Day: November 3, 2022

 

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the technology sector have been witnessing a rebound in recent years as tech giants have employed M&A to expand their ecosystems.

 

Data from VnEconomy showed that M&A in the technology sector tripled in value and nearly doubled in activities in the past few years, from 22 deals in 2020 to 42 deals in 2021, reaching roughly 1 billion USD.

 

Tran Vinh Du, Strategy and Transactions Leader of Ernst & Young Indochina, remarked that private equity and venture capital investments in the sector continued to sustain strong growth in the first half of 2022 despite some turbulence in equity and debt markets.

 

A sizeable deal during the period was the deal of the Vietnam-based e-commerce solution provider OnPoint, which successfully raised 50 million USD from an indirect wholly-owned subsidy of Temasek.

 

The deal targeted Vietnam’s fast-growing e-commerce industry and became the largest private fundraising round in Southeast Asia’s e-commerce-enabler industry in the last five years.

 

“According to our research, the total value of deals transacted in the first half of 2022 in the country was almost the same as the figure of the whole of 2021 (4.97 billion USD),” Du said.

 

Ernst & Young also said global M&A activities would remain resilient in 2022, but further shocks could derail the outlook. In Vietnam, the main technology fields that have attracted a large number of investments include Fintech, Edtech, Logistics and business automation.

 

Le Han Tue Lam, director of the investment fund Nextrans Vietnam, asserted that few tech giants in Vietnam can afford to own start-ups of multiple tens of millions of dollars outright.

 

“The demand is tight on Vietnam’s startup M&A market,” Lam said.

 

Hoang Thi Kim Dung, head of Genesia Ventures Representative Office in Vietnam, shared this view, saying that most start-up M&A deals in the country are worth less than 10 million USD each.

 

“M&A in the technology sector has been of limited success mostly because of the expectation mismatch between acquirers and acquirees,” Dung said.

 

Some start-ups that are expected to reach near-unicorn status in the short term have been valued at between 100 million USD to over 3 billion USD.

 

Dung believed such valuations are so high that not many buyers are financially adequate to make acquisitions. She revealed that Genesia Ventures Vietnam is assisting a tech start-up in its M&A negotiation but reaching an agreement on price is not an easy task.

 

Lam, in contrast, believed tech firms are normally under-valued in their initial public offerings (IPO). She said it is hard to tell how the market would move in the short term as many firms have begun to make IPOs abroad.

 

Kieu Ngoan, deputy general director of Fibo Capital Vietnam, highlighted several criteria to choose M&A partners, including healthy cash flows, an expanding customer base, and a popular brand name.

 

“Choosing M&A partners is a four-tier process involving ten steps, focusing on their business system, financial, legal, human and risk factors,” she said./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

With nearly two billion Muslims in the world and rising demand for halal products, there is potentially a huge market for Vietnamese companies to exploit, experts said.

 

Nguyen Tuan, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) told a conference on November 1 that Vietnamese businesses should understand halal requirements to step up exports to one of the world’s fastest growing markets.

 

Demand for them is increasing among both Muslim and non-Muslim consumers, especially for consumer products, he said.

 

Large Muslim countries include the UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Pakistan, and others in the Middle East.

 

The demand for halal products is also increasing in the domestic market as more and more foreign Muslims come to Vietnam to travel, work and study.

 

Halal refers to any action or behaviour that is permissible in Islam, and includes things like slaughtering animals for meat in a strictly specified manner.

 

But the Vietnamese share of the halal market remains modest though it does not have technical or tariff barriers like in the US or EU.

 

Halal certification

 

Ramlan Osman, director of the Halal Centre of Vietnam, said to get halal certification, food products must not be tainted by pork or alcohol and have a negative impact on the environment.

 

The halal food production line must be completely separated from non-halal lines, he said.

 

The halal market also includes other products and services such as household goods, finance, fashion, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.

 

But the rules and requirements for non-food items are not stringent or do not require strict separation from non-halal products.

 

Experts said there are nearly two billion Muslims world-wide and the demand for Halal products is worth around 2.3 trillion USD annually.

 

Increasing disposable incomes in leading Islamic nations like the UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei is expected to expand the market, they said.

 

Since there are few Muslims in Vietnam, local companies are still not familiar with halal standards, which are different in each country.

 

The event was organised by the ITPC and Halal Centre of Vietnam./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Nearly 100 businesses are showcasing thousands of products at the 7th Vietnam Cycle & Vietnam Sport Show that kicked off in Hanoi on November 3.

 

The exhibition is supported by the Vietnam Sports Administration under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It has been co-organised by the Vietnam National Trade Fair and Advertising Company (Vinexad) and the Vietnam Automobile, Motorcycle and Bicycle Association (VAMOBA).

 

In his opening remarks, Nguyen Hong Minh, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sports Administration, stressed the strong development of the Vietnamese sport sector as reflected through its noted achievements at regional and international tournaments over the past time.

 

More and more enterprises and organisations have embarked on the production and business of sport products and services, he said, adding that the exhibition is expected to create cooperation opportunities for domestic and foreign firms.

 

The event sees the participation of famous brands at home and abroad such as Thong Nhat, Viet Phap, Ronyama, Top Right, Calli, Fuji, Marushi, Rikulau, Cybic, Chevaux, Hanoi Bike, Marin, Sebikes, Emotor Vietnam, T-T, Victoria and H.F.T.

 

Covering an area of 2,500 sq.m, the three-day exhibition features outdoor sports and entertainment, fitness and health care, sports fashion, two-wheelers and accessories, and sports infrastructure.

 

It also includes interactive activities and hands-on experience programmes for visitors, helping sport players access new product trends and models.

 

In 2019, the exhibition welcomed over 6,000 trade visitors from 16 countries and territories; sports product manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers and stores./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

The government of Indonesia aimed to reduce 38.5% of sea waste by the end of 2022 as part of its larger goal of removing 70% of marine debris by 2025.

 

Addressing a recent event, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that the Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries jointly held the National Initiative of Love of the Sea Month programme (BCL) in October to encourage fishermen to collect garbage at sea and educate them to maintain marine ecosystems.

 

The movement was launched in 14 coastal areas through October with the participation of at least 1,447 fishermen.

 

In the framework of this programme, one kilo of plastic waste was paid with one kilo of fish, so the fishermen could gather the trash from the sea when they cannot fish due to bad weather.

 

So far, 67 tonnes of garbage has been successfully transported by fishermen over almost one month, the minister said.

 

Up to now, the Love of the Sea Month programme has taken place in Banda Aceh, Medan, Padang, Tanjungpinang, Serang, Cirebon, Cilacap, Kubu Raya, Balikpapan, Kendari, Manado, Sorong, Badung, and Merauke./

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Elite Asian athletes will be invited to compete in the 2023 Vietnam International Half Marathon on January 1, 2023 in Hanoi.

 

The tournament, held by the Vietnam Athletics Federation in cooperation with the municipal People’s Committee, will be the first international standard event of its kind in Vietnam. It will be operated by Vietnamese referees and supervised by officials of the Asian Athletics Association.

 

It will be added to the federation’s annual competition system in 2023 and part of the city’s New Year celebrations.

 

Athletes, both elite and amateur, will compete in three categories of 5km, 10km and half marathon (21.0975km).

 

The Vietnamese federation will send invitations to marathon powerhouses in Asia, including Japan, the Republic of Korea and Chinese Taipei. In addition, Southeast Asian athletes who have participated in and won medals from the regional SEA Games will also be invited to the run.

 

Local participants, professional and amateur, are all welcome.

 

The organisers said athletes from Africa and other countries where marathon running has strongly developed would also be invited to ensure international standards and the tournament’s quality.

 

The invited runners will be announced next month.

 

A total purse of 500 million VND (20,100 USD) will be awarded to the winners.

 

Participants will also enjoy a dance and music performance on New Year’s Eve and take part in a countdown party at the Hoan Kiem Lake on December 31, 2022.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Women’s participation in peacekeeping operations was the main focus of a conference jointly held by the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations under the Ministry of National Defence and the Defence Attaché Office of the Australian Embassy in Hanoi on November 3.

 

Colonel Nguyen Nhu Canh, deputy head of the Vietnamese department, told the participants that among the 512 Vietnamese officers sent to United Nations peacekeeping missions, more than 70 are female.

 

The delegates touched upon challenges faced by female officers at UN peacekeeping missions and solutions to help women make better preparations for joining UN peacekeeping operations for the first time, among other issues.

 

The event demonstrates the pragmatic cooperation between Vietnam and Australia, especially in the context of the two countries preparing for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties and the upgrading of the agreement on the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on peacekeeping to a peacekeeping partnership.

 

Over the past time, Australia supported Vietnam in airlift during the deployment of the level-2 field hospital to the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, as well as in personnel training.

 

The Australian side has also exchanged experience and expertise with Vietnam in this regard and provided the Southeast Asian nation with equipment to serve the training and deployment./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on November 3 received Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Vietnam Obaid Saeed Al Dhaheri, who came to bid farewell to the State leader.

 

President Phuc appreciated the ambassador’s contributions to enhancing the friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, adding that Vietnam highly valued the important role of the UAE in the region and at multilateral forums.

 

He proposed the two countries implement measures such as stepping up the exchange of all-level delegations, coordinating in holding political, economic and cultural events towards the 30th founding anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2023; and continue coordinating and supporting each other at regional and international forums and organisations.

 

Vietnam wants the UAE to assist its early completion of procedures to become a Dialogue Partner of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), increase the exchange of business delegations, encourage the organisation of fairs, exhibitions and business forums, promote the establishment of the Vietnam – UAE Business Council, and study the possibility of starting negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).

 

On this occasion, the President asked the diplomat to convey his invitation to his UAE counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit Vietnam.

 

Thanking leaders of Vietnamese ministries and sectors for their support during his working tenure, Al Dhaheri affirmed that in any position, he will exert efforts to act as a bridge to boost the two countries’ relations.

 

The UAE is one of Vietnam’s leading economic, trade and investment partners in the Middle East. Two-way trade hit 5.3 billion USD last year, a year-on-year rise of 21%./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Phu Quoc island in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has welcomed 158 Uzbek tourists aboard a charter flight of Uzbekistan Airways.

 

The tourists were warmly welcomed by local authorities. They are scheduled to stay in Phu Quoc for 10 days.

 

According to Nguyen Minh Dong, Director of Phu Quoc International Airport, Phu Quoc will welcome one flight on the route each week.

 

Phu Quoc is known as a “pearl island” endowed with clear blue water beaches such as Bai Sao and Bai Dai, and plenty of local specialties including seafood, pepper and pearls, among others.

 

It was voted by readers of Condé Nast Traveler at the sixth place in the top 10 resort islands in Asia for 2022. It was also selected one of 25 best islands in the world by readers of US magazine Travel+Leisure.

 

Since the beginning of the year, Phu Quoc has welcomed 528 international flights. The island lured 1.74 million visitors so far this year, completing 87% of its target for the whole year./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency