Lotte thu thiem project

Budiman Sudjatmiko, Chief Executive of the Kiniku Bintang Raya KSO (Source: kumparan.com)

Jakarta (VNA) – Budiman Sudjatmiko, Chief Executive of the Kiniku Bintang Raya KSO – one of the two state-owned companies joining the “Algorithm Hill” ( Silicon Valley ) project of Indonesia, said that the project’s groundbreaking will take place after this year’s Eid al-Fitr or mid-May.

Budiman said to realise Indonesia ’s version of Silicon Valley development in Cikidang district in West Java with five priority technology research programmes, 1 billion EUR (1.2 billion USD) has been prepared.

Once everything is settled and the budget is also okay, his firm will start the project, he affirmed.

Covering an area of 888 hectares, the project will be implemented by PT Kiniku Bintang Raya, a joint venture of PT Kiniku Nusa Kreasi and PT Bintang Raya Lokalestari established on April 7, 2021.

It is scheduled to be completed within 11 years, focusing on manufacturing unmanned aircraft and nano satellites./.

A route in the Loc An-Binh Son resettlement area serving the Long Thanh airport project.

Dong Nai (VNA) – The southern province of Dong Nai has planned to complete ground clearance compensation and resettlement support for households affected by the construction of Long Thanh International Airport by the end of June, according to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Cao Tien Dung.

All the 5,000 hectares of land, including more than 3,000 hectares owned by more than 5,500 households in the locality, will be handed over to the project’s investor in late June, Dung said.

At a working session with representatives of the provincial People’s Committee on April 19, Deputy General Director of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) Do Tat Binh said in early April, relevant units began building barriers and removing bombs and mines at the site. These works are scheduled to be completed in September 2021 and January 2022, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2022, ACV will start the construction of terminals at Long Thanh airport, while the construction of connection transport systems and infrastructure works will begin in the fourth quarter of the year.

Other items such as runway, taxiway, parking areas, intra-port traffic system, technical infrastructure, and other auxiliary works will be commenced in 2022.

The first phase of the project is scheduled to finish and put into operation by the fourth quarter of 2025.

Addressing the working session, Deputy Minister of Transport Le Anh Tuan praised local efforts in site clearance and building of resettlement areas serving the project, saying that the on-time land handover is an important premise for the investor to complete the project on schedule.

He asked ACV to closely coordinate with the provincial authorities in site clearance compensation and resettlement support .

Meanwhile, the local authorities were requested to take measures to accelerate the disbursement of investment for the project./.

Thousands of shows a year

Another festive highlight that many visitors should look forward to is the 30-minute show ‘Colors of Venice’ held every evening at the Canal and Central Lake, featuring typical European designs, combined with romantic love stories and laser technology.

In addition to two main shows costing millions of dollars, the ‘sleepless city’ also offers at least 2,920 daytime mini shows, along with 365 evening performances, every year in various topics to bring visitors fresh feelings.

According to Bui Quoc Thai, director of the Kien Giang Department of Tourism, the models of endless entertainment and shopping will help introduce local agricultural products and specialties, especially through the Grand World night market’s 134 stalls, which are divided into four categories — cuisine, souvenirs, local specialties, and fashion items.

Tourists’ expectations for ‘sleepless city’

Duong Huan, a traveler from Ho Chi Minh City, showed his support for the development of a nigh-time economy, especially in big cities and tourism hot spots.

According to Huan, management agencies need to leverage each locality’s own identity more thoroughly to avoid boring repetition.

At the same time, more regulations on food safety and hygiene, pricing, security, and public order are needed for the healthy growth of business and preventing bad practices.

Localities with famous tourist destinations should improve public transport while ensuring security and public order for tourists, he said.

Besides, there should be suitable activities designed for different ages, especially for children, as many young families often find themselves in situations where they cannot entertain their kids during their trips.

According to Trang Ho, a visitor from Hanoi, she prefers taking part in outdoor activities at night during her vacations over more comfortable weather and less busy traffic.

However, tourists have few choices for night-time outdoor activities in Vietnamese cities, Ho complained.

“Nobody wants to stay in a hotel to watch TV during their trips,” Ho said.

“This point signals the business opportunity of the night-time economy.

“I think the ‘sleepless city’ should initially address this need and then other healthy entertainment services.”

Short- and long-term weaknesses of painting the M&A target on select Vietnamese textile and garment producers

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, general secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said that foreign investors are purchasing shares and making capital contributions into Vietnamese textile companies to capitalise on the global textile and garment market. Given the impact of COVID-19 and their long-standing weaknesses, several Vietnamese textile enterprises are struggling, setting them up as potential M&A targets.

At present, Vietnam is home to 7,000 textile and garment companies. Over 80 per cent of whom are small- and medium-sized enterprises limited by a lack of capital, technology, skilled workforce and good governance. Meanwhile, foreign-invested companies are equipped with modern technology, experts, strong financial capability, and have a stable market for their projects.

Meanwhile, Vu Kim Hanh, chairwoman of the Vietnam High-Quality Goods Association said that Vietnamese textile and garment firms have yet to catch up with the digitalisation trend. Many are confused about digital marketing and online sale. Due to their small scale, local firms cannot fulfil large orders. They remain weak in design and branding, making it difficult to increase added value and raise the competitiveness in the market.

She expected that the participation of strategic investors via M&A will help Vietnamese firms address the challenges and scale up in the future.

E-Land, Korea’s first and largest integrated fashion and retail company, has been a strategic partner of Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC for over the past 10 years by holding a 30 per cent stake at the local firm.

E-Land has steadily increased its ownership to 43.26 per cent to become the largest foreign strategic investor in Thanh Cong Textile, making significant contributions to improving corporate restructuring and governance. Thanh Cong Textile has seen its after-tax profit growing six-fold since E-Land’s investment.

In 2018, Japanese trading house Itochu has increased its stakes in Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) to nearly 15 per cent by investing $46.9 million with an aim to turn the country into a textile export hub for Europe. Itochu is now the second-largest stakeholder in Vinatex after the Vietnamese government.

Itochu exports a little over ¥60 billion ($553 million) worth of apparel from Vietnam a year, half of which is produced by Vinatex. The company aims to raise outsourced production and exports to ¥100 billion ($922 million) by 2021.

The outlook for Vietnam’s textile and garment exports is brighter in 2021 as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement has taken effect. There is also a higher demand for “Made in Vietnam” fabrics as big brands are increasingly sourcing fabrics from Vietnam than China. The fabric prices are steadily increasing this year, improving the profit margins of local firms.

In the past two years, there have not been so many M&A deals in the textile and garment industry. The majority of buyers scooped up around 10-15 per cent stake in Vietnamese companies as an investment rather than holding a controlling stake.