Huge tortoise

Huge bomb safely deactivated in Quang Binh province

March 5, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

Earlier, at 11:30 on March 1, workers of the Duy Thinh Construction Consultant Limited Company found a bomb at a depth of nearly 2m while working on a road in Hoan Lao town.

Upon receiving the information, the Quang Binh provincial Military Command directed the Bo Trach district Military Command, together with public security forces, to send troops to the surrounding the area and evacuate local residents to safe places.

The MK82 bomb, with a weight of 227kg, length of 1.54m and a diameter of 274mm remained intact.

The bomb is believed to be dropped by the US during the Vietnam war. It was moved to a safe area for detonation.

Translated by Chung Anh

Gold prices fluctuate, traders make huge profits

March 4, 2021 by vietnamnet.vn

The gold price in the world market has decreased by 13 percent this year, causing Vietnamese to lose billions of dollars. Meanwhile, the domestic price has stayed high.

Gold prices fluctuate, traders make huge profits

The gold price in the Asian market is closer to $1,700/ounce after falling from the $1,800/ounce threshold last week.

On March 2, the world price fell to $1,718/ounce, or VND48.7 million per tael, not including tax and fees, or VND7.5 million per tael lower than the domestic price.

“The gold price in the world market has been decreasing rapidly, $100/ounce just within one week and $250 so far this year, or 13 percent,” said Do Huu Thanh, an investor in Hanoi, adding that it was not foreseeable.

According to Thanh, the gold price drop did not affect his assets, because the domestic gold price remains high, over VND56 million per tael. Thanh doesn’t intend to sell gold at this moment.

A finance expert estimated that total gold reserves are worth up to $20 billion. With the 13 percent decrease in the last two months, Vietnamese have lost $2.5 billion.

In the world market, investment funds rushed to sell gold as the US dollar recovered and the US bond yield increased. Investors believe that the recovery of the US economy will come sooner than initially planned.

The price of the precious metal fell also because the cash flow is heading for stock market, which has picked up with the news about the Covid-19 vaccine.

While the world price fluctuates heavily, the domestic price remains at VND8 million per tael higher than the world market. The domestic market is quiet with few transactions because of low demand.

Analysts said businesses have still set gold prices at high levels because the domestic market is not highly communicative with the world market and the gold import/export is still carried out based on the quota granted by management agencies. The gold imports are controlled in an effort to prevent foreign currency bleeding.

According to Huynh Minh Tuan from Mirae Asset, demand for gold is weak, while cash keeps flowing into the stock market, VND15-20 trillion each session.

Gold and real estate remain favorite investment channels because investors lack high confidence in the domestic currency. Moreover, the prospect for gold is bright in the international market in the long term. The gold price does not heavily depend on demand. As businesses keep selling prices at high levels, they can make big profits.

Experts believe that gold will still be a good investment channel in the long term because the inflation rate is predicted to increase.

M. Ha

Full steam ahead for LNG capacities to omit fossil fuels

March 3, 2021 by www.vir.com.vn

Khanh Hoa province, on the south-central coast, has recently been leading the way in attaining attraction from both domestic and foreign financiers when it comes to the gas and electricity sector.

Among the suitors is one from the United States, proposing the Millennium gas power project with a forecast capacity of 14,400MW and 17 million tonnes of storage for liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. Joining in are Embark United Co., Ltd. and US Quantum Corporation to establish a 6,000MW gas power venture and a port warehouse to receive and process six million tonnes of LNG per year.

Japanese investors did also not ignore the opportunity to develop gas power projects in Khanh Hoa, as Sumitomo Corporation proposed to invest in a 3,000MW gas power scheme and a storage system for three million tonnes of LNG per year, while J-Power Co., Ltd. wants to invest in a gas turbine power project with a capacity of 3,000MW.

Despite a slightly slower approach, the province is also seeing the presence of more domestic investors, led by Electricity of Vietnam which proposed a 6,000MW gas power project, while Petrolimex wants to build a warehouse for around three million tonnes of LNG per year.

Those involved in the gas power sector all understand that developing such a project in Vietnam is a difficult task, as the country is still in the process of building its Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8). Nevertheless, the total installed capacity of power sources by 2030 is supposed to reach 137.2GW, of which gas accounts for 21 per cent.

Tran Ky Phuc, director of the Institute of Energy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) – the unit in charge of building the PDP8 – said that electricity demand in this plan is calculated lower than in the revised PDP7, reducing the forecast amount by 3-4 billion kWh in 2020 and 9-10 billion kWh in 2030.

1533 p8 9 full steam ahead for lng capacities to omit fossil fuels

Realistic needs

The development of gas power sources in Vietnam is the result of the exhaustion of fossil fuels, the limitations of hydropower, and the fact that nuclear power is currently halted and new and renewable energy sources only meet a very small part of the actual demand.

The Institute of Energy forecasts that Vietnam’s energy import rate will increase sharply by 2035 by nearly 2.5 times compared to 2015, from 54 to about 90 million tonnes of oil equivalent by 2025.

The increasing investment in the gas and electricity sector is a prerequisite for LNG imports. Data from the MoIT shows that Vietnam has become a net energy importer since 2015, with a net import rate of about 5 per cent of the total energy supply.

Meanwhile, the country started to import LNG in 2018, which is expected to reach about 3.6 million tonnes of LNG per year by 2025, as the domestic gas consumption is forecast to reach 13-27 billion cubic metres, but production might just deliver around 13-19 billion cu.m.

Import of LNG will continue to increase strongly between 2026 and 2035 to about 6-10 million tonnes per year due to the increased market demand of around 23-31 billion cu.m.

While the gas demand in Vietnam has increased sharply in recent years, Le Minh Nguyen, regional director of German MAN Energy Solutions SE said, “Onshore gas output is on a downward trend. By the end of 2020, the gas output of PetroVietnam reached approximately 9.16 billion cu.m, while the figures for 2019 and 2018 were about 9.6 billion cu.m and 9.7 billion cu.m respectively.

According to Minh, Vietnam’s gas field reserves are now estimated at 700 billion cu.m, which can be exploited in around 40-50 years. More gas supply will also be added in 2023 when the two projects at the Blue Whale field and O Mon’s Block B are updated.

Imports for gas projects, such as Nhon Trach 3 and 4, are only meant to happen in the short term. However, the initial investment capital was one of the main bottlenecks, affecting both the exploration of new gas sources and their exploitation. Initial investments in gas projects are very large and, for example, amounted to $6-7 billion for O Mon’s Block B field and around $10 billion for the Blue Whale field.

Strict conditions

Vietnam’s forced import of LNG for electricity generation has become an opportunity for US energy companies to participate more deeply in the country’s gas sector. ExxonMobil is cooperating with PetroVietnam and its subsidiary, PetroVietnam Exploration Production Co. Ltd., to implement the Blue Whale field, the largest gas field in Vietnam, located about 100km from the central coast to the east and holding approximately 150.79 billion cu.m of gas.

The gas supply of the Blue Whale field is secured in sync with the construction progress of the two mixed gas turbine power plants Dung Quat I and Dung Quat III in the south-central province of Quang Ngai.

However, in the long run, Vietnam needs partners to realise the diversified power source target, and the United States could support it. Yet, the first dialogue session on energy – one of five US dialogues conducted worldwide between Vietnam and the US held in 2018 – did not reach an agreement, despite efforts behind the scenes during the previous three years.

This dialogue session stopped at the trend of future cooperation, with some suggestions for development in the oil and gas sector yet leaving the renewable energy sector almost unchanged while coal-fired thermal power was not discussed at all.

According to the US, Vietnam should develop gas power plants using LNG rather than continuing to operate coal-fired power plants. This recommendation is not new but has now also been noticed at the national level.

The US proposal may be suitable for Vietnam’s target of diversified power sources, but there is no immediate progress because of the lack of a legal framework for electricity and gas. Even in the revised PDP7, the content for gas power remains fuzzy. It may take Vietnam up to three years to add this proposal to the new PDP8 and prepare the infrastructure for gas imports.

Since the first gas was exploited at Tien Hai C field in 1981, the country has exploited nearly 150 billion cu.m of gas, according to Dr. Nguyen Hong Minh, deputy director of the Vietnam Petroleum Institute.

Minh said that oil and gas exploration has identified a depletion rate of only 16 per cent, but investment in oil and gas has continuously declined in recent years. The demand for capital increases and may sum up to $13-14 billion for the 2019-2025 period, but each year only a few hundred million US dollars can be mobilised.

Tran Sy Thanh, PetroVietnam’s former chairman said, “The oil and gas industry has difficulties to attract investment with the current mechanisms such as the strict contract conditions in the revised Law on Petroleum.”

Besides that, some taxes are also creating additional pressure on businesses participating in this field. For example, the gas industry is subject to a water resource tax of VND100 million ($4,300) for each square kilometre of the used sea surface, while each exploration lot needs about 5,000 sq.km, equivalent to an expense of $10-15 million. Thanh said that no investor can bear such a heavy tax.

Inappropriate regulations are currently a huge barrier to investment in the sector. Hoang Anh Tuan, deputy director of the MoIT’s Domestic Market Department, confirmed that the contents in the Law on Petroleum and the follow-up Decree No.96/2015/ND-CP regulating oil and gas exploration Vietnam’s territories “are inconsistent with reality.”

Tuan cited that there are many regulations on adjusting the upstream sector – which includes searching for potential underground or underwater crude oil and natural gas fields – but not on the midstream and downstream sectors – the former of which involves the transportation, storage, and wholesale marketing of crude or refined petroleum products while the latter includes the refining of petroleum crude oil and processing and purifying of raw natural gas. Mid-and downstream activities are mainly regulated through the laws on enterprises, public investment, construction, environmental protection, and other relevant legal documents.

Another problem is that, when Vietnam uses LNG to generate power, it may not always be fully accepted. Morten Bæk, Denmark’s former Permanent Secretary of State at the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Utilities, noted that the dependence on imported gas sources “will remain present in the future,” when Vietnam develops gas power. Bæk does also not believe that gas power can be the sole answer to sustainability and should only be considered one of many diverse energy sources.

Recently initiated LNG power projects

As of December 2020, at least 30 thermal gas power projects with a total expected capacity of about 93GW have been proposed for research and construction. About half of these are complexes fully integrated with components from LNG import ports, storage tanks, recycling systems, pipelines, and power generation plants. The remaining projects are merely power plants running on LNG. For projects proposed by investors and provincial authorities, only 17.6GW has been officially approved in the revised PDP7. No project has started its construction yet.

Subsidiaries of state-run PetroVietnam and Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) are now listed in a few projects that have reached a relatively significant stage of development. PetroVietnam’s PV Gas is currently constructing the LNG Thi Vai terminal, one of the only two import ports in Vietnam under construction, expected to come into operation in 2022. This port will provide gas for PV Power’s Nhon Trach 3 and 4 power plants with a total expected capacity of 1.5GW – both plants are the first two in the country designed to use LNG, expected to operate from 2023.

PV Gas has established a joint venture with the US’ AES Group to develop an LNG warehouse at Son My Port worth $1.4 billion, scheduled to open in 2024. Among integrated projects, PV Power also leads the consortium of investors for the $1.9-billion LNG project in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh with a full range of imported infrastructure components, tanks, recycling systems, and power plants, and a planned capacity of 1.5GW, conducted with Japanese partners. GENCO3 of EVN is also developing a similar project, LNG Long Son, with a generated capacity of 1.2GW, which is proposed to come into operation in 2026.

Meanwhile, Japan as a long-term partner of Vietnam’s electricity industry currently leads in the number of energy companies pursuing LNG projects, with names such as Tokyo Gas, Sojitz, Kyushu, JERA, and J-Power. Following is the US with familiar names like ExxonMobil and AES, and South Korea with Kogas and GS Energy. So far, these investors have chosen to cooperate with domestic private enterprises and state-owned enterprises.

ExxonMobil last October signed an MoU with of Haiphong and the Japanese power company JERA to cooperate for the development of an LNG power plant in the northern port city. The project is divided into two phases with a total estimated capital sum of $5.1 billion and will include a port with floating storage and gas recycling facilities, gas pipelines, and a 4.5GW gas power plant.

In addition, Tokyo Gas and Marubeni participated in a joint venture led by PV Power to develop the Quang Ninh LNG project, with an MoU signed in last October under the witness of Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide during his trip to Vietnam.

Japan’s Sojitz and Kyushu are working with French EDF for the Son My 1 thermal power plant project with an expected capacity of 2.3GW. In July 2019, South Korea’s Kogas Group also signed on for construction of LNG Ke Ga, a project worth $2 billion with a capacity of 1.5GW in the south-central province of Binh Thuan. That November, Gulf Energy of Thailand signed an MoU with the south-central province of Ninh Thuan to research and develop the LNG Ca Na power generation complex with a capacity of 6GW.

Source: Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis

By Hai Van

M&A pushing ahead real estate market

March 4, 2021 by vietnamnet.vn

The long process of project approval from competent government agencies and the serious impact of COVID-19 have helped mergers and acquisitions in real estate sector become more active.

A recent report released by VNDirect Securities Corporation stated that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals, especially in transferring part of large-scale real estate projects, were considered one of the fastest solutions for foreign developers when they want to jump into the Vietnamese real estate market, as well as for the domestic developers expanding their land fund and investment portfolios.

This report also cited that some projects from giant developers are currently in the negotiation process with most expected to be completed this year.

“Thanks to the improvement of the legal system in the Law on Investment, a range of deals will be done within this year with total value up to more than $1 billion,” the report cited.

According to Tran Khanh Hien, deputy director of the Research at VNDirect, the real estate market in 2021 will be step-by-step resumed at its active level, based on the economic recovery, rising housing demand, and increased supply due to a range of projects that will be permitted to continue after long delays to review procedures.

The Gem Riverside, funded by domestic developers Dat Xanh Group, and the Eco-smart city at Thu Thiem from South Korea’s Lotte Group, are among those looking to be kicked forward.

Developers cited that M&A deals in real estate are a motivation for developers to be resumed after a long time of being impacted by the ongoing pandemic.

Nguyen Thai Phien, senior financial director at Novaland Group, said that the corporation is based on M&A deals in order to develop its land fund and business for long-term development.

Novaland started collecting land in 2005 via M&As and currently boasts more than 700 hectares in the east of Ho Chi Minh City, 700ha in Dong Nai province, and more than 2,000ha in Phan Thiet of Binh Thuan and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces.

Asian activity

Masataka Sam Yoshida, head of the Cross-border Division of RECOF Corporation, said that the trend of Japanese companies into Vietnam is increasing.

The Vietnamese real estate market is presented with a range of large-scale Japanese developers such as Mitsubishi, Nomura Real Estate, Daiwa House Industry, Sumitomo Forestry, Creed Group, Samty Asia Investments, Kajima Corporation, and more.

Most of the sectors in Japan, according to Yoshida, have developed to its highest level so they need to find new markets to expand outside of Japan.

The second factor is the M&A growth strategy supported by the abundant accumulated money over the past 20 years, reaching trillions of US dollars.

“Japanese businesses are still looking to Vietnam in the process of searching and expanding markets, taking advantage of the young population. The interest from Japanese investors in Vietnam is huge, even during the pandemic,” Yoshida commented.

“Once travel restrictions are lifted, a huge wave of Japanese companies waiting to take up investment procedures will appear very soon,” he added.

Similarly, a representative of the Korean Business Association in Vietnam also said that businesses there are very interested in the consumer goods, food and beverage, and retail industries.

“In addition, real estate is a field of large profit margins, long-term efficiency, and is always a channel to attract investment to South Korean investors,” the representative said.

1532 p23 ma pushing ahead real estate market

Increasing the heat

Elsewhere, housing land and industrial real estate are expected to stir up the M&A market in the next 12 months.

Kim Ngoc, director of Valuation and Advisory Services at Colliers International, cited that the amendments and updates in the laws in investment, securities, and enterprises will make M&A activities more active after many inappropriate regulations have been removed.

“Combined with Vietnam’s achievements in 2020 of successfully controlling the pandemic and achieving the highest possible growth rate, there are many reasons to believe that M&A activities will recover quickly. Sectors that can attract more M&A are real estate, retail, and consumer goods,” she said.

Newly-signed trade agreements and the movement of many giant manufacturers and multinational groups are playing a significant role in the M&A trend moving forward.

Apple recently chose Vietnam as its first base for manufacturing the iPad and MacBook after China, demonstrating that high-quality investment flow is driving into Vietnam and helping realise deals in industrial properties, logistics, and support services.

One of the driving forces for such deals in Vietnam comes from foreign companies which withdrew from China to avoid risks related to US-China trade tensions. Notable destinations for these companies have included Indonesia, Spain, and Finland, as well as Vietnam.

The market in 2021 and beyond is also expected to blossom in city outskirts and satellite towns which are well connected with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

In the north, hotspots are projected to be the likes of Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, and Haiphong when in the south, Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An are already on the radar of investors.

Vietnam ranked second out of 50 economies in the latest M&A Investment Index by Euromonitor, which reflects the expected level of investment, activity, and attractiveness of the global M&A market amid macroeconomic and financial shocks for 2020-2021.

With COVID-19 still complicated in many countries, most European governments are lowering their basic interest rates to reduce borrowing costs. These factors could create good opportunities for businesses to expand operations in foreign countries through the M&A channel, Euromonitor said.

The Institute for Corporate Investment, Mergers and Acquisitions expects that M&A in Vietnam will recover in 2021-2022, back to around $4.5-5 billion in 2021 and event up to $7 billion in 2022. Real estate will remain the second-hottest sector in M&A, behind finance and banking.

VIR

KMS launches electronic know-your-customer platform for Southeast Asian banks

March 4, 2021 by bizhub.vn

A KMS office in the US. — Photo courtesy of KMS Technology

KMS Solutions, a subsidiary of US engineering and software services company KMS Technology, has launched an electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) platform targeting Southeast Asia’s banking sector.

It automates the verification, identification and extraction of data from images and documents.

Le Huu Tan Tai, digital banking solution director at KMS Solutions, said: “Banking needs to stand at the forefront of digital transformation as it directly impacts the economy at large. However, Southeast Asia, and Viet Nam in particular, still faces certain challenges when undertaking digital banking.

“Thanks to our experience in implementing digital banking for established banks across the world, KMS is well-positioned to support banks in the region with accelerating their digital transformation faster, more effectively and more securely.”

eKYC allows banks to reduce the time needed to verify customer’s information, which otherwise might take days to weeks using traditional methods.

Customers will no longer have to wait in long queues at counters because all the processes are done online.

The solution is researched and developed based on 4.0 technologies such as optical character recognition, face matching, liveness detection, and artificial intelligence.

Le Tran Bao Duy, general director of KMS Solutions, said, “As banks, financial institutions, e-wallets, and securities companies in Viet Nam are actively going digital, the prospects for eKYC solutions are huge.”

eKYC could support at least 35 per cent of the automation process at banks in Viet Nam by 2025, he added. — VNS

Rubber companies set lower profit targets for 2021

March 4, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

Getting rubber latex – Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – As a bear market for rubber is anticipated in 2021, Vietnamese rubber companies have edged down their profit targets for the year.

In its business plan announced at an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting at the end of February, the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) targets 4.6 trillion VND (199.68 million USD) in after-tax profit in 2021, a year-on-year fall of 12 percent.

It forecast another tough year, particularly for rubber latex, with blame being placed on lower prices. The group’s rubber wood and rubber products will both face fierce competition.

Gross revenue topped 25.99 trillion VND last year and after-tax profit 5.23 trillion VND, up 5.67 percent and 29.8 percent, respectively. Growth was mainly spurred by its divestment from the Sai Gon VRG Investment JSC.

Experts from the Viet Capital Securities JSC said that VRG pocketed some 1.1 trillion VND from the divestment, and without this its profit would scarcely have reached such a high level.

It is understandable that VRG has adjusted its profit target downwards this year, they said, in the context of unanticipated changes in the global market.

Other rubber firms like the Tay Ninh Rubber JSC (TRC) and the Phuoc Hoa Rubber JSC (PHC) also remained prudent in setting targets for 2021.

TRC aimed at 301 billion VND in revenue and 57 billion VND in pre-tax profit, down 29.6 percent and 48.8 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, PHR, who holds a huge advantage in developing industrial real estate, lowered its revenue target by 15 percent to 1.92 trillion VND and after-tax profit target by 35 percent to 751 billion VND.

Along with gloomy prospects for material rubber demand this year, PHR is also facing other difficulties, including stunted rubber plantations, a shortage of workers, unfavourable climate conditions, and disease in its rubber trees. Revenue and profit will also be critically affected by weakening investment in industrial zones due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a report from the FPT Securities JSC (FPTS), rubber prices will remain low in 2021, at around 32-33 million VND per tonne, leaving a negative impact on the sector’s latex business./.

VNA