Talk Vietnam

Buoyed by increasing interest in taking up loans for purchases among the Vietnamese population, recent years saw an impressive growth of personal finance companies in Vietnam, with FE Credit, Viet Credit, SHB Finance, and Easy Credit, among others, joining the market. The market is expected to thrive with some newcomers backed by giant Oriented Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) and Asian Commercial Bank (ACB). It is interesting that many of the current businesses are an extension of the retail banking business of some banks. Their business network, IT, and risk control system, as well as strong capital foundations, bear the marks of commercial banks. For example, FE Credit, a consumer lending company of VPBank and one of the largest players in the industry, announced that its revenue made up 30 per cent of VND9.2 trillion ($400 million) of VPBank’s overall pre-tax profit. With its return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) of 2.5 and 22.9 per cent, respectively, the firm … [Read more...] about More firms competing for shares in Vietnamese consumer lending market

Masan MeatLife officially debuted on the securities market on December 9 The day officially saw 323.3 million MML stocks worth VND26 trillion ($1.13 billion) launched on the UpCoM at VND80,000 ($3.48) per stock. However, after the first session, the stock fell by 12.6 per cent or VND10,000 ($0.43) in price, hence MML's market capitalisation shrank by nearly VND3.3 trillion ($143.48 million) to $976 million. Two years ago, VN Consumer Meat II Pte., Ltd. purchased 7.5 per cent of Masan MeatLife for $150 million. The stock price at the time was VND210,000 ($9.13), equalling $2 billion in capitalisation. At the time of launching on the securities market, the company gave wind to ambitions of conquering the local meat market the way Vinamilk has been dominating the milk segment. Masan MeatLife currently has 10 factories with the annual capacity of 3 million tonnes. Moreover, the Masan subsidiary also developed a distribution system of more than 4,500 dealers across the country. According … [Read more...] about Masan MeatLife yet to live up to IPO expectations

FIFA President Sepp Blatter (left) accepted the congratulations of Michel Platini after being re-elected as FIFA president in 2015. Both men are now banned. (AFP/MICHAEL BUHOLZER) FIFA banned Platini, its then vice president, in 2015 over the payment he received, sparking years of bitter recriminations from the Frenchman and a falling out with his former ally Blatter. In a document seen by AFP on Wednesday (Dec 11), FIFA said it would take action "to recover the money illegally paid by the former President of FIFA to the former Vice President of FIFA." Platini declined to comment but his lawyer, Vincent Solari, called the developement "harassment" of his client. "It is obviously an announcement whose sole purpose is to continue to try to bring discredit on my client," Solari, who is based in Geneva, said in a statement. FIFA said it planned to sue Blatter at the same time and would be seeking "interest at the appropriate rate" and "disciplinary fines and costs ... both ordered but … [Read more...] about FIFA to take legal action to recover US$2m from Platini

Vietnamese consumers may soon be able to enjoy the results of the historic merger (Photo: Le Toan) Under the deal announced last week, Vingroup’s VinCommerce and VinEco arms will merge into Masan Consumer Holdings, the retail consumer business of Masan Group, to help establish a leading consumer retail group with a network of over 2,600 supermarkets and convenience stores in Vietnam, in which Masan will take control, while Vingroup will be a minor shareholder. The value of the deal has not been disclosed so far, but it may be the largest mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deal of 2019, igniting a competitive retail war. Looking into the deal, Vietnam director at the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (CMA) Long Phan said, “The deal brings benefits to both sides. Masan holds a manufacturing ecosystem with 180,000 points of distribution of consumer goods and subsidiaries like Vinacafé Bien Hoa, Vinh Hao Mineral Water, and Masan Meatlife. VinCommerce owns a … [Read more...] about Merger may bring retail renaissance

  Lê Hoài Trung, deputy foreign minister Lê Hoài Trung, deputy foreign minister talks to the press about Việt Nam’s achievements in promoting human rights What achievements has Việt Nam gained in protecting and promoting human rights? The protection and promotion of human rights have been firm commitments of the Vietnamese State over many decades. Human rights have been placed in the centre and been considered an objective and motivation for all policies and actions of the country. Though Việt Nam has faced many difficulties and challenges, the task of protecting and promoting human rights has achieved many notable achievements. Since the 2013 Constitution was approved, the work of legal reform and the completion of national institutions and policies has been further promoted. Up to now, Việt Nam has adopted more than 100 laws and codes which relate to human rights. On November 20, the National Assembly passed the Labour … [Read more...] about Việt Nam works to protect human rights