Transactions at the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BIDV). — Photo courtesy of BIDV

HÀ NỘI — The global ratings agency Moody’s has announced to maintain the local and foreign-currency deposit and long-term issuer ratings of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam (BIDV). 

Moody’s assesses that the bank’s capitalisation is strengthened following the external raise in 2019, as well as steady improvements in asset quality following the resolution of legacy problem assets and write off of Việt Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC) bonds.

Funding is a key strength for BIDV as the bank’s deposit base is supported by its extensive branch network and strong relationships with large Vietnamese corporates.

BIDV’s long-term local and foreign-currency deposit and long-term issuer ratings were maintained – the highest ratings among Vietnamese banks.

As of 31 March 2020, BIDV’s total assets reached VNĐ1.4 quadrillion, maintaining the leading position among Vietnamese commercial banks. The bank has developed an extensive network, covering 63 provinces and cities nationwide, of 189 domestic branches, one foreign branch and 871 transaction offices by the end of March.

This year marks the 15th consecutive year that BIDV has been reviewed by Moody’s. — VNS

Source: Vietnam News

A view of Mỹ Phước Industrial Park, an IP of Becamex IDC. — Photo becamex.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Industrial park (IP) developer Becamex IDC Corp has announced its shares will be traded on the Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange with the code BCM starting from August 31.

The reference price of the first trading day was VNĐ28,000 (US$1.2) per share, meaning the company would have a market capitalisation of VNĐ28.98 trillion ($1.25 billion).

BCM stopped trading on unlisted public company market (UPCoM) on August 20. Nearly 23.5 million shares of BCM were listed on UPCom on February 18 at an initial price of VNĐ31,000 each.

BCM closed at VNĐ30,100 per share on the last trading day on UPCoM.

Becamex currently owns 14 industrial parks with a total area of 10,456 hectares, or 11.4 per cent of the total area of such parks in Việt Nam.

The company earned revenue of VNĐ2.48 trillion in the first half of this year with an after-tax profit of VĐ580 billion.

Becamex hopes to reach a revenue of more than VNĐ6 trillion and an after-tax profit of VNĐ931 billion for the full year. — VNS

Source: Vietnam News

Goods are loaded at a port in Việt Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) will officially operate as a joint stock company with the new name Việt Nam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) from September 1.

This information was announced at VIMC’s first shareholders’ meeting in Hà Nội on Thursday.

Lê Anh Sơn, chairman of the board of members of Vinalines, said the conversion to a joint stock company was an important step in the corporation’s operations, helping to increase resources for its parent company in innovating the management system.

From there, improving service quality and increasing competitiveness to ensure the sustainable development of businesses.

Besides, the official conversion to a joint stock company model has affirmed the successful restructuring of Vinalines under the direction of the Government.

Vinalines currently holds capital in 19 subsidiary companies and 16 associated companies.

According to the development orientation, the corporation will be an enterprise holding the leading position of the Vietnamese maritime industry, striving to become an enterprise with a regional brand name by 2030, which has the ability to compete at the international level and participate in regional market sharing.

Regarding production and business activities, leaders of Vinalines said that the picture of the world maritime industry in general would still have many difficulties and challenges.

The marine industry, which has not been overcome by a deep recession lasting more than 10 years, continues to face difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of the three main business areas of Vinalines, maritime shipping and maritime services will continue to face challenges in the future, meanwhile, the field of seaport operations will slow down.

The corporation sets a target that its output of sea transport will reach more than 18 million tonnes by 2025, revenue of VNĐ10.77 trillion, and consolidated profit of over VNĐ1.23 trillion.

On the same day, Nguyễn Cảnh Tĩnh was officially appointed as general director of VIMC. Before that, Tĩnh held the position of acting general director of the corporation for four years. — VNS

Source: Vietnam News

A warehouse of Vinamilk in HCM City. — Photo Vinamilk 

HÀ NỘI — Vietnam Livestock Corporation JSC (VLC), an affiliate of GTNfoods, plans to buy two million shares of Vinamilk, the largest dairy producer of Việt Nam listed as VNM on Hồ Chí Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE).

The transaction is scheduled from August 18 to September 16 this year. If successful, VLC will own 0.11 per cent of Vinamilk charter capital.

GTNfoods currently holds 74.49 per cent of stake at VLC, while Vinamilk owns 75 per cent of charter capital at GTNfoods.

With the opening price of VNĐ116,600 (US$0.7) per VNM share on Friday morning, VLC is estimated to spend VNĐ232.8 billion to own two millions of VNM shares.

Up to June 30 this year, VLC owned VNĐ1.1 trillion and conducted short-term finance investment, accounting for 64.2 per cent of total assets.

Mộc Châu Milk, a subsidiary of VLC, plans to list on the HoSE this year. It is planning to issue shares dedicated to its strategic shareholders Vinamilk and GTNFoods.

VLC’s opening price on Friday morning is VNĐ26,200 per share.  VNS

Source: Vietnam News

A customer makes a payment using e-wallet at a supermarket in HCM City. With more customers using e-wallets, mobile banking and web applications, banks and financial service providers need to build their cyber defences intelligently, cybersecurity company Kaspersky has warned. — Photo courtesy of nld.com.vn

HCM CITY — The obvious effects of the COVID-19 pandemic include the rapid increase in online payment services and digital banking across Southeast Asia.

Due to social distancing restrictions, people across the region now avoid brick-and-mortar bank branches and prefer the physically safer option of e-wallets and mobile payment applications, Yeo Siang Tiong, cybersecurity company Kaspersky’s general manager for Southeast Asia, said.

“It is, however, far beyond surprising. As early as late 2019, before COVID-19’s massive effects across SEA, I read an article which said online financial transactions in the region will be worth US$1 trillion by 2025 and the digital wallet segment will jump fivefold to $114 billion.

“I believe these two key sectors will go far beyond these predicted numbers as we try to minimise human contact for the sake of our physical health.”

A recent study by Mastercard found 40 per cent of consumers in the region saying they were using e-wallets more than ever, with Malaysia leading the way, he said.

On the other hand, cash is slowly being dethroned as king as fewer people use banknotes to buy or trade goods and services, he said.

“What makes the region a fertile land for digital banking and online payment is the fact that it has countries with a young population — millennials and Gen Z’s who are not used to physically visiting financial buildings or queuing for a long time to fill up forms with pen and paper like the generations before them did.

“Another important factor is that there is still a significant per cent of individuals who are unbanked or underbanked. This is particularly true in still emerging countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Việt Nam.”

At the centre of this digital revolution is trust. Customers are using e-wallets, mobile banking, and web applications driven by necessity, he said.

Now, more than ever, they need to trust financial institutions to secure their money, he said.

“Digital transformation, in any sector, always presents new challenges, but especially for banks and for financial services. To put it simply, revolutionising banks’ way of doing transactions means overhauling their legacy systems including people, process and technology.”

Humans remain the weakest link since, especially those who are not digitally native, lack proper awareness about the simplest risks like phishing and spam, while employees require new training and third-party services should be assessed comprehensively, he pointed out.

“When it comes to security, endpoint should be the foundation and banks should have known this by now. Financial services … should be looking at an adaptive approach in security which should be proactive rather than reactive – ready before an attack happens.”

The future may be foggy as different technologies continue to be developed, like AI, 5G, the Internet of Things, and cryptocurrency, but the past offers concrete lessons the financial sector could learn from, he said.

“Given the evolving nature of cyberthreats that are expected to become more sophisticated, it is also important that financial institutions have the necessary tools that help track threats that can evade regular endpoint solutions even before they hit you.

“We are in the middle of a digital revolution, and the use of online payment gateways and e-wallets are certainly here to stay and even increase. While it is a huge responsibility for banks and financial service providers to secure their virtual systems, I am certain they can pilot their way to the future as long as they build their cyber defences intelligently.” — VNS

Source: Vietnam News

Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine candidate protected against infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in pre-clinical studies. Photo courtesy of the company

HCM CITY— Johnson & Johnson on July 30 announced that its lead vaccine candidate protected against infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in pre-clinical studies.

The data, published in Nature, show the company’s investigational adenovirus serotype 26 (Ad26) vector-based vaccine elicited a robust immune response as demonstrated by “neutralizing antibodies,” successfully preventing subsequent infection and providing complete or near-complete protection in the lungs from the virus in non-human primates (NHPs) in the pre-clinical study.

Based on the strength of the data, a Phase 1/2a first-in-human clinical trial of the vaccine candidate, Ad26.COV2.S, in healthy volunteers, has now commenced in the United States and Belgium.

Paul Stoffels, M.D., vice chairman of the executive committee and Chief Scientific Officer for Johnson & Johnson, said: “We are excited to see these pre-clinical data because they show our SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate generated a strong antibody response and provided protection with a single dose. The findings give us confidence as we progress our vaccine development and upscale manufacturing in parallel, having initiated a Phase 1/2a trial in July with the intention to move into a Phase 3 trial in September.”

The robust Janssen COVID-19 clinical trial program, including the Phase 1/2a clinical trial and the Phase 3 clinical trial program, will evaluate both one- and two-dose regimens of Ad26.COV2.S in parallel studies.

The Phase 1/2a trial will evaluate the safety, reactogenicity (expected reactions to vaccination, such as swelling or soreness), and immunogenicity of Ad26.COV2.S in over 1,000 healthy adults aged 18 to 55, as well as adults aged 65 and older. Planning is underway for a Phase 2a study in the Netherlands, Spain and Germany and a Phase 1 study in Japan.

As the company plans its COVID-19 Phase 3 clinical development program, discussions are underway with partners with the objective to start a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of the single vaccine dose versus placebo in September, pending the interim data of the Phase 1 and 2 trials and approval of regulators.

Simultaneously, the company is also planning to start a parallel Phase 3 clinical trial of a two-dose regimen versus placebo.

The company also will emphasise representation of populations that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic as it designs and implements its COVID-19 Phase 3 trial program. In the United States, this would include significant representation of Blacks, Hispanic/Latinx and participants over 65 years of age.

The pre-clinical studies were conducted by researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in collaboration with the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and others as part of its ongoing collaboration to accelerate the development of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

Dan Barouch, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at BIDMC and the Ragon Institute, said: “The pre-clinical data, generated in collaboration with the Johnson & Johnson team, highlights the potential of this SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate. Moreover, the data suggest that antibody levels may serve as a biomarker for vaccine-mediated protection.” VNS

Source: Vietnam News

About 82 per cent of Tết shoppers said they often research things they want to buy online before purchasing them in shops. — Photo laodongthudo.vn

HCM CITY — Two-thirds of Vietnamese customers said that they will spend more during the year-end and Tết (Lunar new year) shopping seasons, according to the latest Facebook survey.

The survey said that in Việt Nam, 62 per cent of Gen X and Boomers (groups of customers aged above 40 years old) cared about “Online Shopping and In-store Pick Up” while 70 per cent have sent messages to at least one business during the year-end season.

On a global scale, shopping through mobile devices has become more and more popular, with 65 per cent of Gen X and Boomers spending more time using mobiles since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For Boomers, mobile research during holidays has grown by 20 per cent compared to the same period last year.

In Việt Nam, 82 per cent of year-end shoppers agreed that they looked for sales and bargains. Seventy per cent of surveyed shoppers say the Tết period was a good time to find the best deals. In fact, businesses in Việt Nam reported an increase in number of orders by almost two-three times compared to normal days during the three biggest shopping days, including November 11, Black Friday (last Friday of November) and December 12, according the survey.

Treating oneself with some “small luxuries” reflects the way people approach mega sale days and shopping for Tết.

In Việt Nam, eight out of 10 year-end shoppers said they looked to reward themselves with apparel, confectionery, food, household appliances and health & beauty products across the season. Up to 69 per cent of surveyed customers said that they had plans to spend “much or somewhat more” on Tết shopping in 2020 than in the previous year, said the survey.

The survey found that Vietnamese customers were more open to new products and services, both online and offline, during year-end seasons. 40 per cent of year-end shoppers in Việt Nam wanted authentic products and services with transparent information.

The survey suggested brands should personalise their approach to the GenX and Boomers on a large scale and deliver relevant messages to different target groups to enhance the customer interests and conversion during the year-end shopping seasons and Lunar new year celebration.

Discounts and promotions will continue to play a significant role as users have pushed back their purchase decisions due to COVID-19. Brands should give consumers more reasons and trust to reward themselves through relevant content and well-rounded customer consultation and care policies.

The year-end and Tết shopping seasons are opportunities for businesses to expand to their potential customers and reach new customers. Brands need an effective Omni-channel marketing strategy and take advantage of the power of social media to increase their customer interests and conversion in the upcoming holiday season. Brands should always be honest with customers, try new interactive formats like shopping via Live, games, and talking to consumers.

The online survey on shopping habits of shoppers across Southeast Asia from December 2019 to February 2020 was conducted by Facebook and YouGov, a global public opinion and data company. — VNS

Source: Vietnam News

An automobile assembling line of THACO Special Vehicles Manufacturing Limited Company in the central province of Quảng Nam. — Photo Thaco

 HÀ NỘI —  Trường Hải Auto Corporation, known as THACO, has exported its remaining 33 semi-trailers to the US, completing the contract to supply 69 units to the country in 2020.

In order to make its inroads into the US market, THACO has conducted surveys and signed a memorandum of understanding on distributing semi-trailers in the market with PITTS Enterprises Company – one of 15 major semi-trailers manufacturers in North America.

According to THACO, the semi-trailers are manufactured at THACO Special Vehicles Manufacturing Limited Company (THACO SV) in the central province of Quảng Nam, the firm that specialises in manufacturing high-quality semi-trailers and special vehicles for local and foreign markets.

THACO said that THACO SV has conducted surveys in foreign markets and seek partners in Japan, the US, Australia and the ASEAN region, in which the US is one of the most potential markets.

Since 2019, THACO SV’s research and development engineers have visited factories of its partners in the US to understand more about the demand and requirements of the market.

J.P Pierson, General Director of Dorsey Intermodal – a subsidiary of PITTS Enterprises, said THACO SV’s products completely meet requirements set by PITTS Enterprises.

He added that cooperating with THACO SV will help Dorsey increase its supply capacity from 3,000 to 10,000 products per annum, while meeting the diverse needs of customers that currently manufacturers in the US have not yet to meet.

Previously, on June 1, THACO shipped its first 36 semi-trailers to the US.

THACO SV expects to export more than 300 semi-trailers and fuel tanks to the US, Japan, and the Republic of Korea in the year.

The firm is also focusing on researching and developing export products for new markets such as the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, and Australia, while establishing joint ventures and partnerships to expand its export markets. — VNS

Source: Vietnam News

Binu Jacob, new managing director of Nestlé Vietnam. — Photo courtesy of the company

HCM CITY — Binu Jacob has been appointed managing director of Nestlé Vietnam.

Binu Jacob replaces Ganesan Ampalavanar, who held the position since February 1, 2015, and moves to Nestlé Indonesia as managing director.

Jacob has been working for over 22 years at Nestlé Group across Europe, the US and Asia, and was the regional business head and senior vice president of the baby nutrition business unit at Nestlé China just before this.

“Our purpose of enhancing the quality of life and contributing to a healthier future is now more important than ever,” he said.

“From our supply chain to our factories, we are working around the clock to ensure that we continue to meet the nutritional needs of Vietnamese families during this difficult time.

“People are at the heart of our business. Therefore, the health and safety of our employees, business partners and the communities where we operate are extremely important for us.

“Our people are fully committed and working to ensure that supply is maintained.”

Nestlé, the world’s largest food and beverages company, is headquartered in Switzerland. It has more than 2,000 brands and is present in 191 countries all over the world. 

It entered Việt Nam in 1992 as a joint venture, and in 1995 registered as a 100 per cent foreign enterprise.

The company produces and distributes nutritional, food and beverage products such as NESCAFÉ, MILO, MAGGI, and NAN. It has invested around US$700 million in Việt Nam and employs more than 2,500 employees at its six factories. — VNS

Source: Vietnam News

Source: Vietnam News