Vietnam: The Potential Destination for Venture Capitals

If we see the business, the attention of Venture Capitals (VCs) and foreign investors are the indication then Vietnam is emerging as a potential environment for the startup operation.

Besides the investment funds that have been presented in Vietnam as IDG Ventures Vietnam, a number of new VCs have joined the Vietnam entrepreneurship ecosystem and are very optimistic about the ahead opportunities.

On August 2015, the Captii Ventures owned by Captii Corporation has invested a sum of 6 numbers to the startup OnOnPay phone recharge. This represents the first venture investment of Captii in Vietnam.

Factors attracting investors here are the demographic advantages and business models that can be replicated. According to Techlist.asia, the startup figure in Vietnam has risen to 1,400, bringing this country becomes the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia after Singapore and Indonesia.

With a population of 90 million people who are in the process of economic growth, young population structure, emerging middle class and the rate of Internet user is increasing rapidly, especially mobile phone, Vietnam is in the beginning phase of a very exciting cycle.

Moreover, Vietnam is a large, young and growing rapidly economy, the technology index such as the ratio of using the Internet and smart phone are in large-scale, the leading founder generation have achieved success and demonstrate the potential of the talent and market of Vietnam.

Compared to other Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam), Vietnam has strong advantages in the available technique human resources, energy, resources and potential growth the market.

Moreover, the new policy on foreign investment has entered into force on July 1st 2015 with more freedom for foreigners to own real estate in Vietnam and simpler procedures for projects or portfolios.

In the 3 areas that Captii Ventures is focusing on that are market, digital media and apps for business, they will participate more actively in at least two areas that are market and apps for business.

Not only with the VCs, Vietnam startup is also attractive to other foreign companies such as Yello Mobile from South Korea, the company has invested in CleverAds advertising company and Websosanh – the price comparison site.

Garena, a Singapore’s internet company has invested Series B for Foody, startup locations that in the same month continued to receive Series C investment from Tiger Global Management – US venture capital fund.

Transcosmos, a software manufacturing company based in Tokyo, had previously acquired a 30% stake in Hotdeal e-commerce platform in a deal signed on August 2015.

Cre:http://www.antconsult.vn/news/industry/technology/vietnam-the-potential-destination-for-venture-capitals.html

TPP Will Create Breakthrough for Vietnam’s Commercial Real Estate Sector

On October 5th, the TPP agreement has finished negotiation. According to experts, the signing of TPP will expand the opportunity for Vietnam’s economy in general and real estate market in particular.

It seems that foreign real estate investors are more sensitive hearing than domestic investors in the anticipation of macroeconomic policy. The most recent example, funds from Japan and the United States are massively investing in the real estate market of Vietnam. These includes Creed Group (Japan) committed to invest 200 million USD into the An Gia Investment or the Global Emerging Market – GEM (US) has recently committed to pour 20 million USD into Hoang Quan real estate company.

Currently, there is a capital inflow from Japan landing in Vietnam. Many Japanese firms have invested in clean agriculture in Japan and some areas in the Northern of Vietnam to grow fresh vegetables and then export back to Japan. The Japanese are very closely following the TPP negotiation process so they also have investment plans in advance.

After the TPP was signed then what people expect the most is the commercial real estate market will develop better, which include industrial park, office, retail space…as a result of the shift of investment capital flows.

In order to leverage the special tax incentives and cheap labor cost in Vietnam, a lot of businesses in Japan, US had planned about moving factories from China to Vietnam and exported to Japan, US… The main industries that are shifting include textiles, phone manufacturers, automobile manufacturers…. The capital flow shifting will push up demand for commercial real estate.

When the foreign enterprises arrived in Vietnam, they will have to build factories, warehouses. On the other hand, they would create jobs, generate demand for ancillary and service industries. Thus, the system of services like hotels, trade centers, office rental and other services will develop as a result.

Thus, we can also expect M&A in the field of hotel, office, retail, including resort real estate will thrive in the future. Moreover, after the success of TPP, it will push up the industrial real estate market to develop.

Cre:http://www.antconsult.vn/investor/us-investor/tpp-will-create-breakthrough-for-vietnams-commercial-real-estate-sector.html

Will Vietnam Become The Silicon Valley of South East Asia?

15 years ago, it was hard to find an information technology (IT) company in Vietnam, but now there are nearly 14,000 IT enterprises that produce and develop hardware, software and digital. The Government of Vietnam considered high-tech industry as one of the pillars to promote economic growth of the country. Vietnam has invested heavily in the construction of infrastructure and adopts economic policies to encourage both domestic and foreign enterprises to invest and do business in Vietnam.

Besides, Vietnam has more than 90 million in population with average age of over 30 years old, in which the number of programmers, engineers, young entrepreneurs and students are increasing, that will be the effort to promote economic growth and technological innovation in the country.

More than 20 years ago, the leading technology corporation IBM has opened an office in Da Nang in 1992 and then opened in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City in 1994. Also in 2012, Da Nang was recognized by IBM as one of 33 most dynamic cities in the world and was awarded by the company with 50 million USD under the program to support the improvement of infrastructure in three years time.

Many hi-tech parks are established under the IT projects of Vietnam in 2020 that has been responsive to the growing demand for infrastructure for hardware manufacturing, companies producing software and international information technology… This is giving the central city of Vietnam strength to become a center of high-tech boom.

Moreover, three largest IT universities in Vietnam (that are located in Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City) are the main workforce for the high-tech zone with hundreds of IT students graduating each year. Many young engineers were recruited immediately to famous companies such as Cisco, Fujitsu, HP, IBM, Intel, LG, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba.

In October 2015, the Vietnam IT Conference will be held in Ho Chi Minh City with the attendance of representatives from 150 multinational IT companies, along with more than 200 IT companies from Vietnam and 20 universities. There will be speeches from Gartner, KPMG, HP, LogiGear, Microsoft, Samsung. This is the chance for Vietnam IT industry to present to the world and everyone will witness the boom of the Vietnam IT industry.

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Cre:http://www.antconsult.vn/news/will-vietnam-become-the-silicon-valley-of-south-east-asia.html

Japan Pouring Capital into Vietnam Real Estate Market

Vietnam real estate market has seen a growing funds poured into the real estate market through signning partnership agreement with Vietnam partners or direct foreig own investment in setting up company in Vietnam.

Since 2011, Tokyu Corp of Japan has already had cooperation agreements with Becamex IDC Corp to invest USD 1.2 billion to develop the urban area project of 71ha in Binh Duong new city. Other real estate business as Thanh Dong has also signed cooperation with many Japanese investors to mobilize capital for investment in a range of real estate projects. Accordingly, Thanh Dong is negotiating with a private equity fund in Osaka to cooperate investment in 3 major projects of this company in Hai Duong. Besides, Thanh Dong has also reached agreement with Handa Global (Yokohama) on contributing capital to build a 5 star hotel complex in Nha Trang – Dien Khanh urban area and a sea villa complex in the urban area of trade, tourism and financial services in Nha Trang city center. The total committed value between Thanh Dong and Handa Global reach 200 million USD.

Earlier, Japanese investors are willing to invest in golden lands at Le Duan – Hai Ba Trung (District 1 – HCMC) to construct a building for the Japanese investors which are growing fast in numbers in Vietnam. In addition, Sumitomo Corporation is exploring the investment projects in Thu Thiem commercial and financial center in the area of 20ha.

In the segment of industrial real estate, industrial park in Dong Nai was developed by Donafood Vietnam and three Japanese partners: Sojitz Corporation, Daiwa House Co., Ltd and Kobelco Eco-Solution. With the 88% joint-venture cooperation, the Japanese companies and local partners will invest USD 100 million in this segment. In HCM City, Vietnam – Japan industrial zone with an investment of USD 31 million has just been inaugurated phase 1.

In particular, the Mekong River Delta (MRD) is a new target of Japanese businesses, not only in the field of real estate but also logistics and seaports. Japanese investors are looking forward to be introduced by Can Tho’s authority agencies the position that they can invest in an industrial zone exclusively for Japanese businesses to invest in tourism, trade and services. It is reported that the Saporo Japan Corporation is also exploring opportunities to cooperate and invest in a golf course and ecological urban area in Can Tho and cooperative investment in some other areas of the group’s strengths in some provinces in the MRD.

Commenting about this trend, Japanese investors said that Vietnam’s economy continues to have the prospects and potential for development, and Vietnam will become an important destination to attract more business delegations and Japan’s leading investors in the coming years. The according to Mr. Toshihiko, the chairman of Creed Group said: “This is just the first step in cooperation, if the real estate market of Vietnam developed well, we will pump hundreds of millions of USD to not only An Gia Investment, but also into many other partners”. He further said, Vietnam’s economy is integrating deeper into the world economy. The Vietnam government is interested to complete the negotiations of TPP agreement, which will open huge opportunities for the economy; attracting major international investors. Besides, Vietnam has young population, mainly concentrated in urban areas however modest housing fund will be huge growth opportunity for the real estate sector. Meanwhile, the law on land of Vietnam is becoming more transparent and open to foreigners to buy houses, create purchasing power and investment opportunities for domestic and foreign enterprises.

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Cre:http://www.antconsult.vn/news/japan-pouring-capital-into-vietnam-real-estate-market.html

Vietnam’s Tourism Real Estate Sector

According to forecasts, in the next 5-10 years, Vietnam will remain as an attractive destination for foreign investors. In which the tourism real estate sector is preparing to welcome a new wave of investments with large-scale projects.

A report of Capital Partners Group Vietnam shows that in the next 5-10 years, GDP per capita of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will be equivalent to those of some large cities in Southeast Asia. Therefore, beachfront apartments will become the new growth segments.

Mr. Kenneth Atkinson, CEO of Grant Thornton Consulting Group Vietnam claiming that the living standard of people in general are more advanced, the demand for tourism is growing and a lot of foreign investors are heading their attention to resort projects. The demand for hotels, luxury resorts in the long term are remains high, therefore the number of projects in the hotel and resort sectors will continue to increase with more luxury resorts to meet diverse customer demand.

Recently, many localities have also implemented plan and urged local and foreign investors to invest in tourism real estate projects.

For example, recently, Quang Ninh is calling for investors to set-up business and invest in Vietnam for the period from now till 2020, including projects: coastal resorts, tourism, casino…There are some huge projects: Casino and entertainment complex with scale up to 2,000 hectares in Van Don with a total investment of 4-5 billion USD, Phoenix resort projects (Van Don) 250 million USD; Dam Nha Mac Service Industrial Park with 3,170 hectares and 530 million USD…

In Binh Dinh province, Vingroup has built the Hai Giang tourism project, with a total of more than 650 hectares, a total investment of nearly 3,500 billion VND. In 2015, it is expected that Vingroup can supply over 830 seaside villas to the market from three locations: Phu Quoc, Nha Trang and Da Nang.

FLC Group is also preparing to launch the complex project of golf course, resort, villas and high-end entertainment named FLC Nhon Ly in Nhon Ly Commune, Quy Nhon city. The project has a total investment of 3.500 billion VND.

Most recently, M.I.K Company has introduced the Sol House luxury resort project in Phu Quoc. The project is expected to be launched in early 2016, with a total investment of over 40 million USD, including 260 hotel rooms and villas, spa, indoor and outdoor entertainment areas, two restaurants, beach bar…

Mr. Than Thanh Vu, Deputy Chairman of Tourism Real Estate Association also said that recent moves of the Government on reducing the administrative procedures will provide ventilation for the real estate business, real estate market in general and tourism real estate in particular. In the next phase, tourism real estate sector will have a rapid growth.

Furthermore, Mr. Nguyen Nam Son, Executive Director of Capital Partners Vietnam said that: “If in the future, Vietnam can minimize the troublesome administrative procedures, increase Government budget on promoting tourism of Vietnam on international channels, travel trade fairs, open representative offices in foreign countries…, that will help Vietnam tourism industry and tourism real estate sector to grow fast”.

“Because investors are lack of information about the policy, project planning therefore they do not know where to invest in, which specific projects, for how long… so the local governments should organize more meetings, dialogues for domestic and foreign investors to exchange with each other and discuss with the leaders of the provinces and thereby make the appropriate investment decisions, “said Mr. Jonathan Tizzard, Department of hotel and resort, Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam.

According to Mr. Jonathan, the coastal localities like Nha Trang, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan will become the most attractive destination in the next 5 years. In particular, the island of Phu Quoc (Kien Giang) has great potential to become a “hot” destination. Phu Quoc is not soon becoming an attractive casino center and tourism in Southeast Asia if the open policy of Government that enterprises can invest in resorts include casino soon to be widely implemented.

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Cre:http://www.antconsult.vn/news/vietnams-tourism-real-estate-sector.html

Investment Through Signing Contracts in Vietnam

Business co-operation contract (BCC) means the investment form signed between investors in order to co-operate in business and to share profits or products without creating a legal entity.

Build-operate-transfer contract (BOT) means the investment form signed by a competent State body and an investor in order to construct and operate commercially an infrastructure facility for a fixed duration; and, upon expiry of the duration, the investor shall, without compensation, transfer such facility to the State of Vietnam.

Build-transfer-operate contract (BTO) means the investment form signed by a competent State body and an investor in order to construct an infrastructure facility; and, upon completion of construction, the investor shall transfer the facility to the State of Vietnam and the Government shall grant the investor the right to operate commercially such facility for a fixed duration in order to recover the invested capital and gain profits.

Build-transfer contract (BT) means the investment form signed by a competent State body and an investor in order to construct an infrastructure facility; and, upon completion of construction, the investor shall transfer the facility to the State of Vietnam and the Government shall create conditions for the investor to implement another project in order to recover the invested capital and gain profits or to make a payment to the investor in accordance with an agreement in the BT contract.

Foreign investors may sign BOT, BT and BTO contracts with a competent State body to implement infrastructure construction projects in Vietnam. Typically, the contracts are for projects in the fields of transportation, electricity production, water supply, drainage and waste treatment.

The rights and obligations of the foreign investor will be regulated by the signed BOT, BT and BTO contract. The Government encourages both public- and private-sector investors to participate in BOT, BTO and BT in the following sectors:

1.Construction, operation and management of brand-new infrastructure facilities; and

2.Renovation, expansion, modernization, operation and management of the existing infrastructure facilities such as:

-Roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferry landings;

-Railway bridges and railway tunnels;

-Airports, seaports and river ports;

-Clean water supply systems; sewage systems;

-Wastewater, waste collecting and handling systems;

-Power plants and power transmission lines;

-Infrastructure works of health service, education, training, career training, culture, sport and offices of State agencies; and

-Other projects as may be determined by the Prime Minister

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Cre:http://www.antconsult.vn/services/investment-through-signing-contracts-in-vietnam.html

Japanese Companies Invest in The Environmental Sector in Vietnam

With the partnership with Biwase, JFE Engineering hopes to gain more orders, including projects to expand Biwase’s existing plants and construct waste treatment plants.

JFE Engineering Japan has just spent 900 million yen (8.6 million USD) to invest in Vietnam. The Company purchase 3.87% stake in Binh Duong Water and Environment Joint Stock Company (Biwase).

This is one of the steps of JFE Engineering to tap into the demand for water treatment facilities in Vietnam.

JFE Engineering has participated in a tender to build two wastewater treatment plants in Vietnam. Both factories use Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) capital.

According to Nikkei Asia, with the cooperation with Biwase – the unit that are operating 8 water treatment plants and one waste treatment plant in Binh Duong province, JFE Engineering hopes to have more orders, including projects to expand Biwase’s existing factories and construct waste treatment and recycling plants.

JFE Engineering plans to recruit local engineers and salespeople to increase its staff in Vietnam by 10 more per year.

JFE Engineering hopes to increase annual sales in the Vietnamese market to 10 billion yen over the next 10 years from 2 billion yen in fiscal 2019.

Cre:http://www.antconsult.vn/news/japanese-companies-invest-in-the-environmental-sector-in-vietnam.html

Risk Management: A Vital Element When Doing Business

Risk management is a vital element when doing business but so far, not many enterprises concern about it.

According to a recent survey with 522 companies, there are only 43 companies, accounting for about 8%, have the independent risk management department in their business. More noteworthy, the majority of these 43 companies operating in the banking and financial sector, which has nothing new to risk management. In fact, not all banks have independent and effective risk management departments. The negative problems related to the banking system in recent times somewhat showed the picture about the risk management of this sector.

Risk is understood as any events and situations that could harmful to the ability to achieve the business objectives of the enterprise. Risk management is organized in a formal way and is conducted continuously to identify, control and report the risks that may affect the achievement of the business objectives of the enterprise.

So why businesses are not interested in risk management? Part of this problem stems from the awareness of the leaders. In order to build and operate the risk management system in the enterprise, it needs the commitment of the senior leaders. If senior leaders do not aware of this problem, the administration process will be difficult to achieve the desired effectiveness.

Recently, there are many theories and systems of risk management but small and medium enterprises should be cautious when apply because system and theory are just general and they should be adjusted when applying to each business.

In order to form the culture of risk management, the leaders must along with the employees to implement it regularly and for each project. In theory, the risk management process is carried out in 5 steps: identify risk; evaluate its impact; determine the likelihood; action and measures; monitoring and evaluation.

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Cre:

https://www.antconsult.vn/news/risk-management-a-vital-element-when-doing-business.html

How to conduct research in Vietnam from official media source?

The media is an effective source for us to search necessary information for learning, business activities or for daily life. However, with the development of the Internet, communication has a stronger influence and is the leading tool that we often use to find information. Besides the benefits that the media brings, the media might be abused to pose many risks for users. Therefore, how to find official information in the media source is a topic of concern for many people, whom wish to search i.e. reputation of business partners, record of business owners, shareholders, key officers or management personnel, public information of company or individual, actual business operation of company, government policies, regulatory matters…

It is increasingly important to check sources of information, especially on the internet and using social media. Any individual joining a media network, social network can post any contents and share information, even if the information may be false. In fact, images and videos can also be plagiarized, mislabeled, or fabricated to convey information. Meanwhile, when users do not have time to learn and verify the source of false information and the fact that this information is not censored, it can spread quickly in the mass media.

Therefore, to avoid accessing or searching for fake news, users should not rely on all the information on social networks. Accordingly, users should check trusted news websites or government websites. In addition, users can check the author, title or name of the agency or organization that wrote or published information and articles. Users will then have an initial assessment of whether they are eligible to post and can trust what they have posted.

Further, before sharing a post on social network platforms, users should check if it is reliable and authentic information. However, on social network, it is not easy for users to authenticate information within a short period of time. The best way is that users should get direct information from contacting an agency or expert in this field or refer to reports and content of a reputable news site.

In addition, users should rely on organizations that specialize in field in which the user is looking for information. For examples, if the a person is having health problems and wish to consult the instructions or recommendations on where to go for medical treatment, the user should call a medical facility for guidance and advice from experts or visit the website of the Ministry of Health for the most official and reliable information. Or a foreigners whom wish to find government policy or information for travel and entry for immigration during Covid-19 pandemic time, he/she can contact or visit the website of the relevant Vietnam Immigration Department.

One problem today is that fake channels are trying to design the interface to have a similar look like official websites and insert characters that if not alerted users can easily confuse. Therefore, users should carefully check the website address from which they get information.

In conclusion, it is important for media users to watch out for official and stay away from fake news when searching for information. In addition to being vigilant and looking for official sources to get information, users can contact information search consulting company in Vietnam for effective solutions.




Cre:
https://www.antconsult.vn/news/how-to-conduct-research-in-vietnam-from-official-media-source.html

Japanese Companies Invest in The Environmental Sector in Vietnam | ANT Consulting

 With the partnership with Biwase, JFE Engineering hopes to gain more orders, including projects to expand Biwase’s existing plants and construct waste treatment plants.

JFE Engineering Japan has just spent 900 million yen (8.6 million USD) to invest in Vietnam. The Company purchase 3.87% stake in Binh Duong Water and Environment Joint Stock Company (Biwase).

This is one of the steps of JFE Engineering to tap into the demand for water treatment facilities in Vietnam.

JFE Engineering has participated in a tender to build two wastewater treatment plants in Vietnam. Both factories use Japan’s official development assistance (ODA) capital.

According to Nikkei Asia, with the cooperation with Biwase – the unit that are operating 8 water treatment plants and one waste treatment plant in Binh Duong province, JFE Engineering hopes to have more orders, including projects to expand Biwase’s existing factories and construct waste treatment and recycling plants.

JFE Engineering plans to recruit local engineers and salespeople to increase its staff in Vietnam by 10 more per year.

JFE Engineering hopes to increase annual sales in the Vietnamese market to 10 billion yen over the next 10 years from 2 billion yen in fiscal 2019.

Risk Management: A Vital Element When Doing Business | ANT Consulting

 Risk management is a vital element when doing business but so far, not many enterprises concern about it.

According to a recent survey with 522 companies, there are only 43 companies, accounting for about 8%, have the independent risk management department in their business. More noteworthy, the majority of these 43 companies operating in the banking and financial sector, which has nothing new to risk management. In fact, not all banks have independent and effective risk management departments. The negative problems related to the banking system in recent times somewhat showed the picture about the risk management of this sector.

Risk is understood as any events and situations that could harmful to the ability to achieve the business objectives of the enterprise. Risk management is organized in a formal way and is conducted continuously to identify, control and report the risks that may affect the achievement of the business objectives of the enterprise.

So why businesses are not interested in risk management? Part of this problem stems from the awareness of the leaders. In order to build and operate the risk management system in the enterprise, it needs the commitment of the senior leaders. If senior leaders do not aware of this problem, the administration process will be difficult to achieve the desired effectiveness.

Recently, there are many theories and systems of risk management but small and medium enterprises should be cautious when apply because system and theory are just general and they should be adjusted when applying to each business.

In order to form the culture of risk management, the leaders must along with the employees to implement it regularly and for each project. In theory, the risk management process is carried out in 5 steps: identify risk; evaluate its impact; determine the likelihood; action and measures; monitoring and evaluation.

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.