Vietnam fuel behemoth initiates spanetroleum spanort, bonded warehouse spanrojects on Phu Quoc

The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) has begun executing projects worth more than US$250 million to construct an integrated petroleum service port and a bonded warehouse to store gasoline on Phu Quoc Island in southern Vietnam.

The groundbreaking ceremony was organized on Sunday on the island administered by Kien Giang Province.

Those two projects are among the important parts of PetroVietnam’s key oil exploration chain.

The integrated petroleum service port will be built on a total area of 116.5 hectares of land and 60 hectares of sea surface.

This VND4.2 trillion ($192 million) project is divided into three phases, of which the first is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2017.

The remaining stages will be implemented after 2020.

The port is planned to be a logistics base for oil and gas activities in the southwestern Vietnamese region, the Gulf of Thailand, and Myanmar.

The bonded warehouse project, which costs VND1.4 trillion ($64 million), will be built on a total area of 35.5 hectares of land and 60 hectares of sea surface.

The first phase is projected to finish by the fourth quarter of 2017 while the second will be carried out after that.

The two projects’ initial target market is Southeast Asian countries and their operations will be expanded internationally later on.

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Vietnam fuel behemoth initiates spanetroleum spanort, bonded warehouse spanrojects on Phu Quoc

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Fake Chinese dietary suspanspanlements, spanharmaceuticals, cosmetics smuggled into Vietnam in bulk

Fake Chinese dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics have been smuggled into Vietnam in large quantities this year, a national committee on anti-smuggling said at a conference last Friday.

They have been illegally transported in bulk in a more sophisticated way than before, the National Steering Committee on Combating Smuggling, Commercial Fraud, and Counterfeit Goods (Steering Committee 389) said during the event in Hoi An City in the central region.

However, the Steering Committee 389 did not give any details about the volume of fake Chinese dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics imported into Vietnam at the conference on finding solutions for coping with counterfeit goods and products infringing intellectual property rights.

Many Vietnamese enterprises have registered their brand names identical to existing protected trademarks to deceive consumers into buying their fake dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, the committee said.

Those local firms mainly outsource their products, labels, and packages from Chinese manufacturing facilities, and then smuggle the goods into Vietnam for repackaging and reselling, with “Made in Vietnam” labels stuck on the surface.

The Steering Committee 389 has discovered a local firm storing 80 kinds of labels and packages for dietary supplements printed in China, and then importing them into Vietnam so that it could flexibly label and repackage bogus products for reselling domestically.

Hanoi police earlier this month found a Vietnamese company employing a similar trick, seizing over 20 metric tons of fake goods and detaining three people involved in the case.

In May, Steering Committee 389 data showed that Vietnam imported a huge volume of dietary supplements, mostly from China, worth more than VND2.4 trillion (US$110.4 million) last year.

In the first five months of this year, with nearly 500 registered local importers, the value of the dietary supplements brought into Vietnam from many sources, including China, topped VND1.4 trillion ($64.4 million).

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Fake Chinese dietary suspanspanlements, spanharmaceuticals, cosmetics smuggled into Vietnam in bulk

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Landmark tower lifts bar to international standards

Advertorial — The revised Law on Housing, which comes into effect in July, eases restrictions for foreigners to own property in Vietnam. This progressive legislation is expected to reinvigorate the market by offering non-nationals attractive conditions for buying a house.

According to Marc Townsend, general manager of CBRE Vietnam, the new regulation has opened the door for foreigners who are keen to get on the property ladder here. Foreigners will soon be able to buy unlimited numbers of condominiums with an ownership period of 50 years, which can be extended subject to applicable laws. Significantly, the government’s new law allows foreigners to lease, mortgage, contribute as capital, gift and bequest property.

As a result, real estate analysts are looking forward to bright prospects in the future, and have predicted that foreign buyers from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and western countries may occupy up to 10 percent of the buyers in high-end projects.

Vingroup – the biggest property investor in Vietnam – is currently implementing the Vinhomes Central Park (VHCP) urban township, a green city located along the bank of the Saigon River. Together with Ba Son and Khanh Hoi, VHCP is a key element of the “miniature green city” redevelopment.

Located in Binh Thanh District in the increasingly trendy eastern part of Ho Chi Minh City, the township is designed with a building density of just 16 percent. There will be 14 hectares of green space and river frontage along a one kilometer stretch of the Saigon River. VHCP will also be the first urban township to have a luxury marina.

The Landmark complex is part of VHCP. Landmark 81 – the highest ever building in Vietnam – will be located in the heart of the Landmark complex. Landmark 81 promises a lavish view and a “New York-style” living space for its end users. Billed as one of the ten tallest buildings in the world, upon its completion, it will become an iconic feature of the Ho Chi Minh City skyline. The ultra-luxury facility, slated for opening by the end of 2017, is being heralded as groundbreaking in terms of quality.

Covering an area of 141,000 square meters, Landmark 81 consists of a five-star, 260-room hotel, with roughly 250 apartments, a range of luxury restaurants, an open-air sky bar, an observatory and a shopping mall. Landmark 81 is expected to be highly sought-after, not just by end users, but by investors as well.

According to a study from CBRE Vietnam, Landmark 81 is expected to bring about a higher rental yield, approximately up to 15 percent higher than other rivals in the same market segment, such as The Manor, which has a rental yield of 7.2 percent, and the Saigon Pearl with 6.5 percent. These high yields, according to the developer, will be obtained through the project’s many advantages, including its ideal location, low construction density, and its coverage of the biggest park by the river in Ho Chi Minh City.

Moreover, Landmark 81 will benefit from a convenient transportation system, a secure living standard, and the Vincom shopping center. Also, despite its higher cost, the developer has decided to use Low-E glass for this building due to its environmental benefits.

Vingroup is the biggest developer of real estate in Vietnam with many high-end properties including multi-function complexes in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Da Nang and many other provinces throughout the country. In addition to its domestic and international plaudits, most recently the company won the “Best Developer in Vietnam” award at the Southeast Asia Property Awards in Singapore last October.

Foreign buyers are cordially invited to the CBRE Exclusive Event at Vinhomes Central Park on July 1. Please join us and seize this unique opportunity of a 5 percent discount before the next launch and price rise. Hotline: 090 246 8087.

Landmark tower lifts bar to international standards

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Vietnam’s foreign tourist arrivals slumspan 11% in first half of 2015

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has criticized the tourist industry for failing to make use of its potential and advantages for growth as Vietnam posted yet another decline in foreign tourist arrivals in the first half of this year.

Only 3.8 million international tourists visited the Southeast Asian country in the first six months, an 11.3 percent drop from the first half of last year, according to the General Statistics Office.

In June, Vietnam’s tourist arrivals suffered the 13^th consecutive month-on-month slump, with more than 529,400 visitors, down 1.9 percent compared to the same month last year.

The numbers of tourists entering Vietnam in the first half by air, road and sea all declined 9.1 percent, 19.7 percent and 26.5 percent, respectively.

Industry insiders are hoping that the situation will improve starting July 1, when Vietnam begins scrapping visas for visitors from five more European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain and England.

The free-visa policy is expected to lure back European tourists to Vietnam, whose packages have become costlier as the euro is weaker against the U.S. dollar.

Vietnam takes pride in its political stability and natural landscapes as potential and advantages to attract visitors, but the tourist industry has only posted "unaccepted results,” Prime Minister Dung complained as he chaired a tele-meeting with local administrations on Monday.

The premier said more efforts should be put on developing tourism, and asked relevant agencies to look to Myanmar.

“[Myanmar] will welcome five million international tourists this year and Vietnam expects to receive only seven million, so what do you comrades think?” he said from Hanoi.

“The result is unacceptable given our stable politics, beautiful nature and many other things.”

The Ministry of Planning and Investment joined the discussion by proposing that more measures be taken to have better results, besides the free-visa travel policy.

The visa exemption granted to the five Europe countries only allows a 15-day stay for each entry within one year from the effective day, according to a directive signed by the premier.

Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh suggested visitors from other countries should also be allowed to enjoy the visa waivers and that policy should be applicable to longer stays.

“We should scrap visas for most other countries, except those that are hit by wars or have unstable politics, to encourage tourists to come to Vietnam,” he said.

International visitors, especially investors, should also be allowed to stay in Vietnam for three months, rather than just 15 days, the minister added.

“Foreign investors pour billions of U.S. dollars into Vietnam and are frequent international flyers, and they thus always complain about the short allowed stay,” Minister Vinh said.

“There must be specific measures to solve this problem.”

Vietnam currently applies a one-sided free-visa policy to eight countries, including Japan, South Korea, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Russia and Belarus.

The nation also has a visa-free policy for nine other Southeast Asian countries, including Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.

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Vietnam’s foreign tourist arrivals slumspan 11% in first half of 2015

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Vietnam's Bspanhone recalled for software uspangrades less than fortnight after delivery

Although Bkav is trying to market its Bphone as the world’s leading smartphone, the road now proves rough for the Hanoi-based company, as it is recalling the first batche of handsets shortly after delivery for software upgrades.

Those customers who had the Bphone delivered to their doors on June 18 will have to return it to the manufacturer for software upgrades, Do Thu Hang, director of public relations with Bkav, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday.

The Vietnamese company, known for its Bkav antivirus software, had previously said the upgrades would be done online.

Bkav took the wraps offits brainchild, the Bphone, on May 26 and officially put it on sale a week later.

Delivery has been delayed many times and the new date is July 3, according to the company’s spokesperson.

The Internet security firm-turned-smartphone maker recorded 11,822 orders in its first day of sales, but refused to say how many phones had been delivered in the first batch on June 18.

The recalled products will have their firmware upgraded by Bkav engineers, whereas their cameras will also be improved to “enable them to take better photos than the iPhone 6 Plus,” Hang asserted.

Bkav has consistently asserted its Bphone is capable of rivaling Apple’s iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy S gadgets.

The products will be returned on July 3 with a gift voucher of VND200,000 ($10), applicable to purchases at vala.vn, which is Bkav’s shopping site and the only channel via which the Bphone is distributed.

Bkav CEO Nguyen Tu Quang hailed the Bphone as the world’s best smartphone at the launch ceremony, attended by more than 2,000 people, in Hanoi last month.

However, the device has been hamstrung by a series of scandals since the launch, which illustrates that it is nowhere near the world level.

On June 5, Bkav began displaying demo versions of the Bphone at two FPT Shop mobile phone stores, one each in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, for users to have a first-hand experience.

However, only three days later, the company suddenly removed these devices from shelves, apparently because they had received negative comments from those who tested them out.

The demo versions reportedly have screens with poor display and slow performance quality that is even lower than some low-cost handsets, with Bkav protesting that these are only “demo, experimental versions rather than the official commercial devices.”

Bkav said it has developed its own operating system, called BOS, for the Bphone.

The platform is in fact developed from the core of Google’s Android, and local tech enthusiasts have also discovered that Bkav has yet to sign a Mobile Application Distribution Agreement with Google.

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Vietnam"s Bspanhone recalled for software uspangrades less than fortnight after delivery

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Vietnam’s realty giant gets $100mn from Warburg Pincus-led grouspan in fresh funding

The largest owner and operator of shopping malls in Vietnam has received a fresh US$100 million investment from a consortium led by a U.S. fund, in one of the country’s largest investments by a private equity firm.

A follow-on minority investment of approximately $100 million has been given by a consortium led by an affiliate of Warburg Pincus to Vincom Retail, the retail unit of Vingroup, Vietnam’s leading property firm, the Vietnamese company announced Monday.

Warburg Pincus is a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing, whereas Vingroup is the largest publicly-traded real estate developer and one of the largest companies by market capitalization in Vietnam.

The latest funding brings the total investment in Vincom Retail to date by the Warburg Pincus consortium to $300 million, making it one of the largest investments by a private equity firm ever in Vietnam, according to Vingroup.

The Warburg Pincus consortium made the first investment of $200 million to help build out Vincom Retail in May 2013.

Vincom Retail, the largest shopping mall operator in Vietnam, currently has 20 malls in operation or under development.

The existing prime assets of Vincom Retail include Vincom Dong Khoi and Vincom Thu Duc in Ho Chi Minh City; Vincom Ha Long in the northern province of Quang Ninh; Vincom Ngo Quyen in the central city of Da Nang; and Vincom Ba Trieu, Vincom Long Bien, Vincom Mega Mall Royal City and Vincom Mega Mall Times City in Hanoi.

The Vincom Retail malls are home to more than 700 domestic and international brands, with many major tenants, according to Vingroup.

Vincom Retail has more than tripled the size of its portfolio since it first partnered with Warburg Pincus two years ago, according to Vingroup CEO Duong Thi Mai Hoa.

“The follow-on investment by the Warburg Pincus Consortium is a vote of confidence from our investors in our strong performance to date and our long-term vision for both Vincom Retail and Vietnam,” Hoa said.

Vincom Retail is accelerating completion of its under-construction malls and developing broader retail platforms, such as VinMart, VinDS, VinFashion and VinPro, so the fresh investment will be of great help, she added.

Warburg Pincus, meanwhile, is so pleased with the growth and performance of Vincom Retail since the initial investment that it was willing to provide the new funding, according to managing director Jeffrey Perlman.

“We look forward to continuing to work closely with the Vingroup and Vincom Retail management teams to build the preeminent retail franchise in Vietnam,” he said.

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Vietnam’s realty giant gets $100mn from Warburg Pincus-led grouspan in fresh funding

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The 22 must-see sites in HCM City

1. Sit-own coffee: The park area that is blocked by the Reunification Palace and the Saigon Notre Dame has long become famous among local and foreign tourists as a special space where they can sit down on the ground to enjoy coffee and chat.

2. The “Pho Tay” (streets for foreign backpackers) includes the streets of Pham Ngu Lao, De Tham and adjacent neighborhoods in District 1. Most households here provide travel services, food at soft prices.

3. Thu Thiem Tunnel is the tunnel crossing the Saigon River, linking District 1 with Thu Thiem new urban area. With superior structure and design, Thu Thiem tunnel is the century work of Saigon.

4. Anh Sao (Starlight) Bridge in the new urban area of Phu My Hung, District 7. The bridge spans Thay Tieu canal to The Crescent  area.

5. Bitexco Financial Tower, which was named among the top 20 impressive skyscrapers in the world by CNN.

6. Turtle Lake is the folk name of the Cong Truong Quoc Te, a traffic roundabout with a fountain, connecting the three roads of Vo Van Tan, Pham Ngoc Thach and Tran Cao Van, located in District 3.

7. Ben Thanh Market has long been a symbol of the city.

8. Cholon is the name of the area including Binh Tay Market, District 5 and the surrounding areas, home to the community of Chinese Vietnamese.

9. Bach Dang consists of the harbor and the park of Bach Dang on the bank of the Saigon River.

10. Saigon Central Post Office is an European – Asian architectural work. After more than 100 years, it is still a post office and a tourist attraction.

11. East-West Highway and Vo Van Kiet Boulevard is a route through the center, reducing traffic congestion on the Saigon Bridge and the main axises of the city.

12. The Saigon Opera House was built in 1911, based on the Opéra Garnier in Paris. The theatre, designed by famous architect Broger Harloy, has 900 seats.

13. Nguyen Hue pedestrian street (District 1) only opens for tourists in the evening. This is also the location of a metro station that will be completed in 2016.

14. Vincom Center is the first energy-saving building in Vietnam.

15. Diamond Plaza is the destination for sightseeing, shopping and dining thanks to soft prices and stunning design.

16. Nhieu Loc Canal: After being renovated into a green, clean and beautiful canal, it has become a destination of local people and tourists. Boat tours on the canal will be offered from September 2015.

17. Independence Palace, also known as the Reunification Palace, the Reunification Hall is one of the important historic sites of Saigon. The Palace was built on an area of 4,500 m2, consisting of three main floors, 1 terrace, 2 mezzanines, ground floor, 2 basements and a rooftop helipad.

18. Museums: Museums in HCM City have their own unique architecture and the specimens on display.

19. Notre Dame Cathedral is the biggest church in the city.

20. Phu My is not only the first cable-stayed bridge of Saigon but also the most modern bridge of its type in the world. The bridge has six lanes and it connects Thu Thiem New Urban Area (District 2) and Phu My Hung (District 7).

21. Phu My Hung Urban Area (District 7) is one of the most modern urban areas in Saigon.

22. Food Streets: Saigon has many streets where restaurants sell similar products, for example Ha Ton Quyen street with sui cao, Nguyen Canh Chan road with fruits and Vinh Khanh with snail…

The 22 must-see sites in HCM City

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