Startup in Ho Chi Minh City Will Be as Convenient as in Singapore

  A series of specific commitments has been confirmed by HCMC’s Party Secretary Nguyen Thien Nhan to help startup environment in HCMC becoming as favorable as in Singapore.

The city is committed to preparing an industrial park reserved for newly startup and innovative businesses. Secondly, the procedure for setting up company in Ho Chi Minh City will be as good as in Singapore. Third, in addition to private investment, the city will also, on a case-by-case basis, pilot public-private partnerships in support of innovative entrepreneurship.

In addition to the above 3 commitments, according to Mr Nguyen Thien Nhan, HCMC will have a general information page to reflect the creative start-up activities in the area. At the same time, he decided to meet face-to-face with the startup community twice a year to listen to their mind and remove difficulties in time.

In general, in the past year, HCMC has had very specific and significant results in comparison with other provinces in terms of start-up activities. According to director of the Department of Science and Technology of HCMC, this agency has set up 5 spaces to support innovative start-ups and links with 24 business incubators with a total floor area of over 22,000 square meters. Of which, 50% capital is from socialization.

In addition, The SpeedUp 2017 program has provided financial support tools from the budget for innovative startup projects through enterprise incubators. In the past 8 months, this program has received and processed 112 innovative startup project applications. The number of selected projects was 14/112 (12.5%), which is quite high compared to the current selection rate of many investment funds (VIISA reaches 5%, VSVA reaches 8%).

This year, the HCMC Department of Science and Technology has also set up 4 Steering Committee for Innovative Ecosystems for 4 key areas of the city, including mechanics, food processing, plastic – rubber - chemistry and information technology.

With a network of 145 consultants and innovative start-up advisors from many different disciplines, up to now, 938 start-up projects have been connected to help develop business ideas. There are 3,200 individuals and start-up groups connected to investors, experts and consultancy organizations. Moreover, over 300 startup products are promoted to the community.

However, a general assessment from the Department of Science and Technology of the City, most startups in Vietnam are newly invested at the seed stage with small scale and the possibility of breakthrough growth is not high. This is a matter of concern.

Toyoda Gosei Invests in Auto Parts Factory in Tien Hai Industrial Park

  Toyoda Gosei Group, the world's leading manufacturer of auto parts, supplying for Toyota (Japan) has decided to choose Tien Hai Industrial Park, Viglacera as the location to set up factory in Vietnam.

Viglacera Real Estate Trading Company and Toyoda Gosei Group of Japan have just signed a land lease contract with an area of 11.3 hectares in Tien Hai Industrial Park, Thai Binh province, which is invested by Viglacera Corporation.

Toyoda Gosei is the world's leading auto parts manufacturer, supplying for Toyota, with a network of about 100 factories and offices in 18 countries and regions.

The new plant is expected to be built in early 2018 and put into production in 2019 with a total investment of 24.6 million USD, specializing in the production of airbag components and airbags for safe protection for drivers and passengers in cars, leather and polyurethane coated car steering wheels.

Toyoda Gosei's products will be exported to Japan, USA, Europe and some other regions.

Toyoda Gosei has also invested in Hai Phong, with 3 large-scale workshops, and also one of the largest investment companies in Nomura Industrial Park in Hai Phong.

Tien Hai Viglacera Industrial Park has the advantage of geographical position when locating near the coastal highway connecting the 6 northern coastal provinces (Quang Ninh - Hai Phong - Thai Binh - Nam Dinh - Ninh Binh - Thanh Hoa), which has just started construction in May 2017. In which, the construction of the expressway locating in Thai Binh province will be completed by the end of 2018, shortening the distance and travel time from the industrial zone to Hai Phong port (40km) – 60 minutes).

In addition, enterprises in Tien Hai Industrial Park are also enjoying attractive incentives for enterprises in the economic zone such as 10% corporate income tax rate for 15 years, tax exemption for the first 4 years and reduction of 50% for the next 9 years; land rental exemptions from 11 to 19 years; import tax incentives; personal income tax incentives...

Therefore, only after less than one month since the decision to establish Thai Binh Economic Zone was issued, Tien Hai Viglacera Industrial Park has received the attention for information and investment decision from many investors coming from the countries like Japan, Korea, Hongkong, Taiwan...

In order to meet the increasing demand for land leasing to build factory in Tien Hai Industrial Park, Viglacera is actively promoting land clearance to ensure a large area of clean land, complete construction of infrastructure to create the most favorable conditions for businesses operating here.

IHI Corporation (Japan) Wants to Participate in Transportation Projects in Hai Phong

  Japan is a familiar investor in the Vietnamese market, many Japanese companies have set up business in Vietnam and IHI Corporation is not an exception.

Recently, Hai Phong People's Committee has been working with the delegation of IHI Corporation (Japan) to explore opportunities to participate in transportation projects in Hai Phong. At the meeting, Mr Atsushi Kutawa - Managing Director of Operations, President in charge of business of IHI Corporation has talked about the company's business situation with city leaders.

In particular, IHI has successfully built Binh bridge (Hai Phong) and Nhat Tan bridge (Hanoi). In 2015, the Group has built the IHI Infrastructure Asia (IIA) plant at Dinh Vu Industrial Park, which specializes in the manufacture of steel structures, supplying for bridge construction projects, thermal power plants and engineering facilities, serving for key construction works in the city.

Through investigation, it is known that there are plans to deploy Hai Phong transportation expansion projects, in which Nguyen Trai bridge and many key bridges connecting trade between the city and the northern provinces will be built. Hence, IHI Corporation wishes to have the opportunity to contribute their accumulated experiences to the cooperation and construction of these bridges.

Accordingly, Chairman of Hai Phong People's Committee has highly appreciated the effective cooperation between Vietnam - IHI in the past time and also provide information about the bridge construction projects of Hai Phong in the coming time, like Nguyen Trai bridge, Vu Yen bridge...

In addition, he also expressed his wish that in the near future, IHI will explore and promote the cooperation in building bridges of Hai Phong. At the same time, in coordination with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), speed up the implementation of transportation projects, focusing on the Nguyen Trai bridge project.

Hai Phong always take care and create conditions for qualified contractors with high quality products. With the potential, efficiency and experiences of the IHI Corporation that has been confirmed, Hai Phong city will create the best conditions for the IHI Corporation to participate in the transportation development projects of Hai Phong in the coming time.

Tetra Pak Construct 110 Million USD Packaging Factory in Binh Duong

  Tetra Pak (Sweden) has started construction of a 110 million USD packaging factory on an area of 10,000 m2 and a total capacity of 20 billion packages per year at Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park II - A (Binh Duong). This information has been announced since the end of 2016. The factory is expected to come into operation by the beginning of 2019.

According to the Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, this is the factory with largest scale among 54 projects that Sweden investors have invested in Vietnam.

Moreover, he affirmed that the factory could become the leading bird, leading many Swedish businesses to come and set up business in Vietnam.

Sweden was the first country in the Western region that establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam. There will be many Swedish multinational corporations want to invest in Vietnam. Therefore, Vietnam in general and Binh Duong in particular need to prepare better investment environment to catch the wave of FDI, especially from Sweden.

According to representative of Tetra Pak, this is the company's most green packaging factory in their system, as well as the 4^th largest packaging factory in East Asia and Oceania in terms of scale.

The two popular types of packaging will be produced at the factory including Tetra Brik Aseptic and Tetra Fino Aseptic.

According to Tetra Pak, dairy and beverage products in South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand markets are expected to grow at a rate of 5.6 percent annually from now until 2019.

In Vietnam, milk production is still the largest sector in the country, which is expected to double consumption per capita to 28 liters per year by 2020. While the market for fresh fruit juice is expected to grow 17.5% in the next year. This is the basis for packaging factories - including Tetra Pak's factory to expect fast growth in the near future.

Signs of possible corporate frauds to notice and avoid

  Vietnam has signed many Free Trade Agreements with many countries and regions around the world, which makes international economic exchange easier. However, the expansion of international trade also makes many businesses at risk when they encounter fraudulent customers in their business.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in 2020, the Trade and Embassy of Vietnam in the a number of countries continuously received invitations to sell, buy goods and sign commercial transaction contracts which have signs of fraud and scams.

Despite many warnings and notices, but due to subjective psychology, high profits, limited foreign trade operations, lack of understanding of customers, difficulties due to epidemics, many businesses cannot directly meeting, checking goods,... using online transactions, which causes businesses to take advantage of fraudulent acts.

Some ways of commercial fraud activities such as: Unpaid delivery; Forging documents even bank papers to get goods; Set the person to get export documents; Using hackers to infiltrate the email addresses of two parties that are having transactions, track the progress of the negotiation, when the buyer prepares to transfer money to buy goods, hack the mailbox (or create an email account with the exact same address as the seller's email) to send fraudulent account information. After the buyer transfers money to the fraudulent account, they will immediately withdraw the money and disappear; Using advantage of carelessness and unprofessionalism of domestic enterprises such as not asking a reputable inspection organization to check the goods before delivery, not verifying information about partner enterprises... to transfer goods with no value, not in accordance with the contract, or to notify the damaged or poor quality goods to pressure the price, deduct the debt or claim compensation ...

Some signs of identifying fraudulent businesses which one should pay attention are: the price negotiation, the contract takes place easily, quickly, less bargaining, accepting high prices; Deposit to receive investment money; Do not provide or provide documents of many different legal entities; Opening L/C at a non-reputable bank in a third country; Business license is about to expire ...

In order to avoid working with fraudulent partners, businesses need to improve their professional expertise, legal knowledge, and thoroughly understand their partners before making transactions, especially the new partner is dealing for the first time.

The current commodity prices could be updated through market information or on international commodity websites. Therefore, when there is a request for goods to be paid too high, or too low compared to the prices in the market, the enterprises need to pay close attention and carefully check their reliability.

It is also possible to reduce the risks through the professional service of local risks management in Vietnam for conducting of business due diligence, business license record checking, site visit survey, shareholders or directorship checking, criminal record certificate checking, business reputation verification, public reputation search, research for records of enterprises, research for the reputation of the company, …

Idemisu Q8 - The First 100% Foreign Capital Petrol Station in Hanoi

  On October 5^th 2017, at the Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi), the opening ceremony of the Idemisu Q8 petrol station was held, marking the first 100% foreign capital petroleum station participating in the Vietnam petroleum retail market.

IQ8 is a joint venture between Kuwait International Petroleum (Kuwait) and Idemitsu Kosan (Japan).

Based on the experiences that both Kuwait Petroleum and Idemitsu have achieved in Europe and Japan, IQ8 Petroleum Joint Venture is aiming to develop professional petroleum business in Vietnam in the next years.

Thang Long gas station has carved a mark on the new era of Vietnam's petroleum industry and Idemisu Q8 committed to contribute to the development of Vietnam in the future.

IQ8 is equipped with an automated station management software system that allows card payment with many advanced features that will bring more convenience to customers.

The software system allows accurate management of fuel quantities to 0.01 liters, providing detailed reporting of transactions to customers.

Petrol stations are designed and equipped with the latest technology, including:

Two-layered fuel tank, pipeline system made of synthetic material to minimize leakage of fuel causing environmental impact.

The petrol station also provides Japanese standard services in order to bring satisfaction to customers through trained staffs.

According to Mr Hiroaki Honjo, CEO of Idemitsu Q8, the joint venture will strive to become the number one service provider in Vietnam.

Previously, Idemitsu Kosan has been conducting petroleum exploration in Vietnam since the 1990s. Recently, this investor has been involved in Nghi Son (Thanh Hoa) and a number of lubricant business activities nationwide.

After that, Kuwait Petroleum and Idemitsu have set up Idemitsu Q8 Petroleum in 2016 in order to distribute petroleum products in Vietnam.

By establishing this petroleum joint venture, Idemitsu and Kuwait will provide a stable supply for the growing market of Vietnam where demand for petroleum products is expected to grow fast in the coming time.

The ambition of this 100% FDI joint venture is to expand the petroleum retail system nationwide. After Idemisu Q8 opened in Hanoi, Idemisu Q8 will in turn appear in some provinces in the Southern of Vietnam.

Set-up Business in Vietnam

  Foreign investors could make direct investment in Vietnam through setting up one hundred per cent (100%) capital of foreign investors, or establishing joint venture between domestic and foreign investors, or  investing in the contractual forms of: BCC, BO, BTO, and BT.

Types of enterprise for foreign investors to invest in Vietnam are as following:

a)     Set-up Limited Liability Company in Vietnam

Limited Liability Company is a form of enterprise which is established by contributing of members.  A member shall be liable for the debts and other property obligations of the enterprise within the amount of capital that it has undertaken to contribute to the enterprise.

Limited liability companies are regulated by two types:

-    One member Limited Liability Company is an enterprise owned by one organization or individual;

-     Limited Liability Company with two or more members is an enterprise owned by organizations or individuals, in which the number of members shall not less than two members and not exceed fifty.

Organizational and management structure of Limited Liability Company normally comprise of a Member’s Council, General Director or Director.

b)     Set-up Joint Stock Company in Vietnam

Joint Stock Company is an enterprise which has charter capital divided into equal portions called shares.   The minimum number of shareholders shall be three and there shall be no restriction on the maximum number.

Shareholders shall be liable for the debts and other property obligations of the enterprise only within the amount of capital contributed to the enterprise.

Joint Stock Companies may issue all types of securities to raise funds.  Founding shareholders must together register to subscribe at least twenty per cent (20%) of the number of ordinary shares which may be offered for sale.

The main difference between Joint Stock Company and Limited Liability Company is the Joint Stock Company can raise funds by offering shares or securities.  In addition, an enterprise tends to join the Stock exchanges or public company must be a Joint Stock Company.  Management system of Joint Stock Company is more complicated than Liability Company.

c)     Set-up Partnership in Vietnam

A partnership is an enterprise which must be at least two members being co-owners of the company jointly conducting business under one common name.  In addition to unlimited liability partners, there may be limited liability partners.

Unlimited liability partners must be individuals who shall be liable for the obligations of the company to the extent of all of their assets.  Limited liability partners shall only be liable for the debts of the company to the extent of the amount of capital they have contributed to the company.

d)     Set-up Representative Office of Foreign Trader in Vietnam

A foreign business entity or a foreign trader is allowed to establish Representative Office in Vietnam.

Representative office of a foreign business entity in Vietnam (referred as “Representative Office”) means a subsidiary unit of the foreign business entity, established in accordance with the law of Vietnam in order to survey markets and to undertake a number of commercial enhancement activities permitted by the law of Vietnam.

Representative Office will need to apply and obtain the establishment license; and have a seal bearing the name of the representative office.

Representative Office is not allowed to directly conduct profit making activities in Vietnam (i.e: the execution of contracts, direct payment or receipt of funds, sale or purchase of goods, or provision of services), but the representative Office is permitted to

• To operate strictly in accordance with the purposes, scope and duration stated in the license for establishment of such representative office;
• To rent offices and to lease or purchase the equipment and facilities necessary for the operation of the Representative Office;
• To recruit Vietnamese and foreign employees to work for the Representative Office in accordance with the law of Vietnam;
• To open accounts in foreign currency and in Vietnamese Dong sourced from foreign currency at banks which are licensed to operate in Vietnam, and to use such accounts solely for the operation of the Representative Office.

e)     Set-up Branch of Foreign Trader in Vietnam

The Branch of a foreign business entity in Vietnam (referred as “The Branch”) means a subsidiary unit of the foreign business entity, established in accordance with the law of Vietnam in order to enter into contracts in Vietnam and conduct activities being the purchase and sale of goods and other commercial activities consistent with its license for establishment in accordance with the law of Vietnam and any international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

The Branch will need to apply and obtain the establishment license; and have a seal bearing the name of the Branch.

The Branch is permitted to conduct activities being the purchase and sale of goods and other commercial activities consistent with its license for establishment in accordance with the law of Vietnam and any international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

f)      Investment by 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:

(i)              Construction, operation and management of brand-new infrastructure facilities; and

(ii)             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

Set-Up Company in Hanoi

  Along with the trend of integration in the world, Vietnam is considered a country with rapid and strong growth, in which, industrialization and modernization are focused on developing a uniform set and achieve high performance. Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are considered the two cities and dynamic development in Vietnam.

In particular, Hanoi, the potential capital for developing and attracting foreign and domestic investment. Therefore, the investment from businesses to the city is seen as an advantage and the best. To evaluate how such advantages are, the following article will analyze in detail as follows:

First, the labor force

Hanoi is considered a capital with a longstanding historical developed tradition. The population is heavily crowded, reaching about 7 million after 4 times of adjusting the administrative boundaries in 2014. Ha Noi has become one of the 17 largest cities in the world. In addition, with favorable conditions, Hanoi is considered an attractive city for labor, especially qualified and highly skilled workforce. This is a particular advantage for businesses to invest in Hanoi, because the amount of labor leads to a consequence that cost for labor is cheap and a large workforce will provide for industries requiring a large amount of labor force.

Second, the pace of economic development

In 2014, the economy of Hanoi has continued to grow and controlled inflation. In addtion, GDP in the province is estimated at 8.8% and revenue is estimated at 130.000 billion, with 103% of the mathematics. Besides, administrative reform, improvement on the investment environment, business environment, policies to remove difficulties for enterprises often deploy, which made PAR index of cities rise 2 levels compared with 2012 and No. 5 of the 63 provinces and cities nationwide. Thus, with the stable and strong economic development, Hanoi is a city that brings stability for businesses to invest and develop business in this city.

Thirdly, facility

With the aim of developing Hanoi based on critirea of synchronous and modern infrastructure, leadership of Hanoi has attempted to offer policies to promote infrastructure construction of the city in order that Hanoi will become more modern, in which, the traffic system in Hanoi must be built and upgrades more modern. This is considered particularly advantage, because the synchronous development of infrastructure will bring to the development of economy of the city.

Fourthly, administrative and tax policies

With attractive policies for investment, Hanoi has implemented policies solving administrative procedures with only a door. This policy is seen as a new step forward the people of Hanoi in general and businesses having demand to invest in Hanoi in particular. With this open policy, the procedures for establishing businesses, dissolution, business transformation become quickly and easily than ever before, creat favorable conditions for the development of business and resolve administrative procedures. In addition, in order to facilitate business development for businesses, Hanoi has many policies to reduce taxes in order to create favorable conditions for development of new business with low capital.

Fifthly, geographic location

Judged to be a convenient location, with synchronous traffic system, a northern – southern railway, highway 1A, along with the expanded domestic and international routes, Hanoi is considered a city with the most convenient trade location in Southeast Asia and the gateway to the East Sea of Laos and other countries. Thus, Hanoi is the right choice of businesses that need an exchange between domestic and international provinces.

Sixthly, broad market

With the population of 7 million, belonging to one of the 17 cities with the largest population in the world, Hanoi is considered a city which has the largest consumer goods market in the country. Abundant work force, along with the large number of people from suburbs, strong demand for consumer products, services lead to favorable conditions for businesses in production and consumption of consumer products and services. These come from a reason that if the demand rises, the number of products will also lead to increase and as a consequence, economic growth of enterprises will also increase. It can be said that this is a particular strength of the city that businesses investing here are looking forward. From the analysis given above, it can be said that Hanoi is considered to be an attractive destination for small and medium enterprises, especially for enterprises with foreign investment into the Vietnam market. To better understand how to establish enterprises and choose the best type of enterprise. We help clients overcome cultural barriers and achieve their strategic and financial outcomes, while ensuring the best interest rate protection, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance. We have a lawyer to advise on setting up a company inHanoi, a lawyer in Ho Chi Minh and a lawyer in Da Nang.

Anam Electronics (Korea) Build 100-Million-Dollar Factory in Vietnam

  A large electronics manufacturer from Korea - Anam Electronics Vietnam has officially choose Dong Van IV industrial park to set up business in Vietnam.

After a period of researching investment locations in the North of Vietnam, Anam Electronics Vietnam decided to choose Dong Van IV industrial park as its investment location.

Accordingly, Anam Electronics Vietnam will invest in building a factory here with an area of 100,000 m2, investment capital is estimated at 100 million USD.

The signing ceremony of land lease contract in Dong Van IV industrial park was held between Viglacera Real Estate Company and Anam Electronics Vietnam.

Anam Electronics is a 100% Korean owned company specialized in producing high quality electronic audio products such as: amplifiers, digital receivers. The company mainly supplies products to leading audio manufacturers in Japan, USA such as Harman Kardon, Denon, Marantz, JBL, Yamaha...

Viglacera's Dong Van IV industrial park has successfully attracted 10 investors, most of which are electronics businesses with nearly 40 hectares of land.

So far, Dong Van IV industrial park has been the destination of many domestic and foreign brands such as Masan Group, Sunjin, Jeio Vina, James Tech, Saki, Park Electronic Vina, Sunjin F & F Limited...

Dong Van IV industrial park is conveniently located, 50km from Hanoi, on Highway 38, which is easily accessible from the Ha Noi - Hai Phong expressway to Hai Phong port. Along with the policy mechanism to support the investors of Ha Nam province, Dong Van IV industrial park has received great attention from investors, and became the ideal choice for enterprises, especially FDI enterprises.

Potentials in Vietnam - Poland Agricultural Cooperation

  Both countries have strength in agriculture sector, opening up many prospects for Poland enterprises to set up business in Vietnam and vice versa.

Vietnam is one of 14 important markets in the world for enterprises in the Polish food and agriculture sector. Moreover, Vietnam has been identified as a priority market for Poland's future cooperation with wide open opportunities for both sides.

Statistics show that from 1993 up to now, two-way trade turnover between Vietnam and Poland has increased continuously and rapidly. From 2001 to 2006, two-way trade increased about three times, from 117 million USD to 330 million USD.

By 2016, this figure has reached nearly 790 million USD. It is forecast that two-way trade turnover between the two countries in 2017 can reach 1 billion USD, because in the first nine months of 2017, imports and exports between the two countries has reached nearly 700 million USD.

Poland is now Vietnam’s number 1 customer in Eastern Europe. In particular, Vietnam imported dairy products, meat and poultry products, apples and other agricultural products from Poland.

According to the Vietnamese ambassador to Poland, if compared to other sectors, agriculture is an area in which Vietnam and Poland are more promising.

In particular, when Poland becoming an important link in Europe, with the approval of the Europe - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Vietnam's goods may pass through Poland to penetrate Europe. The prospect of cooperation of both sides in the coming time is very positive.

Recognizing the opportunities for cooperation between Poland and Vietnam in the field of agriculture, according to Activ Company, Vietnam is one of the markets for apples and apple juice that Activ wants to concentrate in the coming period.

Accordingly, Activ is setting up business with partners in Vietnam to expand the distribution channels of apple and apple juice products in Vietnam. This is also Activ's strategy movement to catch the market when EVFTA officially comes into effect. EVFTA will be a trade agreement that brings together many opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in the field of agriculture, the sector that the two countries have strong advantages.

Therefore, in order to promote cooperation between the two sides, the two countries must strengthen the information connection so that the two sides can grasp the market and seize the partnership to build for future connections.

A Chain of 130 Restaurants in Japan Want to Conquer the Vietnamese market

  Gyu Shige - a Japanese restaurant brand decided to enter and set up business in Vietnam, aims to open 70 branches in Vietnam in the next 5 years.

According to Mr Kentaro Takada, Global Development Director of Gyu Shige Bbq Restaurant chain, after a year of operation in Vietnam, the company aims to set up a chain of 30 branches in 3 years and up to 50 - 70 branches in 5 years. This brand now has 3 stores in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

The plan to conquer the Vietnam market of this Japanese brand has been in place for 3 years. Large populations, prefer Japanese culture and bbq dishes are the advantages for them to do business in Vietnam. Through partnerships and direct exploration, Gyu Shige has officially entered Vietnam in 2016 with its first store in a major trading center in HCMC.

According to representatives of Gyu Shige, Vietnam has been an economic hot spot in Southeast Asia for several years, attracting many investors. Unlike the fierce competition of the food industry in Thailand, they see many opportunities to develop and decide to choose Vietnam as the first overseas market.

With the strength of a chain of 130 successful restaurants in Japan, this brand almost delivers the original to Vietnam. The reason is that Vietnamese people love Japanese food and adapt quickly to new dishes. Beef is imported from the US, raw materials used for processing and sauces are imported from Japan and vegetables originate from agricultural farms in Dalat (Vietnam). In order to ensure quality, the central kitchen is equipped with full equipment like in Japan, so that the processing and preservation process are also following strict procedures.

The global development director of this restaurant system believed that their advantages are the delicious sauce and following the friendly restaurant segment, with spending of 10 USD to 17 USD per person per meal. Moreover, with the development of the fast-food market, demand for food will be higher, especially for friendly restaurant segment. Therefore, this will be a great potential for business in the future.

After one year of operation, Gyu Shige's sales in Vietnam grew by nearly 50% month-on-month, with over 70% of customers returning. That is why businesses decide to go deep into the market, targeting 50 - 70 branches and covering the whole country in 2022.

Representatives from the brand said that in the next 3 years, the segment of Japanese cuisine in Vietnam will continue to boom. Gyu Shige has over 20 years of development with 130 branches in Japan. After Vietnam, the company plans to conquer other markets such as Australia, USA, Singapore, Thailand...

Shenzhou Completed Textile Production Chain in Vietnam

  Worldon Vietnam Co., Ltd (under Shenzhou Corporation, China) have set up business in Vietnam with 2 large garment projects. It is likely that they will continue to expand its investment.

Worldon Vietnam has put the 310 million USD project in Dong Nam Industrial Zone, Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City into production. Earlier, in early 2015, the company was licensed by Ho Chi Minh City for investment project with an additional investment capital of 140 million USD.

At the time of raising capital, Mr Ma Jianrong, President of Worldon Vietnam said that Shenzhou is a manufacturer of complete knitwear products, from the initial stages to the final garment products for famous fashion brands in the world such as Nike, Adidas, Puma, Uniqlo... The project is expected to complete all stages to go into production right in 2015. However, the extension of the project was suspended and early in 2016 was restarted.

Regarding this project, according to the Management Board of Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA), this is the largest textile and garment project in industrial zones of Ho Chi Minh City. Although the city has a policy of not attracting labor-intensive projects, including textile and apparel projects, this project has been licensed since investors committed to using the most advanced equipment and technology in the textile industry.

This is also the final stage of the production chain of the Shenzhou Corporation. Accordingly, the Gain Lucky Vietnam Garment Factory in Phuoc Dong Industrial Zone (Tay Ninh) will supply raw materials for factories of Worldon Vietnam. In addition, the projects of Worldon Vietnam have invested and built fashion design centers and production of garments, hats, shoes...

Thus, with the 2 above projects, this Chinese investor has poured over 700 million USD in Vietnam. With the completion of the textile and garment chain from the fiber stage to the final stage, it is likely that the company will continue to expand its investment.

As of November 20th 2017, Vietnam has 24,580 effective foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, with a total registered capital of 316.91 billion USD. The export value of the FDI sector accounts for about 70% of the total export turnover of the country. In the past 11 months, textile and garment export turnover reached 23.6 billion USD, increase by 9.5% over the same period of 2016.

The Wave of Thai Investors Coming to Vietnam

  Many Thai investors have set up business in Vietnam and will not miss the opportunity to participate in auctions to buy shares in state-owned enterprises in the near future.

Recently, billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, the owner of TCC Holdings, through its subsidiary has registered to buy 51% of the charter capital of Saigon Alcohol Beer and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco).

In the past, TCC bought Metro Vietnam (renamed MM Mega Market), successfully acquired Phu Thai Corporation in the North, holds 19% of Vinamilk shares and owning many real estates in Vietnam.

Furthermore, many other corporations and businesses in Thailand are rapidly establishing and expanding their presence in Vietnam through mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

In 2016, Central Group acquired BigC, Singha cooperated strategically with Masan, Siam City Cement owned Holcim. Siam Cement Group (SCG) currently has 23 trading companies in Vietnam with a total asset value of 32,000 billion VND and more than 8,300 employees. Over the years, SCG has been pouring capital into projects and acquiring many leading companies in many fields through M&A. In 2017, SCG bought 100% of Vietnam Construction Materials Company (VCM) and is expected to acquire Binh Minh Plastic.

According to analysts, Thai companies are interested in retail, fast-consuming, urban - resort real estates, clean energy, pharmaceuticals and telecommunications of Vietnam. These sectors are likely to be the areas in which Thai businesses will invest heavily. In particular, Thai investors will not stand out when big companies such as MobiFone, PV Oil, Satra, Becamex IDC... sell shares for the first time to the public.

According to economic experts, Thai investors will continue to pay special attention to the Vietnam market as Vietnam has been following the development path of Thailand in the last several decades, such as rapid economic growth and the middle class is growing. Vietnam has a well-developed domestic market, favorable geographic location and low production cost, which is well suited to the development of industrial production and export of goods to ASEAN.

Japanese Investment in Vietnam Hit a Record High

  In recent years, Japanese investors continued to invest in Vietnam. The total direct investment of Japan in Vietnam in 2017 reached 8.5 billion USD, 4 times higher than last year's and become the highest ever.

According to the Ambassador of Japan to Vietnam, such a high level of investment is one of the factors showing that 2017 becomes a very special year in the history of Vietnam - Japan relations.

Another reason is that the high-level visits between the two countries are ongoing from the beginning to the end of the year, especially the visit of the Emperor at 83 years old.

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also visited Vietnam twice in 2017, in January and November. Vietnam also successfully organized the APEC Economic Leaders' Week and the TPP Ministerial Conference. In which, Japan also contributed to this success through close cooperation with Vietnam, including the joint organizing of TPP Ministerial Conference with Vietnam. In addition to economic cooperation, Vietnam and Japan have also strengthened their cooperation in the fields of human resources development, health care, non-refundable aid and defense…

About 230,000 Vietnamese are living in Japan. The number of Vietnamese trainees in Japan has increased eight times in the past five years to more than 100,000, surpassing China to become the country with largest trainee number in Japan.

It is expected that more Japanese companies will make investment in Vietnam through M&A acquisitions or FDI by setting up company in manufacturing, real estate, retail...

7 basic steps to set up a business and comply with Vietnam laws

  Vietnam’s economy is increasingly diversified in terms of business activities and business regulations are also constantly being improved and enhanced. Accordingly, foreign investors can freely choose the right type of business.  Therefore, the business establishment in Vietnam is always a matter of great interest to foreign investors whom find business opportunities in Vietnam.

With the promulgation of the enterprise law, the business setting up process has been adjusted with many favorable regulations for investors. However, in order for a business to be set up and be complied in operation, it must go through the following basic steps:

The first step is to set up a business in Vietnam. To take this step, the investor first needs to determine the type of business to choose to establish and provide the business name and expected information. Accordingly, the composition of the enterprise establishment dossier will be prepared according to regulations and submitted at the Business Registration Office, the Department of Planning and Investment of the place where it is expected to be headquartered. After submitting a valid application, the enterprise will be granted an enterprise registration certificate and announced the registration contents on the National Business Registration Portal.

The second step is to publish the contents of business registration. After being granted an enterprise registration certificate, an enterprise must make a public announcement on the National Business Registration Portal.

In the third step, the enterprise conducts stamp engraving. Enterprises can request to make a seal from the seal making agent. Accordingly, the enterprise actively decides on the type, quantity, form and content of the seal and is solely responsible for the use of its legal entity seal.

Fourth step is that to open a bank account in Vietnam. Currently, businesses can choose a bank to open an account for their business, to open an account, the bank requires an application form issued by the bank, a seal sample, the company’s charter, and a certificate. Business registration and related documents are required by different bank.

The fifth step is to register the tax declaration form in Vietnam. Accordingly, enterprises register for the use of e-invoices and notify the use of e-invoices to their tax authorities. Enterprises need to contact the invoice supplier to order the printing of value-added invoice books and must register self-printed invoices with tax authorities.

In the sixth step, the enterprise needs to conduct labor registration in Vietnam. Enterprises register with the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs to declare the use of labor. Within 30 days from the date of commencement of operation, the employer must register the employer to the Labor Department (according to the prescribed form). In addition, enterprises should note that the relationship between the employer and the employee is regulated by the Labor Code and specified in the labor contract.

Seventh step is to register for social insurance in Vietnam. Enterprises register with the Social Insurance Agency to pay health insurance and social insurance for employees. Employers must fill in all information according to the form provided by social insurance, including: full name, date of birth, salary (recorded in labor contract), number of social insurance book (for employees who have been issued with a book), a certified copy of the company’s business registration certificate and a copy of each labor contract.

It can be seen that setting up a business requires businesses to carry out a lot of procedures and comply with many different regulations of tax, banking, labor, insurance… Therefore, besides learning about legal regulations and businesses can seek the support of professional consulting firm in Vietnam with expertise and experience in the field of business establishment to implement the process quickly and effectively.

Da Nang – Singapore To Cooperate for Development

  On May 12th, 2021, the representative of Da Nang city had a webinar with representatives of Ho Chi Minh City and Singapore on economic development, which the seminar was attended by nearly 200 companies from different industry whom are potential investors from Singapore, interested in setting up company in Vietnam.

During the seminar, the representative of Da Nang city introduced the investment and business environment, and preferential policies and investment opportunities of Da Nang city in the fields of high technology, information technology, high-quality services (health, education, logistics). The seminar received the sharing of experience when investing in Da Nang as well as the support of the city government from one of the largest Singaporean investors in Da Nang, and financial solutions when investing in Vietnam from some Singapore experts.

The representative from Singapore Business Federation highly appreciated the potential of the city’s business investment environment and proposed Da Nang city to establish the Da Nang Information Center (Da Nang Desk) located at the Vietnam Connection Center at the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF) to connect Da Nang with Singapore companies.

Da Nang City is inviting Singaporean investors and businesses with financial and technological capabilities to learn about the business investment environment and cooperation opportunities in the city. The representative of Da Nang City highly appreciated the proposal to set up Da Nang Information Center in Singapore and assigned the Investment Promotion and Support Committee to propose a model, serving as a bridge to support the environment and business investment opportunities of Da Nang to Singaporean enterprises in particular and international in general; thereby further promoting the investment cooperation relationship between Da Nang and Singapore in the coming time.

Singapore is one of Vietnam’s most important trade and investment partners. In 2020, despite being affected by Covid-19, Singapore invested in 248 projects in Vietnam with a total capital of nearly 9 billion USD, making it the leading country in foreign investment in Vietnam. Accumulated to the end of 2020, Singapore is the 3rd largest foreign direct investor in Vietnam after Korea and Japan with a total of 2,629 projects and a total registered capital of more than 56.5 billion USD. In 2020, the total two-way turnover between Vietnam and Singapore reach over 6.7 billion USD, of which the export value of Vietnam’s goods will reach 3 billion USD and the import value will reach USD 3.7 billion.

Singapore is one of the key markets for investment attraction of Da Nang, currently the city has 28 Singapore FDI projects with a total registered capital of more than 838.4 million USD, ranking 2nd in the list of more than 50 countries and regions, territory, accounting for about 22% of total registered investment capital.

Da Nang City hopes that many investors from Singapore will invest in Da Nang to help the city achieve its goal of becoming the largest financial center in Vietnam.  And the Singaporean investors can enjoy the best incentives from the city to get the best return on their investment from establishing company through foreign direct investment or making investment through M&A with local company.  However, it is always important to undertake background check, search the reputation of the local company, local director and have full assessment on the business and financial risks in cooperating with local partners.

Vietnam and Japan cooperate for mutual development

  On November 25^th, 2021, within the framework of Japan visit of Vietnamese Prime Minister – Mr. Pham Minh Chinh, the Prime Minister met the President of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO). During the meeting, the Prime Minister met leaders of many large Japanese corporations, businesses and banks and signed many investment cooperation agreements between Vietnam and Japan.

The parties highly appreciated JETRO's practical and effective contributions to Vietnam in recent years in promoting investment cooperation. In the 10 months of 2021, Japan ranked 3rd among countries making investments in Vietnam, with a total registered investment capital of nearly USD 3.4 billion. Up to now, Japan is the second largest investor in Vietnam with over USD 63.9 billion (accounting for 15.8% of total FDI investment).

Vietnam encourages Japanese businesses to invest and set up company in Vietnam, apply investment registration certificates in Vietnam, expand investment cooperation in infrastructure, energy, manufacturing industry, high-quality agriculture, information technology, smart cities, financial and banking services, and banking, innovation. The Government is committed to accompanying the business community, supporting and creating all favorable conditions for business investment activities on establishment of company in Vietnam, bringing about more benefits for the parties, contributing to bringing Vietnam-Japan relations to a new level.

During this visit, the two countries signed more than 40 cooperation agreements with a total investment value of more than USD 3 billion. In addition to investment commitments, during this visit, there were many cooperation agreements on human resource training or other environmental protection solutions signed between ministries, sectors and businesses.

In the meeting, the Prime Minister of Vietnam also met and discussed with leaders of Nippon Foundation, MUFG Group, INFRONEER Group, JBIC Bank, Idemitsu Group and Mizuho Bank on market development, business, human resource training.

The Prime Minister shared with the difficulties of Japanese businesses in Vietnam over the past time, he said that Vietnam has changed to a safe and flexible adaptation, effectively controlling the epidemic. The competent authorities at all levels must discuss with businesses and citizen to deploy solutions appropriate to the situation, bring life back to normal, both open production and business, and effectively prevent epidemics. Vietnam also suggested that Japanese businesses corporate with Vietnamese in epidemic prevention and control, continue to contribute to improving institutions, training human resources, investing in hard and soft infrastructure, and cooperating in areas such as: climate change response, digital economy, green economy, circular economy...

In addition, to ensure investment and trade, Vietnam is expected to start reopening international flights in early December, including flights to Japan. This will make it easier for Japanese investors to make investment, market surveys, and deploy their investment projects.

By the visit, Vietnam wishes to further develop cooperation in investment, human resources and diplomacy with Japan, thereby creating favorable conditions for investors of the two countries to expand their business, form company in Vietnam and contribute to national economic development.

Korea Leads in Foreign Investment into Vietnam

  Among foreign investors who have been investing in Vietnam, Korea is leading with the largest amount of capital, and Korean companies are continuing to promote investment in Vietnam as well as set up business in Vietnam.

In the past 25 years, Vietnam - Korea trade has made great strides from  500 million USD in the first years to 60 billion USD today, 120 times higher than in 1992. It is expected that by 2018 this figure will increase to 70 billion USD and 100 billion USD by 2020.

In addition to the accumulated investment of 57 billion USD since 1992, in the last 4 years, Korea has invested into Vietnam 8 billion USD a year. Only in the past 11 months of 2017, the number has reached 8 billion USD. These are enormous numbers. At the same time, the quality of Korean investment capital in Vietnam is also high. This is a very positive signal in the wave of Korean investment into Vietnam.

Korea is currently the leader in foreign direct investment through establishing company in  Vietnam and bringing high technology manufacturing into Vietnam. Typically, Samsung company has set up a research and development center in Bac Ninh, Yen Bai, Thai Nguyen, and has a significant impact on the development of Vietnam's science and technology.

New Investment Wave of Chinese Enterprises Through M&A

  Chinese investors are promoting activities such as invest and set up business in Vietnam. In particular, they are increasing their presence in Vietnam through M&A activities, especially in the real estate sector.

Sharing with Chinese businesses attending the recent conference about opportunities to invest in Vietnam, Mr Chen De Hai - Consulate General of China in Ho Chi Minh City said that since 2016 until now, the investment capital of Chinese enterprises into Vietnam increased sharply, production capacity is expanding, and the number of large investment projects are increasing.

No specific information on where these projects are invested, but Mr. Chen De Hai said that the investment portfolio is quite diversified and the investment capital of many projects is not small. There are projects ranging from several hundred million to more than 2 billion USD and investment in areas such as thermal power, wind power, solar cell production, textiles, tire production...

According to data from the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment), in 2017, China's committed investment capital ranks 4th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam. This is a very new development because in the past few years, China has rarely been in the top 5 foreign investors with large amount of investment capital into Vietnam.

2017 also recorded many M&A transactions of Chinese enterprises with partners in Vietnam in the field of real estate.

However, there are indications showing that not only investment through M&A and focus only on real estate, but Chinese enterprises will increase investment in manufacturing in Vietnam.

It is known that the investment activities of enterprises in the field of textile, fiber and leather footwear are in the roadmap to adjust the industry policy of China and are encouraged to invest abroad.

Meanwhile, Chinese businesses want to invest in Vietnam to take advantage of tax incentives when exporting to the US market or European countries because Vietnam has signed many free trade agreements with these countries.

A demonstration of this move is that the Bank of China - Ho Chi Minh City Branch, and Shenzhen Securities Information Co., Ltd (under Shenzhen Stock Exchange) in December 2017 has signed a contract in order to promote the attraction of Chinese investment capital into Vietnam.

According to many analysts, China's new wave of investment in such manufacturing sectors as steel, textiles, fiber, furniture…, is a story that can happen in the near future.

Vietnam Is Recognized by 69 Countries as A Market Economy: Opportunities to Promote Trade and Investment

  Being recognized as a market economy by 69 countries will create opportunities for Vietnam to attract investment and trade, encourage foreign investors to set up business in Vietnam.

Since joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2007, Vietnam has been recognized by 69 countries as having a market economy. This is really important, meaning that Vietnam is considered as a market economy that is determined by open competition, not by state intervention.

This recognition has also contributed to accelerating economic development over the past decade, with improved exports and open to more markets. This also demonstrates that Vietnam is rapidly transitioning to a more open economy.

The fact that Vietnam is recognized by many trading partners as a market economy has opened up many investment and trade opportunities for the country, including many bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

These agreements have helped the Vietnam economy attract more foreign direct investment (FDI) and promote economic growth, with a relatively high average growth rate of over 6.5% per year over the years.

In order to enhance the diversification of economic activities and improve competitiveness with the view to build a higher productivity growth model, Vietnam is desperate to seek new opportunities in strengthening trade and investment cooperation. The forthcoming major trade agreements include the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

 (RCEP - between ASEAN and 6 partners having free trade agreement with ASEAN, which are China, Korea, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand) and the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Launched in 2012, RCEP aims to establish a large regional free-trade area, accounting for 50% of the global population, about 30% of global GDP and more than 25% of global exports. By eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers in the RCEP, Vietnam is expecting to increase the competitiveness of its exports and expand markets while minimizing the cost of importing technology that Vietnam needs to participate in global value chains.

As for EVFTA, this agreement will help Vietnam significantly expand its investment and trade opportunities, beyond the Asia-Pacific region. EVFTA is expected to come into effect in 2019 after being ratified in 2018 - will help Vietnam better access 28 European Union (EU) markets, which are the largest markets for electronic products of Vietnam. In addition, EVFTA will also help Vietnam attract more high quality investment flows from the EU.

Immediately after the EVFTA takes effect, about 85.6% of EU tariff lines on Vietnam goods will be lifted. 7 years later, this rate will increase to 99%. However, the rules of origin may not increase Vietnam's exports to the EU immediately.

Vietnam will also have a similar policy on EU goods and will remove almost all tariff lines on EU exports within 10 years.

Vietnam has not been recognized by the US and EU as a market economy, as the US and the EU still believe that the Vietnam economy has not met the technical standards.

Being recognized as having a market economy from all WTO members, especially the US and the EU, will be particularly important for Vietnam in joining the global value chain, raising productivity and get rid of middle income trap.

The signing and adoption of EVFTA is also expected, the EU will recognize Vietnam has a market economy.