI. This will support the city’s strategy of developing high-tech and high value-added industries, increasing local sourcing, and creating more and better jobs.

“Strategic FDI as guided in the Politburo’s Resolution 50/2019 on orientations to finalize policies and mechanisms to promote FDI quality and effectiveness toward 2030 plays an essential role in sustaining Hanoi’s sustainable economic and employment growth and in realizing its industrialization and modernization plan toward 2030,” said Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hanoi.

“We welcome IFC’s support in developing a new investment strategy and diversifying funding sources as well as mobilizing quality investors through its global network,” Chung added.

Under the MoU framework, IFC will work with Hanoi to formulate a new-generation FDI strategy in response to the government’s master plan on foreign investment promotion toward 2030. Where possible, IFC will also assist Hanoi in diversifying its funding sources. The overall effort will leverage IFC’s global network of clients and partners, with benefits to potential key sectors including financial markets, infrastructure, logistics, and health and education.

“Hanoi already possesses many key factors that are attractive to higher quality FDI. The current environment of global supply chain changes — as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic — provides a good opportunity for the city to further prioritize FDI inflows in line with its development strategy,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Regional Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Lao.

“This includes FDI with increased local value-addition, with increased technology focus, to strengthen foreign-local firm linkages and help enhance local supply chain opportunities, foster improved job opportunities, and boost the overall competitiveness of the city.”

Promoting private sector development, IFC has been supporting Vietnam to improve business competitiveness and attract international investors over the past two decades. Most recently, IFC worked with the Ministry of Planning and Investment on recommendations for Vietnam’s new national FDI approach. It is also helping Vietnamese manufacturers improve capacity and supply to multinationals through a pilot Vietnam Supplier Development Program.

The Hanoitimes – It is vital for Vietnam to further boost the development of private sector and public investment funds, in turn contributing to economic growth and creating the foundation for long-term development.

Vietnam would speed up socio-economic recovery to realize the growth target of 6.5% for this year.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the meeting. Photo: Quang Hieu

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed the view at a monthly government meeting on March 2, which were attended by government leaders and representatives of ministries and sectors.

Among measures to boost growth, the PM stressed the importance of enhancing greater efficiency in global integration to boost exports and attract high quality   foreign direct investment (FDI).

“The current situation presents huge opportunity for Vietnam to attract investment capital,” stressed Phuc, adding a favorable investment environment is a must to keep capital inflow from growing.

In addition to the role of state-owned corporations, Phuc said it is vital for Vietnam to further boost the development of private sector and public investment funds, in turn contributing to economic growth and creating the foundation for long-term development.

According to Phuc, disbursement of public funds is a major mission, for which the Government Office is tasked with inspecting efficiency in disbursing public funds and ODA-funded projects.

Phuc stressed the importance of reviewing current supporting programs and proposing new ones to assist businesses and people affected by the pandemic.

“Nurturing economic growth drivers and creating long-term revenue sources are the objective for monetary and fiscal policies,” said Phuc.

The PM requested major economic hubs to play a greater role in aiding economic growth, especially Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau, Danang, and Can Tho.

For economic sectors that are struggling with the Covid-19 impacts, including those in fields of aviation, services, and tourism, Phuc called for substantial measures to address their concern and difficulties.

Expansionary fiscal, monetary policies to boost growth

At the meeting, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said Vietnam remains steadfast in pursuing expansionary fiscal and monetary policies to boost economic growth and control inflation rate.

Dung referred to a forecast that the Covid-19 pandemic would continue to exert its impacts on the global economy until at least the first half of 2021 or when Covid-19 vaccines are rolled out worldwide, as such, “keeping expansionary fiscal and monetary policies are necessary,” he added.

“It is important to enhance efficiency in the combination of fiscal and monetary policies to aid economic recovery and keep inflation under control,” Dung asserted.

“Government agencies and provinces/cities should closely monitor the market situation to timely propose supporting policies for people and businesses affected by the pandemic, especially for those operating in services, tourism and transportation sectors,” stressed Dung.

Meanwhile, the minister urged to stay alert against the Covid-19 pandemic as the country aims to ensure the realization of the dual target of both containing the pandemic and boosting economic recovery.

Amid the Covid-19 outbreak, Dung requested related agencies to soon issue a uniform safety procedure during the production and distribution of farm produce from Covid-19 zones to other localities.

While the world is still struggling with the Covid-19 impacts, “the domestic market remains a priority,” asserted Dung.

Dung also highlighted the importance of applying hi-tech and accelerating the digital transformation process and promoting e-commerce, in which local authorities should provide more support for enterprises to shift their operation online and apply e-payment methods.

“Vietnam would step up efforts in diversifying trade markets depending on the actual Covid-19 situation globally, while taking this opportunity to restructure the country’s export-import activities to reduce its reliance on a single market,” noted Dung.

With foreign direct investment (FDI) as a key source for economic growth, Dung called for a more selective approach in attracting such capital inflow, including a thoroughly review of M&A activities related to enterprises operating in national core and strategic business fields with high socio-economic impacts.

“The move is necessary to ensure favorable conditions for FDI attraction, protect domestic enterprises and prevent tax evasion through investment activities,” Dung concluded.

Pham Hong Quat, director general, NATEC and Leon Cai, regional director (Ho Chi Minh City), Enterprise Singapore

The Vietnamese agency (NATEC) and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) have renewed their cooperation for another two years. What will be the focuses in the next stage? How will it benefit the innovation landscape for Singapore and Vietnam?

Pham Hong Quat: Singapore is considered to be the hub of innovation as well as a “paradise” for startups, with startup-friendly policies including subsidies and a range of incubation schemes. With its advanced IT infrastructure, strong government support, intellectual property laws, and deep tech talent pools, Singapore has become a world-leading technology innovation centre.

Thus, the cooperation between NATEC and ESG will provide an open space for best practices and know-how sharing, particularly on the crafting and execution of startup and innovation supporting policies, as well as building and operating startup hubs.

Through market access programmes and joint events, Vietnamese startups will have a chance to experience and benefit from peer-to-peer learning with their counterparts. Operating in the world’s leading and most vibrant ecosystem, Singaporean startup founders and teams have admirable skills and qualities, for example, creative thinking; entrepreneurship and management skills; fundraising and management; as well as research and development (R&D). Moreover, there will be a high chance that our startups can find great partners or clients in a new market.

One of the biggest concerns for Vietnamese startups might be how to get funding from venture capital funds or angel investors and how to manage them wisely, especially during the crisis. Thus, what they need to focus on is acquiring valuable know-how and skills from their counterparts and taking any opportunity to interact and learn from experienced investors and mentors.

Leon Cai: The renewed MoU will build on existing partnerships between Vietnam and Singapore to facilitate collaborations for startups, ecosystem builders, and the tertiary institutions of both countries, especially in strengthening the global innovation communities’ access to Vietnam’s startup landscape, connecting startups from Vietnam to major technology hubs, and facilitating venture capital activities. In addition, the renewal will have an additional focus on leveraging existing open innovation initiatives such as the Singapore Open Innovation Network to crowd-source solutions for corporates in Vietnam. ESG will also share best practices with NATEC to develop similar open innovation platforms for Vietnam, among other initiatives.

Trade and business links between Vietnam and Singapore have been robust ever since the countries established bilateral diplomatic relations back in 1973. In recent years, we have observed growing interest from Singaporean companies in Vietnam’s technology and innovation sector. With this renewed memorandum, we hope to build a vibrant ecosystem, leveraging the strengths of different innovation players from both countries to create an environment that enables startup and corporate partnerships, and catalyses business transformation and economic growth.

How important s Vietnam’s startup and innovation scene to the rest of ASEAN, the world, and to Singapore? Has there been any changes over the past five years in this regard?

Pham Hong Quat: The Vietnamese government started to pay attention and set up initiatives to build and support the startup ecosystem since 2016 with the National Programme to Support Innovative Startup Ecosystem in Vietnam until 2025, also known as National Programme 844. Since 2017, Vietnam has emerged as a hub for startups, closely competing with Indonesia and Singapore. In the first half of 2019 for instance, Vietnamese startups raised $246 million with startups such as Tiki, VNPay, and VNG capturing 63 per cent of these deals. The first half of 2020 witnessed a 22 per cent reduction in deals compared to the same period in 2019, owing mainly to the economic impact of COVID-19. However, fundraising by Vietnamese startups has shown signs of recovery in the second half of 2020.

To encourage entrepreneurship, the Vietnamese government has established a number of funds at state and provincial/city level to support startups.

Our ecosystem is booming and emerging and in only two years Vietnam jumped from the second-least-active startup ecosystem among the six largest ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines) into the third rank, trailing behind only Indonesia and Singapore, according to Southeast Asia-focused venture capital firm Cento Ventures.

Vietnam, driven by its growing internet penetration, smartphone adoption, and young demographics, offers huge potential for startups, especially ones focusing on fintech, e-commerce, and enterprise solutions. These sectors have attracted significant portions of funding in the last year. Other emerging sectors include education technology, agri-tech, and logistics.

Leon Cai: In the past five years, from 2015 to 2020, there has been an exponential increase in deal counts and investments into Vietnam, compared to the five years before then. Regulatory changes, too, have been passed in Vietnam to make it easier for startups to access tech from aboard. National agencies such as NATEC and innovation centres across Vietnam have been established to champion innovation. These are indicators that venture capitalists welcome and boost confidence among investors. Vietnam has risen significantly in 2019’s Global Innovation Index rankings.

Within ASEAN, Vietnam is one of the top three innovative nations, together with Indonesia and Singapore. As a whole, Southeast Asia has built a strong reputation in the innovation scene, with 13 unicorns groomed here. The region has also been attracting a significant number of global investors. According to DealStreetAsia , one of the biggest funds that closed this year in the region is global venture capital firm B Capital Group with more than $700 million that focuses on Southeast Asia.

What lessons should Vietnam learn from Singapore to develop its startup and innovation ecosystem? Which best practices will ESG share with NATEC to develop similar open innovation platforms for Vietnam?

Leon Cai: ESG has been working with public and private partners in Singapore to grow our open innovation ecosystem. As open innovation involves a “win-win” partnership between larger corporates and innovative startups and SMEs, these efforts include setting up the Singapore Open Innovation Network , which is a national gateway to aggregate all open innovation challenges out of Singapore, and the Startup SG Network featuring local startups and ecosystem partners. Most of the innovation calls are open to global solution providers and startups to apply. ESG also collaborates with foreign partners on international co-innovation programmes such as the EUREKA GlobalStars-Singapore call and the recently-launched inaugural Southeast Asia Open Innovation Challenge.

Under the renewed MoU, we look forward to more opportunities to work with NATEC to facilitate exchanges between startups, corporates, investors, and other ecosystem players from Vietnam and Singapore, leveraging on existing initiatives such as the Singapore Open Innovation Network or through new collaborations like the Southeast Asia Open Innovation Challenge.

Pham Hong Quat: Business-incubating infrastructure, tax incentives, cash grants, or financing schemes are outstanding government support initiatives from Singapore that push the ecosystem to the next level and those best practices are what we desire to learn.

Most importantly, we are impressed by the way they form public and private partnerships in open innovation – a global phenomenon and our focus in the past few years. We believe that this is an appropriate approach to build up sustainable ecosystem as government funding and supports are limited while there are a lot of opportunities from the private sector. By creating an open innovation platform where the government plays a role as facilitator, we can draw private resources into startup support activities on a sustainable win-win basis.

We are positive that the renewed MoU will bring more impacts and benefits to the startup ecosystem of the two countries via a number of detailed activities such as market access and exchange, joint pitching sessions, capacity building, and open innovation platform.

What successful tie-ups have there been between startups and corporations under the MoU? What are your future expectations?

Leon Cai: ESG and NATEC signed the MOU at the sidelines of TechFest 2018 in Danang, Vietnam on November 30, 2018 to facilitate collaborations for startups, ecosystem builders and tertiary institutions between both countries.

Over the past two years, the MoU has supported a number of initiatives:

1. Strengthening the global innovation communities’ access to Vietnam’s startup landscape. NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore (NUS), partnered Becamex IDC Corporation to launch ecosystem builder BLOCK71 Saigon in October 2020. As an entrepreneur enclave of startups, venture capitalists, and incubators, BLOCK71 Saigon connects Vietnam’s innovation players with a network of mentors, global tech talents, and resources from corporates and government agencies;

1. Connecting startups to major technology hubs. BLOCK 71 augments the efforts of Enterprise Singapore’s Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) in Ho Chi Minh City, a partnership with Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) and Singapore-based venture fund Quest Ventures that was launched in 2019. GIA is a network of global innovation hubs which Vietnam’s ecosystem players can tap on to access the latest R&D efforts, whilst familiarising the global startup community with market demands unique to Vietnam. More than 10 Singapore-based startups from various sectors participated in the first run of the GIA HCMC market immersion programme, which concluded recently with a number of participating startups in discussion for partnerships or pilot projects with Vietnamese partners; and

1. Facilitating Venture capital activities. We have observed more fund raising activities from Singapore-based venture capital firms looking to invest in Vietnam’s fund and startups. Sea Group and Vertex Holdings invested in the recently launched Do Ventures fund, targeting Vietnamese startups. Other noteworthy fund-raising activities include Singapore companies, Insignia Ventures Partners, and TRIVE investments into Vietnamese technology companies Logivan and CoderSchool, respectively. Singaporean edtech startup Kalpha also raised seed funding from Vietnam-based VC Nest Tech VN.

Moving forward, we hope to facilitate more co-innovation partnerships between startups and corporates. One example is the ongoing Southeast Asia Open Innovation Challenge that was launched at the Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology in December last year. VNG Cloud launched its call to source for partners to co-innovate complementary technologies to support its eKnow Your Customer (eKYC) solution which enables digital banking for banks and financial institutions. The Open Innovation Challenge also saw participation from a number of other regional corporates including Central Group (Thailand), Hong Leong Holdings (Malaysia), Emtek (Indonesia), and Sunway (Malaysia), aiming to leverage Singapore’s business friendly environment, strong infrastructure and proximity to Southeast Asia to co-develop and scale new innovative solutions.

The Vietnamese government has a number of supporting policies for startups. Do you think they are enough to facilitate startup development and lure Singaporean startup and venture funds?

Leon Cai: Policies to support innovation has been remarkable in the last 10 years. At the enterprise level, MoUs such as those between ESG and NATEC further strengthen the role of the business sector in Vietnam’s innovation landscape. Our MoU encourages private and public partnerships, enterprise investments in science and technology initiatives, and expands public support for R&D at firm level by linking Vietnamese enterprises with research institutions.

Efforts to strengthen training and knowledge transfers between research centres, academia, and foreign companies and national science and technology networks will also assure more domestic firms can access the latest technologies and build capabilities to improve on productivity and quality benchmarks.

These efforts make Vietnam an attractive investment for Singaporean companies.

JP Morgan, May Bank selected TCB share as the top pick among Vietnam’s listed banks

In a report, JP Morgan has stated that Vietnamese banks offer the best combination of growth and Return on Equity (ROE) in ASEAN. High nominal GDP growth and resilience in the last 12 months provide visibility on credit and earnings growth over the next few years.

In particular, JP Morgan has reiterated its “overweight” rating on Techcombank – Vietnam’s leading commercial lender – with an upbeat outlook on the bank’s performance. The target price for the bank’s share is VND55,000 ($2.4) per share as of December 2021, calculated via JP Morgan’s two-stage dividend discount model.

The rally in the bank’s share price as the top pick among Vietnam’s listed banks is fuelled by multiple indicators.

According to the US-based financial group, Techcombank is the most profitable bank in the country on ROA despite having a low deposit market share of 3 per cent.

Expecting a 16 percent EPS CAGR for the sector, led bay TCB

The bank’s zero-fee programme and 1 per cent cash back debit card have led to sharp improvements in current accounts saving accounts (CASA) and to deposits going from 22 per cent in 2017 to 44 per cent in 2020. The brokerage also expects further improvement in CASA ratio to 50 per cent by 2023, leading to higher net interest margin (NIM).

Specifically, Techcombank has the highest capital (16.1 per cent capital adequacy ratio [CAR]) and lowest NPL (0.5 per cent), allowing for a 20 per cent CAGR for loans over the 2020-2023 period.

Techcombank is also one of the rare banks across the region that is making money on both sides of the balance sheet, as well as on fee income, adjusted for all allocated costs. This allows for longer-term visibility on returns.

Increasing PTs after EPS changes

The lender also rolled out a system to regulate total credit. This is due to a large corporate bond book and a 63 per cent loans-to-assets ratio. Further, high capital and low NPL holdings have allowed credit quotas in the 20 per cent range for the next three years, according to JP Morgan.

JP Morgan also expects the bank to be on a self-sustained capital level, given its combination of solid Return on Equity (RoE) and growth.

Sharing the same boat, Maybank Kim Eng Securities has recently voted Techcombank as Vietnam’s No.1 private-sector bank with a strong brand, deposit franchise, and a solid banking platform for high-profile companies in Vietnam.

The lender is considered the top player in bond underwriting and bancassurance competition, with a high-calibre management and execution team.

On the other hand, Techcombank has maintained consistent, robust profit growth in 2020, up 23 per cent on-year.

“We forecast Techcombank’s profit will grow 26 and 22 per cent in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Accordingly, ROE will improve to 19 per cent, with stronger credit growth and faster-than-expected easing in provisioning bringing about significant upsides,” noted Maybank.

The lender’s strategy is to focus on top private-sector companies, upper SMEs and affluent retail, and is run by a highly capable team. All of these factors enabled it to stay resilient through the unprecedented health crisis.

“Techcombank is now being traded at 1.4x price-to-book value (P/BV) in our 2021 expectation, which is in line with local peers’ average, despite its banking platform, earnings power, and quality being superior. We believe the bank’s robust profit growth outlook on the back of a strong balance sheet, along with improved market sentiment towards the bank’s stock in recognition of the bank’s strengths, will support further rerating,” the brokerage added.

Maybank also recommends investors to buy Techcombank stocks, with higher target price of VND43,700 ($1.9) as of December 2021, up 21 per cent compared to the current price.

The brokerage believes the market’s stronger sentiment towards Techcombank, in recognition of its strengths and improving ROE, will drive up its valuation close to that of industry-leading banks.

Earlier this month, Techcombank is also one of the nine Vietnamese lenders topping the Brand Finance Banking 500 list, with its brand value increasing from 327th in 2020 to 270th in 2021.

Bloomberg recently also stated that Southeast Asian stocks could be safe havens amid the disruption in global risk assets led by spiking yields. Thus, Techcombank – as the most dynamic, profitable bank in Vietnam – is among the best shelters from the global yield havoc.

Techcombank has the highest upside of 42 per cent (followed by ACB with 29 per cent) according to JP Morgan. Analysts also raised target price on resilience observed in 2020. Particularly, JP Morgan raised earning per share for the 2021-2022 financial year and target price for ACB, TCB, and VPB by 8-11

The Hanoitimes – With the Covid-19 impacts still looming on local economy, domestic car prices have gone down but remained nearly double the prices of vehicles sold in Thailand and Indonesia, mainly due to high fees and taxes for locally made cars.

Rising domestic production capacity and existing government’s support policies to cut fees and taxes for locally made cars are expected to be major factors dragging down car prices in Vietnam in the coming time.

Car production at Hyundai Thanh Cong manufacturing plant. Photo: Hoang Giang

A representative from the Truong Hai Auto Corporation (Thaco), one of Vietnam’s leading car manufacturers, expected the country’s participation in free trade agreements (FTAs) with major partners, including the EU, Japan, UK and South Korea, would help further abate costs for importing car parts with import duty at 0%.

With the Covid-19 impacts still looming on local economy, domestic car prices have gone down but remain nearly double the prices of vehicles sold in Thailand and Indonesia, mainly due to high fees and taxes for locally made cars.

“High product quality and low base cost are essential for Vietnam cars to compete with their foreign peers,” said auto expert Nguyen Minh Dong, adding only a bigger market size could attract more investors to come in to produce cars in the country and enhance localization rate.

Director of Hien Toyota noted while car manufacturers can streamline operation to drive down the production cost, taxes and fees are dependent on state policies.

“Lowering taxes and fees for cars will no doubt reduce prices and bring more benefits for customers,” she said.

Booming market demand

A recent report from the SSI Securities Corporation suggested Vietnam’s income per capita is on the rise and set to grow at an average of 8-10% in the next decade.

“Compared to regional countries, the current income per capita is fast approaching to a point of bursting demand for cars,” asserted the SSI, adding cars would soon move from the luxury category with a passenger vehicle density of 34 per 1,000 to a more ordinary one with a density level comparable to countries in the region.

The SSI also pointed to a key factor that the domestic car market is big enough for car manufacturers to shift from importing cars to assembling/manufacturing domestically.

At present, six major car manufacturers of Thaco, Huyndai, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford and Honda account for 90% of the market share in Vietnam with a combined production capacity of 30,000-60,000 units per year, exceeding the break-even point for domestically-produced cars of 30,000-40,000 cars per year for an assembling plant, or 10,000-20,000 units for each car model.

According to the SSI, domestic car production capacity  is increasing rapidly to meet customers demand, a key step to lower car prices.

With more cars manufacturing and assembling plants scheduled to complete in the 2022-23 period, the SSI expects a heating up car markets with steep discount policies would drive up domestic car demands.

Along with existing Vietnam’s support policies for the automobile industry, the National Assembly is currently discussing a possibility of reducing the excise tax rate for locally made cars, in which the specific reduced rate would be in line with the localization rate, aiming to boost sales of affordable car models.