US and North Korea Leaders Will Meet in Hanoi, Vietnam

  President Donald Trump announced that Hanoi, Vietnam will be chosen as the place to hold the second US-North Korea summit on February 27 and 28, 2019.  There are signs of intention of both parties to transform the relationship and create a solid foundation for the de-nuclearization of North Korea and end the Korean War. This is the opportunities for Vietnam to promote the country as a place for foreign investors to trust and invest through setting up factory and companies, and further grow the country through foreign direct investment.

Vietnam has been selected as the place for this important international political event due to a number of reasons, including good relations with the US, South Korea and North Korea, closer to North Korea in distance, and that Vietnam is a country with experience in organizing in high security event i.e. APEC 2017 with leaders from US, Russia, China, Japan, Korea.   Further, the administration of President Trump thinks that Vietnam is a political and economic model that North Korea should pursue in terms of opening the country and attracting foreign investment, allowing foreigners to set up factory, companies in various areas.  From difficult relationship with embargo, the US and Vietnam has now become partners with two-way trade which turnover increased from 451 million USD in 1995 to 52 billion USD in 2016, and that Vietnam has become one of the rising export markets of US.   From North Korea’s perspective, Kim Jong-un will be interested in witnessing the story of Vietnam, which can be an inspiration and a model for the road ahead for North Korea to follow.

This event will be an opportunity for Vietnam to promote the country of peace, opportunity, prosperity and land of foreign investment, growing its role in the international markets in both business and politics, which further attract foreign direct investment, the driver for growth of the country over the decades.

Sustainable development in Vietnam

  Achievement of sustainable development in Vietnam

The sustainable development objectives including economic, social development and environment protection have been integrated into national priority development together with economic growth objective.

With a stable GDP and economic growth, improvement of education, Vietnamese citizens have gained more knowledge about gender quality, environmental and other social issues, thus, creating campaigns to support collective action. For example, the campaign collecting garbage along beaches in Vietnam attracted more than 1000 students to participate in which indicated collective action to mitigate effect of disaster and climate change.

Vietnamese government has significantly improved the rate of hunger eradication, poverty reduction, population, job creation, education and healthcare. Particularly, in 2014, total state budget for hunger eradication and poverty reduction were more than 34 billion VND. Thus, the poverty rate took a nosedive from 14.2% in 2010 to 1.8-2% in 2014, proving average reduction of 2% per year national wide.

The state fund for environmental protection has been increased, thus the policies for environmental protection has put into regular operation. By executing tax exemption for environmental friendly enterprises, businesses in Vietnam have been more aware of coordinating environmental protection policies into long term vision and mission.

Vietnam takes part in international agreement to show commitment to sustainable development such as: WTO, United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change, United Nation Convention to combat desertification, the convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora…

Challenges of sustainable development in Vietnam

There have been some challenges in Vietnam when implementing sustainable development policies. An increase in natural disaster, degenerated natural resource (water and biodiversity resources), wasteful and ineffective production and consumption are causing huge destruction to various local communities.

Even though there have been some supporting policies for enterprises in Vietnam to implement sustainable development policies, they have not obtained full awareness of the link between good environmental, social, and governance performance and the ability of companies to be profitable and survive in turbulent times. Therefore, most of the firms succeeded in promoting sustainable development practices are international businesses.

Sustainable development in business

Since Vietnam takes part in international trade agreements, there will be more international and institutional investors need the information of material environmental, social and governance information about company performance to decide whether to make investment decision.

Sustainable development of the business should be proven by social factors (employee compensation, benefits, staff turnover, safety practices, diversity and local community) and environmental factors (energy efficiency, GHS emissions, biodiversity conservation, water usage, natural resource use, waste to energy and recycling practices). These factors are crucial for investors as they indicates how the company takes into account risks, opportunities, management approach, stakeholder value and long term development.

Sustainability report has been strongly recommended by Vietnamese government. Vietnam Brewery Ltd is one of a few leading companies taking this report seriously. Their report in 2014 stated that the company switched from diesel to biomass as boiler fuel, reducing direct CO₂ emissions as a result. In addition to reducing our carbon footprint and mitigating the effects of global warming, the local community has also benefited from the programme with an additional income from the sale of rice husks. The company also highlighted the code of conduct which allowed the employees to voice their opinions. There have been also other big cooperation taking part in the trend for example Bao Viet Corporation, Vinamilk, Hau Giang Pharmacy…

In conclusion, in order for enterprises in Vietnam to actively engage in sustainable development and voluntarily adopt sustainability as common practice, Vietnamese government should take more urgent actions.

Vietnam exempts visas for citizens of 13 countries

  In order to encourage international tourists to return Vietnam after a long pause due to the pandemic and quickly adapt to the new situation of recovering the tourism industry, gradually bringing the tourism industry back to life, Vietnam Government has issued Resolution No. 32/NQ-CP visa exemption for citizens of 13 countries. This policy is an appropriate solution to bring international tourists to travel to Vietnam and also an opportunity for Vietnam's tourism to recover.

Subjects exempt from visas are citizens of the following countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Northern Ireland, Russian Federation, Japan, South Korea, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Belarus. Accordingly, citizens of these countries will be exempted from visas for 15 days from the date of entry, regardless of passport type, entry purpose, on the basis of meeting all conditions as prescribed by Vietnam immigration law.

 Regarding the application period of the visa exemption policy, the visa exemption on entry to Vietnam for citizens of the above countries will be implemented for a period of 3 years, from March 15th, 2022 to the end of March 14th, 2025. Besides, this policy may be considered for extension in accordance with Vietnamese law.

 In addition, to enter Vietnam, visitors need to comply with the requirements on epidemic prevention and control for people on entry. Specifically, visitors must have a negative test result for SARS-CoV-2, must make a medical declaration before entry and monitor their health and apply Covid-19 prevention measures.

 Therefore, it can be seen that Vietnam has created favorable conditions for tourism to gradually approach international tourists in an effective and safe manner. These would gradually improve the economic environment, and bring more potential investors to Vietnam to set up company and make investment.

Hanoi Leads the Whole Country in Attracting FDI in the First 2 Months

  According to the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment), in the first 2 months of 2019, many foreign investors have set up business in Hanoi. In fact, Hanoi is the locality that attracts the most FDI in 44 provinces with 4 billion USD, accounting for 47.3%, followed by Ho Chi Minh City with 1 billion USD, accounting for 12%, the third is Bac Ninh with 54 million USD, accounting for 6.3%.

Specifically, among the investment projects in Hanoi in the first 2 months of the year, the largest project is the Indochina Energy Development Project of Thai investors with a total registered capital of 10 million USD.

This is a project operating in the fields of expertise, science and technology, using 100% foreign investment with the aim of providing management consultancy activities (except business tax); Investment consultancy (except financial, legal, tax, securities, insurance consultancy); Construction and installation of electrical systems; Technical consultancy activities.

The second largest registered investment project is the project of Super Gold Moon Co., Ltd. (Korea) on accommodation and catering services with a total registered capital of 3.448 million USD, of which contributed capital is 0.86 million USD, loan is 2.586 million USD. The project uses 100% foreign investment.

The third is EB Nguyen Xien Supermarket Project of Big C Thang Long International Trade and Service Co., Ltd (Thailand) with a total registered investment capital of 2.5 million USD in the form of joint venture.

Also according to the Foreign Investment Agency, as of February 20th 2019, the total newly registered capital, increased and contributed capital to buy shares of foreign investors reached 8.47 billion USD, increase by 2.5 times compared to the same period in 2018.

There are 66 countries and territories with investment projects in Vietnam, led by Hong Kong with a total investment of 4.3 billion USD, accounting for 51% of total investment. Right after that at the 2nd and 3rd positions are Singapore and Korea respectively.

In addition, there are a number of large projects in the first 2 months of 2019 such as: Capital contribution, share purchase of Beerco Limited (Hong Kong) into Vietnam Beverage Company Limited, the value of contributed capital is 3.85 billion USD with the main goal of brewing beer and malt brewing beer in Hanoi; Project of factory manufacturing electronic equipment, network equipment and multimedia products, total registered investment capital of 260 million USD invested by Goertek (Hongkong) Co., Ltd in Bac Ninh...

Establishing Distribution Company In Danang

  Da Nang is a city in the Central of Vietnam, with the advantage of being a trading place of many countries in the world. Danang has a large seaport in the top 10 large seaports of Vietnam, facilitating trading activities with many countries around the world.

At the present, Da Nang is promoting foreign investment into Da Nang, and many investors have chosen Da Nang to do business in the distribution business line. For this business line, Vietnam has committed to open up to attract 100% foreign investment. As committed, foreign-invested companies in the distribution sector will be allowed to provide commission agents, wholesalers and retailers of all products manufactured in Vietnam and legally imported products into Vietnam. Therefore, the investors can import or produce goods, then they distribute the goods in accordance with regulations.

In addition, with the increasing in the number of tourists coming to Da Nang in recent years, the demand for consumer products, fashion and other items for tourists has increased. This triggers demand that many companies to provide essential goods for tourists, and this is a great investment opportunity for investors both domestically and abroad. The investors could explore this opportunity to set up company in Da Nang and fill the market’s demand.

In addition, with many policies to support enterprises in administrative procedures, as well as management, investors can easily carry out procedures as well as manage and control their business better. Enterprises investing in Da Nang are now very satisfied with the way public services are handled in the city's administrative procedures, therefore more and more investors are choosing Da Nang as a destination for investment when targeting in Vietnam.

M&A Due Diligence and Execution in Vietnam

  Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activities in Vietnam have been rapidly increasing over the the years in value and number of transactions when Vietnam's opening policies to attract foreign investments loosen up.  The M&A due diligence and execution are therefore important steps to ensure a successful transaction.

For foreign investors wishing to take advantage with a certain level of risks in Vietnam where the cost of labour are cheap, mid-income populations are growing, and the need of capital are high, it is important to find the right target companies to invest.  Challenges might arise when approaching the right local companies, locating the right decision makers within the local companies, encountering differences in languages and cultures.

It is important that the local consultants with the understanding of the business and legal environment in Vietnam where the local companies are incorporated could be involved at an initial stage to monitor and minimize the risks, improve the effectiveness of the M&A process in Vietnam.

The Vietnam consulting company could also provide corporate intelligence and insights of the Vietnam targeted companies to have an overall evaluation of the compliance of the Vietnam companies, possible risks involved and growth potential.  Financial forensic services might also be needed before other further steps.  Then, the following will need to be considered when undertaking the M&A in Vietnam.

Due diligence

M&A due diligence in Vietnam is a vital step because it determines whether the M&A will succeed or not. There are some aspects that must be carefully considered:

• Financial reports

Review all the financial reports of the Vietnam targeted companies within 3 to 5 years to assess the current and future financial situation. These data needs to be audited by a reputable independent auditing company. Evaluating financial situation targets on many aspects such as the reasonable connection between the financial statements, operating and sales margin of the business in relation to the average in that industry.  These data allow valuation real value of the target business.

• The cash flow

Checking the dates on invoices showing that whether targeted businesses have paid promptly or not. Term of payment may vary from industry to industry, but generally 30 to 60 days. If the money order is paid after the billing date period of 90 days or more, it means that the business owner may be struggling with cash flow. Finding out that if the clients’ inability to pay bills or not is very important.

• The staff

Determining the importance of staff for the success of the business considering work habits of employees, working time of key employees; ability to remain working after a change of the owner occurs; the incentives necessary to keep key employees; ability to easily replace key employees; the relationship of key employees with the company's customers.

• The customers

This is the most important assets of the Vietnam targeted company. Make sure that clients are as the other tangible assets of the business. Evaluating customers on some primary aspects: the relationship with the current owner of the business, customer history with business relations and the contribution of each customer to the profits of the company; assessing that customer will leave or stay when the business having new owners; customer services and dispute of the company, the relationship of the former owner of the business with the community or the industry.

• Business location

This is especially important if the targeted company is a retail company. Does the importance of business location play a crucial role for the success of the company? How is the location of the company you plan to acquire? Is there sufficient parking lot for customers? How does the company depend on sales in the region? How is the prospects of the business in this area? Does this place have been in the process of rapid change from new residential district office building or not? Has business location become more or less desirable because of contemplated changes in surrounding area or not?

• Competitors

Considering this aspect in order to define the capacity of the targeted business in the industry, the following questions would help: who are its competitor and what are their strategies? Does the price war happen frequently? How has the competitive environment changed?

• Business registration, permits and zoning

It’s necessary to make sure that business registration certificate and other legal documents can be easily given to the buyer. It would be better to acknowledge the procedures to transfer these documents and its fee with the help of local management consulting company in Vietnam. If the targeted company is a joint-stocks company, what is the procedure for the business registration? Can foreigners own the company 100% according to Vietnam laws?  Conditional investments in Vietnam need to be considered carefully by lawyers in Vietnam to avoid mishaps.

• The company image

Company image can be a significant asset and that cannot be assessed in the financial report. There are many intangible factors to consider when evaluating a company: how to serve customers, how employees answer the phone and the level of support the community or the industry.

Negotiate the price

It is important to understand the purpose and motivation of both parties. The sellers’ motivation are formed and affected by value drivers. There are two main value drivers which are approach value and avoidance value. Approach value is our purpose such as prosperity and avoidance value is the negative effect that we need to eliminate. Normally, the buyers try to find out what are the reasons why the owner wish to sell the companies. This will help the buyers plan a reasonable strategy beforehand.

A research analyzes the general aspects that the buyers seeking for via conducting surveys companies’ owner who have sold or transformed their enterprises. The research results are focus on profit maximization (79%), minimization of tax payable (73%), protection of viability of the company (71%)...(Source: Acquisition Marketplace Review, 2007).

The motivation of the buyer in most cases is similar to the motivation of the seller, which is to maximize profits, expand markets, increase revenue, operating areas, areas of activity, minimize taxes...

Risks in Business Activities of Enterprise: The Arising Causes

 Risk is something that nobody expected but we have to accept to live together with it. Identifying risks and creating solutions to prevent it and also minimize losses when it happens are what businesses should do. That is positive solution instead of accepting risks.

So what "risk" is? There are many definitions of risk, in which there are two main points. First, risks are unexpected events. Second, when risk occurs, it causes losses to people and society. The business operations of enterprises are very diverse. In theory, such operations are always come with risk. Instead of statistic the risks (very difficult), we should approach the issue from the step of identification the causes of risk. It will help businesses to have better prevention against the risk. Here are some common causes of risks that businesses often encounter.

There are 8 main causes of risk. First, that is the natural environment, such as storm, flood, drought, earthquake, volcano, tsunami, sea level rising and the earth "hot" up... These risks often have some common characteristics: the ability to forecast and predict is low, happen suddenly, cause damages on a massive scale, not just for one region, one industry, one community but for the whole economy, a number of countries or the whole world. The prediction and forecast of these natural disasters are difficult but they active as a rule. Hence, enterprises can proactively prevent or choose appropriate solutions.

The second risk is the risks from social environment, social structure and population. That is the change of value, standard, human behavior, the scale of values in society and the social characteristics... They are source of risk for commercial operations and investment activities of enterprises. However, a society that encourages nurturing the creative values and the inspiration investment would certainly the good protective shield for businesses.

Thirdly, there are risks come from the environment where the cultural background is low... A society where there is low literacy, lack of cultural norms, morality is not enhanced then how well the law will be enforce? Once the laws are not enforced effectively, a thousand risks may occur. There will be a stunning political rights, the rising of kinds of crimes such as theft, looting, rioting, economic fraud underground, reneged contract, counterfeiting, piracy, inciting religion, ethnicity and hatred... As a result, the kind of snatching, fraud and deceptive business will dominate.

Fourth are the risks from political environment, where lack of institutions to protect the freedom, democracy, property rights of people in general and businesses in particular. Political environment includes the stability in politics, security and safety for enterprises and people. A country that usually has national policy changes, coups, wars, riots, ethnic and religious conflicts, intervention in markets that lack of standards, policies were dominated by the interest groups, discrimination, corruption... are causing serious risks to businesses, causing them to lack of business confidence, lose investment momentum and can harm the economy and society.

Fifth are the risks come from economic environment. A strong economy is an economy that has high resistance with the ability to resolve the crisis in the best way in the direction of transparency, low cost, high sustainability. An economic environment where there are often crisis, inflation, erratic pricing, instable supply and demand, exchange rate changes frequently, shortage of goods and services, uncontrollable monopoly, fair competition is only on paper... along with the lack of technocratic skills shall be considered to be major risks for enterprises. Furthermore, on the other hand, the challenges come from an economy with high competitiveness, the drastic changes of technical science and information technology would also be the risk for enterprises that lack of the ability to adapt to changes.

Sixth are the risks that resulting from the regulatory environment that lack of transparency in three fields of legislative, executive and judicial. This is also the danger of healthy businesses. A system of legal documents should be issued with the effective participation of the business community, according to the criteria of sustainable, friendly, fair and easy to apply. An effective law enforcement system should be operated under the motto support, promote and facilitate business. A system of reliable justice, respect for justice and ensuring effective law enforcement with a society that respect for ethic and law would be an ideal environment to encourage investment and development of business. Conversely, a business environment where the law is inconsistent, contradictory, overlapping, change suddenly and shady, law enforcement lacks transparency, openness and efficiency, the application of the law lacks fairness, property ownership right and the right to protect the contract are not only abused but also the cost is too high... are sources of risk, causing severe damage to the business.

Seventh is the risk coming from business partners. They can be investors, joint ventures, cooperation or customers of the business. Have you ever questioning that where do they come from and are they reliable in terms of skills, experience, financial strength, legal and corporate governance. When establishing a relationship in business, both parties should understand and trust each other before coming to the steps of negotiating, signing and implementing contracts. Regarding business contract, it should be made very carefully because each paragraph stalking the risks that businesses need to take into consideration such as terms, payment, tax, limitation of liability, termination of the contract ahead of time and contract dispute resolution...Hence, the contract should be made carefully by a professional unit.

Eighth is the risk coming from the enterprise itself such as business attitudes towards risk, mistakes in business strategy and enterprise management, the weakness of the managers and employees, lack of ethics and business culture, lack of motivation, lack of internal unity...The most important thing is to regularly inspect and test the control systems of corporate is effective or not. Corporate governance is the whole system of rules and regulations. Good corporate governance will help the strategic decisions of the enterprise to be issued in the most enlightened and effective way, along with the best elimination of risk. Good corporate governance ensures utilizing all resources of business.

Before conducting business operations, businesses have to conduct risk analysis from at least 8 reasons above, then who dares to ensure that doing business is easy.

Ha Nam: Granting Investment Registration Certificate to Capella Real Estate JSC and Teijin Group (Japan)

  On May 15^th 2019, Ha Nam Provincial People's Committee held a ceremony to grant Investment Registration Certificate for the Project of construction investment and infrastructure business of Thanh Liem industrial zone, phase II for Capella Real Estate Joint Stock Company, which has a total investment of nearly 950 billion VND and Teijin Carbon Vietnam Factory Project for Teijin Group with a total investment of 12 million USD.

Over the past years, with the viewpoint of always trying to improve the investment environment, Ha Nam's leaders always support and create the most favorable conditions for investors, focusing on strong resources to build infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure, industrial zones and clusters. Drastically direct the implementation of solutions to improve the business investment environment, administrative reform...

Up to now, Ha Nam province has 8 industrial parks approved by the Prime Minister, of which 7 industrial parks have been put into operation, 1 Thai Ha Industrial Zone has completed the documents and procedures. 887 projects have been attracted, including 260 FDI projects and 627 domestic projects with registered capital of nearly 3,000 million USD and nearly 110,000 billion VND. In the first 4 months of 2019, the province granted 40 investment projects, including 16 FDI projects and 24 domestic projects with total registered and adjusted investment capital of 200 million USD and nearly 3,500 billion VND.

In the ceremony, Ha Nam province granted the Investment Certificate to the investment project of construction and business of Thanh Liem Industrial Park Phase II invested by Capella Real Estate Joint Stock Company. With a scale of 143 ha and total investment of nearly 950 billion VND. This is one of the most capable, reputable and experienced investors, has been very successful in the field of infrastructure development and attracting investment in industrial parks and industrial clusters in some localities all over the country.

Also at the conference, leaders of Ha Nam province granted the Investment Registration Certificate of Teijin Carbon Vietnam Factory Project to Teijin Group (Japan). This is an enterprise with more than 100 years of experience in the field of materials, health care and information technology. One of the leading enterprises developing core technologies including polymer chemistry, nanotechnology, biotechnology and synthetic technology.

Teijin Group (Japan) built Teijin Carbon Vietnam Factory with a total investment of 12 million USD, on an area of 15,300 m2, producing carbon fiber products used for the aerospace industry, automotive industry, plastic engineering, health, sports... to meet the demand of domestic and foreign markets.

At the conference, Chairman of Ha Nam Provincial People's Committee welcomed the leaders of Teijin Group and Capella Company to trust and choose Ha Nam as the project investment location. At the same time, he also believed in the construction process, production and business activities, businesses will achieve high revenue and efficiency.

Many Large Businesses in Norway Want to Invest in Hanoi

  7 leading corporations and enterprises from Norway include ITS Noway, Pixii AS, Ruter, Avfall Norge, Cambi, Host, Tomra want to set up business in Hanoi, at the same time cooperate, invest and transfer the most advanced technology in Hanoi city.

Chairman of the Hanoi City People's Committee has just had a meeting with Innovation Norway and 7 leading Norwegian corporations and enterprises operating in the fields of: Developing smart traffic system, energy and energy storage, management and development of public transport systems, providing solutions for waste and waste sludge management, recovery and recycling of plastic and waste materials.

At the meeting, leaders of corporations exchanged views with the Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee on Norway's strengths, experiences and the most advanced technology such as waste and sludge treatment technology and recycling into fertilizer preparations for agriculture; technology to use clean energy in waste treatment; technology to collect, process and recycle hazardous plastic wastes; payment technology and smart transportation applications that encouraging people to use the City's public transport system; experiences and management mechanisms that encourage corporate cooperation in waste and wastewater treatment and development of public transport.

At the same time, the leading corporations in Norway also expressed their desire to cooperate, invest and transfer advanced technology into Hanoi.

On the side of Hanoi, the Chairman of the city thanked the leaders of the corporations for exchanging and introducing valuable experiences in management as well as advanced technologies in areas that Hanoi is very in need of, serving for the construction and development of Hanoi towards smart, sustainable and effective urban.

At the same time, the city leaders also expressed that Hanoi is willing to create the most favorable conditions for Norwegian corporations and businesses to research, survey and seek investment and business cooperation opportunities in Hanoi.

Notably, representatives of the Innovation Norway, corporations and companies committed to organize Norwegian business delegations to Hanoi as soon as possible to implement the discussed plans.

British Investors Proposed to Invest in Wholesale Market in Gia Lai

 Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee has just had a meeting and worked with Chairman of the Board of Directors of TKV Holdings International (United Kingdom), coming to survey and find out investment opportunities to set up business in Vietnam and in particular set up wholesale market project in Gia Lai province.

At the meeting, representatives of TKV Holding International Cooperation Joint Stock Company expressed their interest in building wholesale market; electronic portal of wholesale market without managers; strategic product identification; advising on the province's strategic product identification in the global value chain (building national product images) and Gia Lai province's product consumption plans.

The representative of the company also assessed that Gia Lai is a potential province and if implemented, the wholesale market model in Gia Lai will also have its own characteristics; At the same time, asking the province to provide additional issues related to regional planning and sector planning; local determination and orientation of Gia Lai province for the participation of enterprises in implementing this wholesale market model.

At the meeting, Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Vo Ngoc Thanh also raised a number of issues for the unit to learn investment such as the project scale of the wholesale market, the need to connect between the wholesale market and the people. production if the model is deployed in Gia Lai.

Chairman Vo Ngoc Thanh expects TKV Holdings International Cooperation Joint Stock Company will soon agree with the province on how to do as well as speed up the implementation plans of this project. At the same time affirmed Gia Lai's determination and will create favorable conditions for the unit through the Department of Planning and Investment to promote investment in implementing the wholesale market project in Gia Lai province in the early period. Best.

At the meeting, Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee also raised a number of issues for investors such as the project scale of the wholesale market, the need to connect between wholesale market and producers if the model is implemented in Gia Lai.

Chairman of the province expects TKV Holdings International Cooperation Joint Stock Company will soon agree with the province on how to do as well as speed up the implementation plans of this project. At the same time affirmed Gia Lai's determination and will create favorable conditions for the unit through the Department of Planning and Investment to promote investment in implementing the wholesale market project in Gia Lai province in the shortest time.

Quang Ninh Calls for Investors in Tourism Real Estate

  Quang Ninh is becoming an open destination for tourism investors to come and set up business in Vietnam.

With the land area and sea surface of over 12,000 square kilometers, the topography of more than 2,000 islands spread over 250 kilometers of coastal lines, Quang Ninh is considered as a "small Vietnam" with the potential to develop green tourism. Therefore, it is not surprising that many travel experts perceive Quang Ninh is blessed with special values.

The first highlight of the Quang Ninh tourism journey is Ha Long Bay - the world natural heritage, the most typical and unique island in the island's integrated marine tourism system. This system stretches 250 kilometers of sea route, linking Ha Long - Bai Tu Long - Van Don island - Bai Tu Long National Park - Co To island - Vinh Thuc island - Tra Co beach with Cat Ba National Forest (the World Biosphere Reserve) and the marine resources system of Hai Phong city. These remarkable advantages make Ha Long Bay along with Cat Ba, Do Son (Hai Phong) are prioritized to develop into national tourist area.

Along with Ha Long Bay, places like Quan Lan, Minh Chau, Ngoc Vung, Bai Dai, Van Hai white sand mine... (in Van Don island district); or Tra Co, Vinh Thuc (in Mong Cai city) … with beautiful beaches, natural forests, intact coral reefs around the islands, offshore locations, have created special values of Quang Ninh tourism.

In addition to natural advantages, Quang Ninh is the only province with land and sea borders with China, an important and vibrant trade gateway between Vietnam, China and ASEAN countries. That is why large investors want to choose Quang Ninh. From the end of 2013 up to now, Quang Ninh has attracted more than 100 projects with total investment capital of more than 5.5 billion USD, nearly half of capital concentrated in Ha Long city, of which the strong investment waves mostly focus on the field of tourism.

There is not only the presence of Vietnamese investors such as Tuan Chau, Vingroup, Sun Group, FLC…, the attractiveness of Quang Ninh is also reflected in the presence of billion-dollar-super-projects of giants investors from United States, China, Thailand, United Arab Emirates... The famous names such as Wyndham, Starwood, ISC Corp, Amata, Nakheel... have landed in Ha Long with huge investment plan.

In the development plan, Quang Ninh is calling for investment in 14 large-scale eco-tourism real estate projects (period 2016 - 2020) and many other projects to develop 4 major tourism centers: Ha Long; Mong Cai - Tra Co; Van Don - Co To; Uong Bi - Dong Trieu - Quang Yen.

Standing in the top on tourism investment attraction, the keys that help Quang Ninh to balance its economic benefits and resource conservation are unified planning, consistent development and a clear view on investment attraction.

Why background check is needed when applying for second passport?

  Nowadays, it is popular for individuals to have a second passport. It can be seen that in many countries, individuals are restricted to travel freely between countries. Typically, such nationals whom wish to travel abroad are required to apply for a visa which takes a lot of paper preparation for proof of financial status, legitimate reasons and waiting time.

The investment for second citizenship will help investors get a more powerful passport, less limited mobility, especially in European countries. This is also an invaluable advantage for those who wish to expand their business opportunities internationally. Different countries will have different citizenship investment programs, the most common forms of contribution to national funds and investing in real estate in that country.

However, in addition to the mandatory conditions for the investment, in order to be able to receive the passport, the investor also needs to go through a certain application review process. Normally, the countries that grant citizenship to foreign citizens will conduct judicial background verification, background check, criminal record, and the investor's health status such as Cyprus, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Hungary.  In particular, the applicant will have to be qualified for civil liability.  There are countries that are particularly concerned about the investor's health such as Malta, which requires the individual applying to have global health insurance, investors and families need to prove that they purchased health insurance in their immigration application.  In Cyprus, in order to pass the document check, investors also need to provide proof of the investment money source. Similar in Malta, Montenegro the investors need to present documents proving that the money has legal origin.  Sometime, there are needs to verify the legitimate of the documents provided by the applicants.

Further, verification of employment, salary, income, assets are also important for the review process.  To some extents, the investors and their companies are also assessed for reputation and adverse media impact.  In some countries, investors need to have documents certifying that they have resided there for a specific period of time at the request of the Government. In Malta, for example, the investor needs to reside here for 12 months before applying. In Bulgaria or Antigua & Barbuda, after being granted citizenship, investors need to reside in these countries for a certain period of time. For the citizenship by investment program in Montenegro, the application will only be accepted when it is submitted through a government-licensed agent under the program.

Da Nang: Granting Investment Certificates for 14 FDI Projects in The First Month of 2020

  In the first month of 2020, Da Nang granted dozens of economic projects, including 14 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects of foreign investors coming to set up company in Da Nang, with a total capital of 1,686 million USD.

The registered projects operate mainly in the fields of food service, information technology and foreign language training.

Accumulated to December 2019, there were 331 projects with a total investment of 104,707 billion VND. In the past 2019, despite removing many obstacles, Da Nang's investment attraction has prospered. According to Department of Planning and Investment of Da Nang, from January 1^st to December 15^th 2019, FDI attraction reached 690.76 million USD. In which, there were 132 new projects, with total registered investment capital of 438.042 million USD; 16 projects increased capital with an additional capital of 117.38 million USD; 210 turns of foreign investors contributed capital with the value of 135.334 million USD; granted investment policy decisions for 9 projects with a total investment of over 8,829 billion VND.

Recently, in order to "cool off" traffic congestion in the inner city, Da Nang has spent hundreds of billion VND to renovate urban areas, build concentrated parking lots and renovate intersections. ...

In 2020, the city will continue to promote and implement key and motivational transport projects such as Lien Chieu port, relocate railway station, adjust the city's general plan, build T3 terminal - Da Nang international airport, the project to improve transport infrastructure borrowed from OFID Fund, the western ring road 2, North-West axis I, the consolidation road along both sides of Nam Hai Van bypass road, upgrading DT601 road... In addition, the city will study to promote and deploy urban railway connecting Da Nang with Hoi An city (Quang Nam province); continue to invest in developing public transport, compatible among types of transport in urban areas.

The investment in developing transport infrastructure and improving intersections will not only reduces traffic congestion but also promotes economic development.

Promote Vietnam-Canada investment under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

  Within the framework of CPTPP, Vietnam and Canada organized a "Business in Vietnam" Workshop organized by the City of Toronto and the Canada-Vietnam Trade Council in Toronto, Canada to promote investors to invest in Vietnam and set up company and factory.

Through the workshop, the participants discussed the topics "Looking back on a year of implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and opportunities in Vietnam" and "sharing business experience in Vietnam”. The parties assessed the investment opportunities in the field of aviation, information technology, telecommunications, agricultural products and services in Vietnam by Canadian investors.

The Export Development Canada Agency (EDC) representative affirmed that with the favorable demographics and the growing in middle class, the Vietnam economy brings many opportunities for Canadian businesses. Besides, before entering the market in Vietnam, enterprises should prepare to invest time and resources to build sustainable relationships in the local and recommend that Canadian exporters should choose a local representative to import/distribute their products.

The agencies like EDC and TCS (trade support agencies, under the Department of Global Affairs, which has than 1,000 Canadian trade experts) could play an important role in assisting businesses with go to the new market during the term of business. In 2019, Vietnam continues to be Canada's largest trading partner in Southeast Asia, with two-way trade turnover estimated at CAD 7.8 billion (USD 5.98 billion).

Participants mentioned the potential of cooperation between Vietnam and Canada in the field of finance, in the context of the value of financial services import into Vietnam reaching 523 million USD in 2018. Vietnam's investment in transport infrastructure - an area where Canada has many strengths - is expected to increase to USD 11 billion by 2020 and USD 17 billion by 2025. This is considered to be “expected land” that businesses of the two countries should promote exploitation.

Representative of Canada-Vietnam Trade Council opined that this seminar attracted the attention from the Canadian Government, the provincial Government of Ontario and especially Canadian businesses because they received many opportunities in Vietnam, a country with a stable economy and strong growth. As part of a cooperation agreement between Toronto and Ho Chi Minh City, the Canada-Vietnam Trade Council in collaboration with the Toronto city is planning a business trip to explore the market of Ho Chi Minh City to facilitate connecting Toronto businesses to access Vietnam market, set up company in Vietnam.

The participants expressed their desire to further promote investment opportunities from both countries. Thereby, it is hoped that in 2020, there will be more Canadian investors investing in Vietnam, which will help the parties improve the effectiveness of long-term cooperation in the future.

Why should you invest in Da Nang High-Tech Park?

  Da Nang Hi-tech Park is the only high-tech park in the Central and Highlands of Vietnam. The Da Nang high-tech Park has gradually attracted foreign investors to invest and set up company, factory in Da Nang, especially in the area of high-tech because of its advantages in location, environment, government policy, and local resources.

In terms of geographical location, the High-Tech Park is planned in Da Nang, a key economic region of the Central and Highlands region, where there is a modern, synchronized technical infrastructure system, and a fiber optic cable station on SE- ME-WE that are three connects telecommunication lines with international and human resource training system is abundant and diverse. In addition, the High-Tech Park has a convenient location on the air route to Da Nang International Airport - one of Vietnam's international airports. About waterways, Da Nang is a coastal city of Vietnam, with large seaport systems such as Tien Sa and Lien Chieu ports to help trade goods with many countries in the region and around the world. In addition, Da Nang High-Tech Park is located on the arterial traffic route of Vietnam, convenient for connecting with surrounding industrial parks and urban areas.

In addition, the High-Tech Park is located in a rich natural landscape area, clean natural environment, close to resorts and eco-tourism such as Da Nang, this is the ideal environment for the formation of an eco-hi-tech urban area, giving investors, scientists and workers a convenient and comfortable living and working environment.

In addition, the Hi-Tech Park is located in Da Nang City, which has a strategic location, transparent and open investment environment, modern infrastructure, friendly living environment and human resources is abundant, the political stability, these are considered to be prerequisites for investors to be able to invest in the safely and effectively way.

Moreover, in recent years, Da Nang has continuously had effective policies to attract investment, attract FDI in the high-tech sector towards building a smart city, so the case many investors are investing in the Hi-Tech Park will help the city accomplish its development goals soon. Therefore, Da Nang always has the highest preferential policy in the country in attracting investment in high-tech parks and low investment costs, in addition, Da Nang's management agencies have always implemented reforms the administrative procedure, shorten time for investors when investing in here.

With the advantages of geographical location as well as supporting policies, attracting investment, Da Nang High-Tech Park is gradually becoming an investment destination of investors in the future, for setting up business in Vietnam.

What information matters in M&A transaction?

  Nowadays, in the field of business and investment, the term “Merger and Acquisition” (M&A) is a very common term. This is considered as one of the global investment methods, and is a business and development strategy applied by many businesses.  In conducting the M&A, beside information provided by the target company, other information are also important before the buyer stepping into negotiation with the seller of the target company.

Mergers and acquisitions are usually conducted through three main stages, that is: reviewing and evaluating target businesses, valuation and price negotiation, completing legal procedures. When participating in a business merger and acquisition, investor or buyer need to ensure high accuracy of inside information of the target business. It is extremely important for investor or buyer in determining the value of the deal as well as helping investors make decisions about whether to participate in the acquisition and merger of this business or not. The tasks to consider and evaluate the target business include searching information and evaluating the information on shareholders, investors, influential individuals, and further information i.e. financial statements, accounts receivable and payables, staffs, customers, business locations, facilities status, competitors, business registrations, licenses and business area divisions, company image, and potential disputes, or criminal records of relevant people of the target company.

In fact, not every country has specific regulations governing mergers and acquisitions, as does Vietnam, although it is mentioned in various legislations.  In many cases, the investors have to search information, and evaluate the situation themselves to learn various aspects of the business beside the information given by the target company for instance finding general information about a business, information about the legal representative, information about business manager or capital contributors of that business as well as other related information. In particular, the buyer might be interested to know if the owner or shareholders have other business similar to the target business or if any of those have criminal records.  Further, the buyer might wish to know the history or the target company with registration and changes of registration in the last three years.  Other information about business lines, subsidiary, child companies, dependent companies, charter capital, founding shareholders, seal specimen could also be of importance business intelligence.  Based on the information obtained, the buyer is able to reach some information conclusion about the business and the target beside official information provided by the target itself.

In conclusion, all relevant information about the business and people matters in M&A transaction, being corporate information or influential investors or stakeholders are important that the investor or buyer should pay attention to every details, and should attempt to search and evaluate such information such as part of their effort to evaluate market entry risks in investment through intelligence market entry risks analysis in Vietnam.

Vietnam Market Research

  Market research is an important operation. If the market research is well done, it provides accurate information to help marketers make an appropriate strategy and then, bring high efficiency in business. In other words, if the result of market research is inaccurate information and does not correctly reflect the actual market situation, marketing activities will be inefficient.

Companies would fail if underestimating the importance of market research before entering a new market.

Therefore, market research activity is so important for whomever needing success. Namely, the market research is considered an active approach to enter into the market. The market research also helps you understand the latest development in the target market, thereby making marketing decisions quickly. The international business environment is quite volatile, that‘s why you need a proactive approach like that and it is really your competitive advantage.

Through the market research, you can form the idea of developing a new product and choose the correct strategy for that product in each specific market. Through research, you also do not have to waste money and effort for the false hope, especially when you export the products to oversea for the first time. On the other hand, it should be noted that although the market research does not make sure success in business, it will help you avoid many wrong decisions.

Market research service can:

• Help find the biggest market for your products, the fastest growing market, trends and prospects of market, conditions, business practices and opportunities for your product on the market.
• Allow to make efforts effectively in a field or a certain range. After that, you can set the priority for a specific target market and plan for the future market.
• Help understand the competitors, including strengths and weaknesses, mistakes and their causes of success.
• Help find ideas to develop new products.
• Helps strengthen business relationships with partners.

Da Nang City to carry out investment promotion in 2022 in the direction of innovation, initiative, focus, and prioritize on strategic markets

  In 2022, Da Nang selected the theme as "Year of safe and flexible adaptation, effective disease control and socio-economic recovery and development". Accordingly, the city has built the Investment Promotion Program in 2022 in the direction of innovation, initiative, focus, prioritizing strategic markets for key fields (high technology, information technology, high-quality service, etc.) to attract foreign investors to invest and set up company in Vietnam in genenal and Da Nang in particular.

To achieve this goal, Da Nang city has promoted research, assessed potential markets and investment partners, built images, promoted, introduced the investment environment, potential policies, and opportunities for investment association and connection. Along with that, the city has supported and guided to create favorable conditions for investment activities of international investors, built a list of investment attraction projects, publications and documents for investment promotion, etc. in order to attract foreign investors into Vietnam to establish company for doing business.

Accordingly, in 2022, Da Nang will study and implement the project "Building Da Nang into a regional financial center"; Project "Development of industry and services related to yachts"; Project "Promoting investment attraction to Da Nang city in the period of 2021 - 2025, vision to 2030"; The overall project of economic diplomacy in Da Nang city in the period of 2021 - 2025; Project on implementation of research - development, incubation - start-up, innovation and training of high-quality human resources... At the same time, Da Nang City implement investment procedures and call for businesses to invest in key projects. Access and connect with venture capital funds, start-up experts, large-scale technology enterprises, innovative start-up infrastructure investors, innovative start-ups. The City is focusing on promoting key investment projects, promoting projects in high-tech zones, concentrated IT zones, etc.

Besides, Da Nang City is organizing investment promotion conferences in the form of face-to-face and online to key markets such as the US, Korea, Japan, Europe, Taiwan, Singapore...; organize connection activities, promote private investment, event Route Asia Development Forum 2022 is held in Da Nang city.

The city will also increase proactive contact with high-level contacts with large corporations (belonging to Forbes 500), businesses in developed countries (G7, G8, OECD...), business associations, and big banks of other countries. The country is having the policy to shift investment capital to focus on calling for investment in Da Nang. Da Nang city is implementing the promotion of ODA projects, projects in the form of public-private partnership (PPP) ...

In Da Nang Hi-Tech Park and Industrial Parks, in order to effectively implement the 2022 Investment Promotion Program of the City People's Committee, the Management Board of Da Nang High-Tech Park and Industrial Parks has built and issued implementing investment promotion programs in the direction of innovation, prioritizing strategic markets for key fields such as high technology, information technology, high-quality services....

Through these activities, Da Nang City hopes that in 2022, many international investors will make investments in Da Nang to set up business, in order to create a vibrant and effective investment environment, taking advantage of the strengths, investment incentives from the city, thereby bringing high profits for their investment activities.

Risk of disputes from transactions through social networks in Vietnam

  Social networks have become popular and become an indispensable part of modern life. Along with the development of the internet, social networking applications are also used by many people as a transaction method to exchange and conclude contracts or business transaction with each other.   When a dispute occurs, it is difficult for the parties to prove the transactions and the parties involved. Hence, it is important to conduct background check on the business counterparts from financial, operational aspects instead of blind belief in the exaggerated advertising or discounted offer from them.

In fact, many individuals and organizations have reported that their partners have denied purchase and sale transactions through social networks and caused huge damages. However, the evidence provided is only messages, icons ... stored in social networking applications that carry many meanings and are easily confused in interpretation. These are quite common electronic transaction disputes today, but there is no strict legal corridor to protect parties with legitimate interests.

The legal system has not kept up with the strong development of the internet business. As a result, it raises a number of complicated issues, beyond the control of legal regulators and creates many difficulties and challenges when business disputes occur over social networks.

Specifically, many individuals engage in commercial activities but does not have a fixed location and do not register business with any authorities.  They might advertise over the internet with buying and selling goods and services without having to be responsible for any consequences for fake products or inadequate delivery of quantity or maybe even scam.

It can be seen that the lack of business registration makes it difficult to determine the truthfulness of the transaction and the competent authorities do not know the information of individuals and organizations transacting on social networks authentication of transaction status on social networks when participating in business.

According to the law, electronic data messages are expressed in the form of electronic data exchange, email and other similar forms according to the provisions of the law on electronic transactions. Electronic is also a source of evidence used as a basis to determine the validity of a transaction. Therefore, it can be seen that in fact transactions via social networks are also a form of electronic transactions with legal value. However, these transactions present a lot of potential risks because it is difficult to prove to the authorities when dispute arise.

Because these accounts can be easily disabled, communications can be deleted or hidden, and the name of the account holder is easy to change. Moreover, when transacting and exchanging via social networks, the parties cannot control whether the person being exchanged is an authorized person or not. The violating party will rely on the above reasons to deny all the content discussed with the partner.

Transactions through social network platform are thriving and are expected to bring value. However, in order to contribute to promoting the sustainable and safe development of this type of business, more legal regulations governing related issues are needed. In addition, in order to limit disputes and risks in these transactions, individuals and businesses need to carefully check the partner information, from authenticity, adverse media, reputation online or engage third party consulting company to verify business registration, search business shareholders information, visit office or operation site for audit, undertake background check, criminal record for protection of interest if the dispute occurs.

Nothing Can Stop Investors Coming to Vietnam

  Many foreign investors have once again affirmed the attractiveness of Vietnam as an investment destination.

It is no coincidence that the Vietnam Intensive Online Conference, recently held within the framework of Standard Chartered Bank's ASEAN-focused investment attraction series, took the theme “Vietnam - Rising star".

A survey showed that 38% of enterprises surveyed said that they would consider expanding their supply chain in Vietnam. This is the highest rate among ASEAN countries.

With strong fundamentals such as a young, dynamic and tech-savvy population, a growing domestic market, a growing middle class and an open economy, Vietnam continues to deliver attractive investment opportunities.  However, it is equally important to manage risk especially in understanding business partners through corporate intelligence investigation, background studying, adverse media search.

Many multinational corporations have been interested in establishing business investments in Vietnam in order to take advantage of the close geographical distance and the ability to connect with ASEAN to promote business activities.

According to data provided by the Japan Trade Promotion Organization (JETRO), more than 40% of the total of 3,500 Japanese enterprises surveyed said they were considering expanding operations in Vietnam, to set up company within the next three years.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has just been signed between the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment) and JETRO. The agreement was awarded in the witness of Vietnam Prime Minister on September 7^th 2020, confirming the great efforts of both the Foreign Investment Agency and JETRO in implementing measures to promote Japanese investment in Vietnam.