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Vietnam Business Review

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Vol 02, January 11th 2017

BUSINESS REVIEW VIETNAM

Retail looks to hit record in-store sales in 2017



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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

HIGHLIGHTS


Vietnam’s economic panorama in 2016

ECONOMY

Key socio-economic management solutions promulgated

High hopes for Vietnamese economy

BANKING & FINANCE

Banks agree to buy back bad debts from VAMC

Open-end funds outperform VN-Index in 2016

INVESTMENT

Foreign beer companies boost investment in Vietnam

Samsung Display plans to invest another $2.5 billion in Vietnam: Yonhap

ENTERPRISES

Vietnam’s top F&B maker to list on UPCoM

Outstanding events of Vietnam's startup community in 2016

MARKET & PRICES

Housing crisis brews in Vietnam as low-income homebuyers forgotten

Goods suppliers ready for Tet

LEGAL UPDATES

New policy aims to boost growth of local enterprises, support industry

Government tightens conditions on gaming machines



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ECONOMY

Key socio-economic management solutions promulgated

VGP - The Government has issued Resolution 01/NQ-CP detailing key tasks and measures to realize the socio-

economic development plan and State budget estimate in 2017.

The Government tasked ministries, agencies, sectors, and enterprises to uphold the theme “Strengthening

disciplines, raising responsibilities, nurturing creativity, robust and sustainable growth.”

Stabilizing macro-economy and controlling inflation

The Resolution looked to stabilize the macro-economy and

control inflation. The Government tasked the Ministries of

Planning and Investment, Finance, Industry and Trade, Foreign

Affairs, and the State Bank of Viet Nam to keep a close watch

on domestic and foreign economic, trade, and financial

situations for active and timely measures; control inflation;

stabilize macro-economy; and boost growth.

The SBV was entrusted to work with other ministries, agencies,

and localities to regulate the monetary policies in a flexible and active manner; combine with fiscal and

other policies to rein in inflation; stabilize macro-economy, and promote growth; timely propose measures to

the Government and PM in response to new developments in the domestic and world markets. The SBV is

also in charge of managing the foreign currency and gold markets; submitting a project on prevention of

dollarization and goldenization (or reversion-to-gold).

The Ministry of Finance was asked to conduct close and active fiscal policies in accordance with the

monetary policies to stabilize the macro-economy and control inflation; work with other ministries, agencies,

and localities to exercise thrift practice; and monitor State budget spending.

Raising productivity and competitiveness

The Government tasked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to work with the Ministries of Industry and

Trade, Science and Technology, relevant ministries, agencies, and localities to compose and perfect

supportive policies on SMEs, especially those which encourage business start-up, innovations, and

competitive advantages.

The Ministry of Science and Technology was asked to work with related ministries, agencies, and localities to

research on the fourth industrial revolution and propose mechanisms and policies to optimize the revolution

and report to the PM in Q1, 2017.

Ministries, agencies, and localities were asked to implement the Government’s Resolution on the action

program to implement the 12th Party Central Committee’s Resolution on several major policies and

guidelines to continue renewing growth model; improving growth quality, labor productivity and economic

competitiveness; the National Assembly’s Resolution on economic restructuring plan in the 2016-2020 period;

and strive to improve the business environment at the average level of the ASEAN-4.

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Restructuring economy and renovating growth modal

The resolution targets to restructure the economy and renovate the growth modal by reshuffling public

investment, SOEs, and credit institutions; State budget, public debt, and public units; sectors and fields in line

with the new growth modal, higher labor productivity, competitiveness; boost trade promotion; open export

markets; and develop the domestic market.

Three strategic breakthroughs

The document also stipulates three strategic breakthroughs on socio-economic development in the 2011-

2020 period: (1) reforming and perfecting the socialist oriented market economy; (2) building a synchronous

infrastructure system; (3) raising manpower quality.

Building modern and professional administration

The Ministry of Home Affairs was assigned to cooperate with other ministries, agencies, and localities to speed

up the implementation of the Plan on State administration reform in the 2016-2020 period; research, amend,

and supplement administrative reform indexes for ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and the municipal and

provincial People’s Committees.

High hopes for Vietnamese economy

With stable economic growth and efforts of the government,

Vietnam is expected to meet its growth target this year,

according to economists and businesses.

Economist Tran Du Lich said Vietnam had maintained

economic growth and curbed inflation while speeding up

the settlement of bad debts, reducing lending interest rates

and restructuring equitised firms last year.

A positive sign is the government’s determination to build a

transparent and constructive cabinet that offers maximum

support to businesses.

In real estate, he said many projects have been delayed due to site clearance, not to mention difficulties in

the cost of land use, administrative procedures involving project approval and credit policies.

In order to develop a sustainable and stable real estate market, the government and localities should

remove such hindrances, he said.

Pham Xuan Hong, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery and Knitting,

hailed the government for achieving efficiency instead of chasing targets.

Vu Thanh Tu Anh, Director of Research at the Fulbright Economic Teaching Programme in Ho Chi Minh City,

said the biggest barrier to Vietnam during integration is capacity.

Opportunities are aplenty but tapping them requires brainpower and vision, he said, citing that the garment

sector is predicted to enjoy the most benefits when Vietnam accelerates global economic integration but is

incapable of performing the dying, fabric and weaving stages.


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BANKING & FINANCE

Banks agree to buy back bad debts from VAMC

VNS - Settlement of bad debts has shown positive

signs after some banks announced they would

buy back all their non-performing loans they sold

to the Viet Nam Asset Management Company

(VAMC).

At a meeting yesterday, Vietinbank chairman

Nguyen Van Thang said that in 2017 his bank

would focus on settling bad debts and would buy

all bad debts that it sold to VAMC.

In the context of fierce competition among banks,

Vietinbank would completely settle the bad debts in 2017 instead of 2018 as planned earlier, Thang said.

From 2007 to 2010, Vietinbank settled nearly VND10 trillion (US$440.52 million) of bad debts through a provision

of risk loans as well as recoupment and sales of bad debts.

By the end of 2016, Vietinbank’s bad debt ratio was kept under 1%. The bank’s outstanding loans in 2016

reached VND720 trillion, up 18% against 2015.

Vietinbank posted a profit of VND8.25 trillion in 2016, up 12% against 2015, while its total assets by the end of

2016 also surged by 22% to VND947 trillion.

Earlier, Vietcombank’s chairman Nghiem Xuan Thanh had also said that in 2017, his bank would buy all

VND4.3 trillion of NPLs that it sold to VAMC, three years sooner than as planned.

Thanh said that Vietcombank would settle bad debts itself through the use of provision, hoping that as and

when the bad debts are recouped the bank’s financial capacity would improve, helping it continuously to

cut lending interest rates.

At the meeting with Vietcombank last week, Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam Le Minh Hung told

Vietcombank to focus on settling NPLs through the sale of mortgaged assets.

Hung said Vietcombank made significant achievements last year in settling bad debts, which has brought its

bad debt ratio down to 1.45%, but these settlements were mainly through provisions, which reduced the

bank’s profits. Last year, Vietcombank spent around VND8.2 trillion for provisions, which equalled 121% of its

total NPLs. The bank’s pre-tax profit hit a record high of VND8.212 trillion in 2016, up 23.4% against 2015.

The Governor also instructed the bank to prioritise the completion of its restructuring project and determine its

position in the region in the next five to 10 years.

The bank will also have to take part in the restructuring of other ailing banks, but the Government would issue

detailed policies in this regard to ensure the bank is not affected by it, Hung said.

Nguyen Duc Kien, deputy head of the National Assembly’s Economic Committee, said that the move of

buying back bad debts showed that the business performance of the banks has been better.

Vietcombank in 2017 will buy all VND4.3 trillion of bad debts that it

sold to VAMC.




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With the move, Kien said, the pledge to settle bad debts of credit institutions with the use of the State budget

at a minimum is becoming a reality.

Open-end funds outperform VN-Index in 2016

Open-end funds operating in Viet Nam have

recorded a positive 2016 with rate of returns of some

funds outperforming the growth of the benchmark

VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange.

The VN-Index closed last year up 14.8% over

December 31, 2015. This is the general profitability of

the market but actual earnings depended on the

portfolios of investors.

Open-end funds were among few traders who beat

the growth of the Index in 2016.

SSI Sustainable Competitive Advantage Fund (SSI-

SCA) reported the highest growth rate in net asset value (NAV) of 24.3% as of January 5, 2017, its best result

since it began operating in 2014.

The fund, managed by SSI Asset Management Co Ltd, focusses on investments in companies with sustainable

competitive advantages and fixed income assets.

According to the fund’s November report, four top holdings of the funds accounted for 33.2% of its total

portfolio, including steelmaker Hoa Phat Group (HPG), 13.7%; Dabaco Group (DBC), 8.7%; dairy firm Vinamilk

(VNM), 5.9%; and Coteccons Construction JSC (CTD), 4.9%.

Except Vinamilk which declined 2%, the other three stocks posted big gains last year with price rises of

between 19% and 50%, of which HPG and DBC increased 50% and 41%, respectively by the end of

December.

The second most profitable fund in 2016 was a fund managed by VietFund, Vietnam Securities Investment

Fund (VFMVF1), with NAV growth of around 23% last year, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Its top holdings also included large-cap stocks like Vinamilk, software producer FPT Corp (FPT), PetroVietnam

Nhon Trach 2 Power JSC (NT2), Dabaco Group and Hoa Phat Group (HPG).

The other two funds which outperformed the VN-Index were Vietnam Blue Chips Fund (VFMVF4) a 20%, and

VCBF Blue Chip Fund (VCBF) at 19.5%.

Six of the 10 Viet Nam-based open-end funds also performed well last year, though their growth was below

the VN-Index expansion, with NAV increases of between 10% and 17%.

The average NAV growth of these 10 funds reached 17.5% in 2016.

Rate of returns of many open-end funds in Vietnam

outperformed the VN-Index in 2016.




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INVESTMENT

Foreign beer companies boost investment in Vietnam

VNA - With high growth potential, Vietnam has become a

promising destination for leading global beer companies,

according to Sai Gon Giai Phong newspaper.

Belgian Anheuser Busch InBev firm opened a beer factory in the

southern province of Binh Duong, while the Netherlands’ Heineken

plans to expand its factory in the southern province of Ba Ria –

Vung Tau and increase productivity from 50 million litres at present

to 60 million litres by 2025.

The Japanese Sapporo beer company has introduced new products to the public.

According to Kirin International Food JSC, Vietnam produced nearly 4.7 billion litres of beer in 2015, becoming

the world’s third largest beer producer. With this output, Vietnam recorded the highest growth rate of over 20

percent compared to 2014, much higher than the figure of 8.8 percent recorded by Belgium – the runner-up.

Asian and global beer output in 2015 saw year-on-year declines of 1.3 percent and 1.1 percent respectively.

Along with India, Vietnam is one of two nations recording consecutive growth in beer output over the past 15

years.

Samsung Display plans to invest another $2.5 billion in Vietnam: Yonhap

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's display panel

subsidiary plans to invest another 3 trillion

won ($2.51 billion) in Vietnam to boost

capacity, South Korea's Yonhap News

Agency reported on Tuesday, citing

unnamed sources.

Samsung Display is in talks with Vietnamese

authorities about the additional investment,

Yonhap reported without elaborating further.

A Samsung Display spokeswoman declined

to comment on the Yonhap report. A person

familiar with the matter told Reuters

separately on Tuesday the South Korean panel maker is considering additional investment in Vietnam but did

not comment further including on how much the company plans to spend.

Vietnam is a major smartphone manufacturing base for Samsung Electronics and its subsidiaries, which have

already invested billions of dollars in the country.


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ENTERPRISES

Vietnam’s top F&B maker to list on UPCoM

Nikkei - More than 500 million shares of Masan

Consumer will be listed on Vietnam's board for

unlisted companies (UPCoM) on Thursday, at the

price of 90,000 dong apiece.

Masan Consumer is one of the largest consumer

goods companies in Vietnam and owns popular

brands including Omachi and Kokomi instant

noodles, Vinh Hao bottled beverages, Vinacafe

instant coffee, Chinsu soy and Nam Ngu fish

sources. It is a subsidiary of Consumer Holdings,

owed by Masan Group, which is among the

biggest listed companies on Ho Chi Minh City

Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of

around $2.1 billion.

Masan Consumer products dominate in the local market. According to market researcher Kantar Worldpanel,

98% of Vietnam's households use at least one Masan product.

The company also exports to north America, Europe, Russia, China, Middle East and other Asian countries.

Thai brewer Singha Asia Holding in 2015 invested $1.1 billion to acquire 25% of Masan Consumer Holdings and

33.3% of Masan Beverage, a unit of the Masan Group that makes Su Tu Trang beer.

Masan hopes to take advantage of its strategic partnership with Singha to access 250 million consumers in

regional markets, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Thai investment also strengthens Masan's presence and new business sectors across the country while

facing bigger and older competitors such as Saigon Beer and Hanoi Beer, according to Dang Xuan Minh

from M&A Forum Research.

Conversely, the investment was seen as the fastest way for Singha to reach Vietnam's beer market through

the local distribution network.

In the first nine months of 2016, Masan Consumer reported 9.1 trillion dong ($400 million) in revenue and 1.65

trillion dong in net profit, meeting 63% and 60% of its full-year targets. It aims to grow 10% in both revenue and

net profit in 2017.

Masan Consumer is chaired by Nguyen Dang Quang, who is also the founder and chairman of Masan Group.

Currently, Masan Group owns the largest distribution network in the country, estimated at 300,000 retail stores.

Outstanding events of Vietnam's startup community in 2016

VNN - Vietnamese startups became better known worldwide in 2016 and are expected to shine even more

brightly in 2017.

Bottles of Masan's fish sauce are displayed for sale at a Fivamart

supermarket in Hanoi.




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Startup community in tumult because of

Criminal Code

One of the most controversial issues

among technology startups in 2016 was

Article 292 of the 2015 Criminal Code on

illegal provision of services on computer

and telecommunication networks.

The article said individuals and

institutions providing services without

licenses will be fined up to hundreds of

millions of dong or sentenced to non-custodial reform for two years.

This raised concern among startups because most technology startups deploy their business, provide services

and collect money via computer and telecommunication networks.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the August regular meeting proposed to remove the Article 292.

Startups receive huge foreign investment

As Vietnamese startups have become better known, they can catch the eyes of foreign investors. The deal in

which Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) and Golman Sachs poured $28 million into MoMo e-wallet

was considered the most successful capital call so far.

Other startups also received huge investment capital in 2016, including GotIt ($9 million), Vntrip.vn ($3 million)

and Toong ($1 million).

Silicon’s 500 Startups arrive

In early 2016, 500 Startups, a large US-based venture fund, announced it would set up a small fund with $10

million to pour capital into 100-150 Vietnamese startup projects

The fund in Vietnam will be managed by Binh Tran, the co-founder of Klout, and Eddie Thai. Both of them

were born in Vietnam but have been living for a long time in the US.

Vietnamese startups win international prizes

These included software which allowed practice for speaking English designed by two Vietnamese – Van

Dinh Hong, 33, and Ngo Thuy Ngoc Tu, 29 – and a Spanish PhD Xavir Anguera. Winning over 1,200 rivals, the

education startup won first prize at a competition held in Austin, Texas in the US.

One of the most controversial issues among technology startups in 2016 was Article 292 of the 2015 Criminal

Code on illegal provision of services on computer and telecommunication networks.

VND100 billion fund for agriculture startups

While most existing funds focus on injecting money into technology firms and F&B chains, SSIAM, a fund

belonging to Saigon Securities Incorporated, has set up a VND100 billion fund to invest in agriculture projects.

Hellomum, a safe food distribution chain, has become the first company receiving investments from SSIAM’s

fund.




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MARKET & PRICES

Housing crisis brews in Vietnam as low-income homebuyers forgotten

Vnexpress - Industry leaders warn that the market will suffer a

severe imbalance in supply if developers keep chasing after

upscale buyers.

Major cities in Vietnam have been told to prepare for more

urban challenges ahead as the housing market is expected to

fail the large number of low to middle income earners over the

next 10-15 years.

This group, believed to account for 80% of the market, has

been consistently overlooked by developers who mostly focus on the lucrative high-end segment.

Housing demand is rising fast in Vietnam, which has one of the highest urbanization rates in Southeast Asia.

Just 15 years ago, only 24.6% of its population lived in cities. Today, about 32 million people live in urban areas,

accounting for approximately 34.1% of the total population.

Urban planners estimated that Vietnamese cities will be home to 40 million people by 2025. But not all will be

able to find a home.

Since the country pushed through economic reforms 30 years ago, Vietnam's urban housing policy has been

radically changed and reshaped by involving private developers. However, even as more products hit the

market, they are mostly beyond the reach of low-income households and migrants.

Marc Townsend, general manager of property consultancy firm CBRE Vietnam, said that in the next 10 years,

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will still struggle with the supply-demand imbalance of affordable housing. The

company also believed home prices could increase by about 3% annually.

“By 2030, the largest cities Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will remain thirsty for low-cost housing,” said Le Hoang

Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association.

He said Ho Chi Minh City’s supply of affordable housing has kept shrinking in recent years, estimated at 27% of

the whole market in 2014, down to 25% in 2015 and then to 20% in the first nine months of 2016.

A changing market?

In an effort to meet the expected demand for low-cost housing, same developers have started going down

market, shifting their attention from high-end condominium complexes to affordable apartments.

Property giant Vingroup, for instance, has recently unveiled its new brand Vincity targeting low-income

residents. Apartments will range from VND700 million (US$30,800) to VND1 billion (US$44,000).

To put the figures into perspective, the country’s average annual income was estimated at US$2,200 last year,

according to the General Statistics Office.

Vingroup planned to build between 200,000 and 300,000 of these affordable apartments over the next five

years on the outskirts of seven cities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.


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“The new supply of affordable home priced between VND700 million and VND1 billion is expected to catch

up with the demand, as the result, mitigating the risk of a housing bubble,” said Chau from the association.

Stephen Wyatt from consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle said investors have been courting Vietnam’s

expanding middle-class population with higher incomes and they prefer high-end apartments, which they

believe can quickly bring back the money.

However, since 2015, experts have warned of an imbalance between supply and demand in the luxury

segment. Sales of high-end homes fell 10% in the first nine months of 2016, while those in the affordable

segment increased 10% from a year ago, according to Dragon Capital market data.

As several property giants announced large-scaled plans for affordable housing, the year 2017 may mark a

big move for the real estate market, said Wyatt.

Goods suppliers ready for Tet

SGT - Suppliers of necessities have readied themselves for

the upcoming Tet, or Lunar New Year, with higher volumes

of goods for the market than last Tet.

Van Duc Muoi, general director of Vietnam Meat Industries

Company (Vissan), said the company expects to provide

3,000 tons of fresh meat, including pork and beef, and

around 3,200 tons of processed food for the market

during Tet.

Vinh Thanh Dat Food Joint Stock Co. in HCM City is stocking

up on ten million poultry eggs per month from the beginning of the final lunar month to the end of the first

lunar month, its director Truong Chi Thien said.

The volume is equivalent to that of last Tet and egg prices are expected to stay stable during the coming

holiday season.

If the market has further demand, Vinh Thanh Dat can still provide more but Thien said he is afraid that

consumption may not be that high.

Nguyen Cong Thua, head of Anh Dao Agriculture Cooperative in the Central Highlands province of Lam

Dong, said the cooperative will launch 350 tons of products per day on the market during the last ten days of

the old lunar year.

Due to unusual weather this year, the volume of vegetables in Lam Dong’s farms has fallen 20% year-on-year,

Thua said and predicted that the market can fall short of farm produce.

Prices of vegetables may rise 30% in wet markets during Tet but will stay stable at supermarkets, he said.

The volume of goods prepared for Tet at supermarkets is higher than that of last year.

The Saigon Union of Trading Cooperatives, or Saigon Co.op, the operator of Co.opmart stores, has prepared

more than 110,000 tons of goods, up 15% over last year, with the volume of products under HCM City's price

stabilization program rising 5-30%.


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LEGAL UPDATES

New policy aims to boost growth of local enterprises, support industry

VIR - The trade and industry sector in HCM City plans to offer more support to local companies this year,

Pham Thanh Kien, director of HCM City’s Department of Industry and Trade, said at a meeting reviewing the

sector’s activities last year.

Kien said that representatives from the trade and industry sector would revise their approach this year and

hold direct discussions with company officials about their difficulties. In the past, companies which faced

challenges had to visit his department’s office.

This year, the trade and industry sector targets reaching an industrial production index growth of 7%, while

retail and consumption value is expected to increase by 8-8.5%.

To reach the goal, Kien said his sector would focus on stabilizing prices as well as the market, while

developing domestic distribution systems and increasing exports.

The department will also develop two sub-regions for the supporting industry, and with this investment, will aim

to reach a localisation level of more than 65%.

With the goal of organising a model market selling safe and clean food by 2020, the city plans to develop

industrial material sources for clean and safe processing.

Le Thanh Liem, deputy chairman of the city’s People’s Committee, said at the meeting that he had given

guidance to the city about the revised policy and goals.

He said the industrial production index growth should be 8%, while retail and consumption value must be 9%.

This growth would ensure that the city reach GDP growth of 8.3-8.7% this year, Liem said.

Last year, the sector had good growth, with the industrial production index gaining 7.33%, an increase of 33

percentage points compared to the annual target.

Government tightens conditions on gaming machines

VIR - Starting from February 15, 2017, gaming machines used in facilities currently open to foreigners in

Vietnam have to meet more stringent conditions.According to Decree 175/2016/ND-CP issued on December

30, 2016, which amends some clauses of Decree 86/2013/ND-CP dated July 29, 2013 on business in prize-

winning electronic games for foreigners, gaming machines used in the above facilities have to be 100% new,

with technical specifications clarified by the manufacturer, and certified by independent certifying agencies

operating in G7 countries.

Slot machines will have to offer a pay-out percentage of at least 90%, which is written in to the software that

is installed in to the slot machine while it is still in the factory.

If the operator of the facility changes the pay-out percentage, they have to make sure that the new

percentage is not lower than 90% and has to have the machine certified again before putting it into use. The

pay-out percentage has to be specified in the terms of the game.




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HIGHLIGHTS


VOV - The US founded retail chain 7-Eleven

announced plans in mid-2016 to open its first

store in Vietnam in the spring of 2017.

The company has an interesting history having

started out as Southland Ice Company in Oak

Cliff, Texas, 90 years ago, in 1946.

As a result of its stores being open from 7am to

11pm daily, the name 7-Eleven quickly caught

on and stuck even after the stores started

staying open 24 hours around the clock in 1971.

In 1969, 7-Eleven started its foray into overseas

markets with its expansion into the US northern neighboring market of Canada followed in quick succession

by its opening of stores across the US southern border into Mexico in 1971.

In 1974, it joined forces with a company in Japan with a similar sounding name – Seven-Eleven Japan – that

subsequently through a merger ended up becoming the parent company in November 2005.

Since then, 7-Eleven has opened stores in Thailand, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, China, Malaysia,

Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia and the UAE

through area licence and master franchise agreements.

The opening of its first 7-Eleven stores in 2017, marks the company’s presence in its 18th country.

“The 7-Eleven story is amazing and inspiring; we started as a small local ice house and have grown over the

years, store-by-store, community-by-community and country-by-country into an iconic global brand,” says

president/CEO Joe DePinto.

Last year, 7-Eleven opened on average one store every 2.5 hours – about 4,000 stores in total for the year. It

plans to continue its worldwide expansion.

The addition of 7-Eleven is most certainly a welcomed addition to the retail landscape of Vietnam.

Vietnam retail sales reached US$117.6 billion in 2016, according to figures of the General Statistics Office.

Sales rose 10.2% year-on-year, thanks in large part to foreign investment from overseas, especially Thailand,

Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Ranked among the 30 global retail markets with best opportunities by American management consulting firm

AT Kearney, Vietnam witnessed major mergers and acquisitions in the retail sector in 2016.

Retailers from Thailand – with Central Group and Berli Jucker the pioneers – gained a strong foothold in the

Vietnam market with Central’s stakes in Nguyen Kim and Big C and BJ acquiring Metro. Central plans to

double its network to 70 supermarkets and 13 shopping malls by 2021.




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Japanese retail operator Aeon joined the race with a 30% stake in Hanoi-based Fivimart and 49%of Ho Chi

Minh City-based Citimart. Department store operator Takashimaya stirred the market, opening its first Vietnam

department store inside the Saigon Center in Ho Chi Minh City.

Republic of Korea conglomerate Lotte Group introduced its first online store Lotte.vn, and plans to open 60

new supermarkets in Vietnam by 2020.

There are currently an estimated 800 supermarkets and 160 department stores and shopping malls across the

country, a number forecast to double in the next four years, thanks to government-backed development

plans.

Supermarkets, convenience stores and shopping malls account for 25% of total consumer spending – and

that is expected to rise to 45% soon.

The last three days before the New Year holiday in Ho Chi Minh City saw a rise of 20% in purchasing in all

commodities with food, confectionery and beverages driving growth.

The rise was partly due to promotional and discount programs, and is predicted to continue to grow in the

few weeks in the run up tothe TET (Lunar New Year).

Vietnam’s economic panorama in 2016

Bizlive - Here’s a look back at Vietnam’s economic performance in 2016 and the previous years through

major indicators.




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Vietnam Business Review - SEIKO · PDF fileSSI Sustainable Competitive Advantage Fund (SSI- ... Except Vinamilk which declined 2%, ... Vietnam Business Review