Binh Dinh: German Investors Want to Build A Wind Farm, Korean Businesses Interested in Assembling Cars

  In the last days of August and early September 2020, many potential investors from Korea and Germany have come to study opportunities to set up company and invest in Vietnam and specifically Binh Dinh province to explore investment opportunities, with billion USD projects.

At the meeting of the departments of Binh Dinh province with leaders of Hyundai Aluminum Vina Company and Cammsys Company of Korea coming to explore investment opportunities in this province, according to representatives of Cammsys Company, the company wants to find a suitable partner to develop and assemble electric cars and ready to transfer production technology to develop electric car in Vietnam market.

Through a field survey in Binh Dinh, the Company highly appreciates the infrastructure, traffic connection of the province with the region and the world, and wishes to cooperate with the development of projects to supply electric cars for the regions, tourist resort and production association of this vehicle in the province.

Meanwhile, the representative of Hyundai Aluminum Vina Company with the cooperation in Vietnam has been 14 years now; Total investment capital of the Company’s projects in Vietnam is up to 5 billion USD in many different fields. On this occasion, when coming to Binh Dinh province, Hyundai Aluminum Vina Company hopes to find a clean space with an area of about 200 hectares to invest in the infrastructure of the high-tech industrial park. If found a suitable position and approved for investment, the company will call and attract about 60 Korean investors to come and do business.

Binh Dinh has Quy Nhon Port which is the most convenient international trade gateway of the Central Highlands region and the province of southern Laos, northeastern Cambodia to countries around the world. In addition, the province also has a complete transportation system and infrastructure connecting air, road and railway, with direct flights to Korea. In addition, Binh Dinh is always and ready to support and create favorable conditions for mechanisms and policies, reform of administrative procedures, and support for investors.

In terms of German investor, Director of the High-Level Offshore Wind Power Project – PNE Group proposed to develop an offshore wind power park in Binh Dinh province with a total investment of 1.5 billion USD. This is one of the investors with more than 20 years of experience developing onshore and offshore wind power projects in Germany. At the same time, learning about mechanisms and policies to encourage wind energy development in Binh Dinh and the process of developing and approving wind power projects in Vietnam.

The group’s leaders believe that the implementation of the wind power park project in Binh Dinh province will make Vietnam become a competitive wind power supplier in the region and globally, contributing to the completion of sustainable development goals and the goals set out in the Vietnam Renewable Energy Development Strategy to 2030, with a vision to 2050, approved by the Prime Minister.

Vice Chairman of Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee welcomed the PNE Group for their interest in researching and proposing project investment in the province; At the same time, commiting to create the most favorable conditions for investors during the project implementation.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/binh-dinh-german-investors-want-to-build-a-wind-farm-korean-businesses-interested-in-assembling-cars.html

Set up business in Vietnam or invest in contractual forms?

 

Foreign investors could make direct investment in Vietnam through different ways.  They could set up business in Vietnam or invest in the contractual forms of: BCC, BO, BTO, and BT.

Types of enterprise for foreign investors to invest and set up business in Vietnam are as following:

Set up Limited Liability Company in Vietnam

Limited Liability Company is a form of enterprise which is established by contributing of members.  A member shall be liable for the debts and other property obligations of the enterprise within the amount of capital that it has undertaken to contribute to the enterprise.

Limited liability companies are regulated by two types:

–    One member Limited Liability Company is an enterprise owned by one organization or individual;

–   Limited Liability Company with two or more members is an enterprise owned by organizations or individuals, in which the number of members shall not less than two members and not exceed fifty.

Organizational and management structure of Limited Liability Company normally comprise of a Member’s Council, General Director or Director.

Set up Joint Stock Company in Vietnam

Joint Stock Company is an enterprise which has charter capital divided into equal portions called shares.   The minimum number of shareholders shall be three and there shall be no restriction on the maximum number.

Shareholders shall be liable for the debts and other property obligations of the enterprise only within the amount of capital contributed to the enterprise.

Joint Stock Companies may issue all types of securities to raise funds.  Founding shareholders must together register to subscribe at least twenty per cent (20%) of the number of ordinary shares which may be offered for sale.

The main difference between Joint Stock Company and Limited Liability Company is the Joint Stock Company can raise funds by offering shares or securities.  In addition, an enterprise tends to join the Stock exchanges or public company must be a Joint Stock Company. Management system of Joint Stock Company is more complicated than Liability Company.

Set up Partnership in Vietnam

A partnership is an enterprise which must be at least two members being co-owners of the company jointly conducting business under one common name.  In addition to unlimited liability partners, there may be limited liability partners.

Unlimited liability partners must be individuals who shall be liable for the obligations of the company to the extent of all of their assets.  Limited liability partners shall only be liable for the debts of the company to the extent of the amount of capital they have contributed to the company.

Set up Representative Office of Foreign Trader in Vietnam

A foreign business entity or a foreign trader is allowed to establish Representative Office in Vietnam.

Representative office of a foreign business entity in Vietnam (referred as “Representative Office”) means a subsidiary unit of the foreign business entity, established in accordance with the law of Vietnam in order to survey markets and to undertake a number of commercial enhancement activities permitted by the law of Vietnam.

Representative Office will need to apply and obtain the establishment license; and have a seal bearing the name of the representative office.

Representative Office is not allowed to directly conduct profit making activities in Vietnam (i.e: the execution of contracts, direct payment or receipt of funds, sale or purchase of goods, or provision of services), but the representative Office is permitted to

• To operate strictly in accordance with the purposes, scope and duration stated in the license for establishment of such representative office;
• To rent offices and to lease or purchase the equipment and facilities necessary for the operation of the Representative Office;
• To recruit Vietnamese and foreign employees to work for the Representative Office in accordance with the law of Vietnam;
• To open accounts in foreign currency and in Vietnamese Dong sourced from foreign currency at banks which are licensed to operate in Vietnam, and to use such accounts solely for the operation of the Representative Office.

Set up Branch of Foreign Trader in Vietnam

The Branch of a foreign business entity in Vietnam (referred as “The Branch”) means a subsidiary unit of the foreign business entity, established in accordance with the law of Vietnam in order to enter into contracts in Vietnam and conduct activities being the purchase and sale of goods and other commercial activities consistent with its license for establishment in accordance with the law of Vietnam and any international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

The Branch will need to apply and obtain the establishment license; and have a seal bearing the name of the Branch.

The Branch is permitted to conduct activities being the purchase and sale of goods and other commercial activities consistent with its license for establishment in accordance with the law of Vietnam and any international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

Investment by Signing Contracts in Vietnam

Beside having the options to set up business in Vietnam, investors could also choose to invest by not setting up a new entity.  Business co-operation contract (BCC) means the investment form signed between investors in order to co-operate in business and to share profits or products without creating a legal entity.

Build-operate-transfer contract (BOT) means the investment form signed by a competent State body and an investor in order to construct and operate commercially an infrastructure facility for a fixed duration; and, upon expiry of the duration, the investor shall, without compensation, transfer such facility to the State of Vietnam.

Build-transfer-operate contract (BTO) means the investment form signed by a competent State body and an investor in order to construct an infrastructure facility; and, upon completion of construction, the investor shall transfer the facility to the State of Vietnam and the Government shall grant the investor the right to operate commercially such facility for a fixed duration in order to recover the invested capital and gain profits.

Build-transfer contract (BT) means the investment form signed by a competent State body and an investor in order to construct an infrastructure facility; and, upon completion of construction, the investor shall transfer the facility to the State of Vietnam and the Government shall create conditions for the investor to implement another project in order to recover the invested capital and gain profits or to make a payment to the investor in accordance with an agreement in the BT contract.

Foreign investors may sign BOT, BT and BTO contracts with a competent State body to implement infrastructure construction projects in Vietnam. Typically, the contracts are for projects in the fields of transportation, electricity production, water supply, drainage and waste treatment.

The rights and obligations of the foreign investor will be regulated by the signed BOT, BT and BTO contract. The Government encourages both public- and private-sector investors to participate in BOT, BTO and BT in the following sectors:

(i)  Construction, operation and management of brand-new infrastructure facilities; and

(ii) Renovation, expansion, modernization, operation and management of the existing infrastructure facilities such as:

•     Roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferry landings;

•     Railway bridges and railway tunnels;

•     Airports, seaports and river ports;

•     Clean water supply systems; sewage systems;

•     Wastewater, waste collecting and handling systems;

•     Power plants and power transmission lines;

•     Infrastructure works of health service, education, training, career training, culture, sport and offices of State agencies; and

•     Other projects as may be determined by the Prime Minister

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/set-up-business-in-vietnam.html

Many “American eagles” expressed their desire to invest and expand into Vietnam

 After the Covid-19 pandemic with unremitting efforts, Vietnam has affirmed its capacity in all aspects with other countries, especially the capability to fight against Covid and quick return focus to business. Therefore, Vietnam is becoming an attractive investment destination for global investors including American companies. With the stable political situation, young and abundant human resources and commitment to investment facilitation from the Vietnam Government, it has become a great motivation for American investors to choose Vietnam as a safe and effective investment destination to set up company and expand business in Vietnam.

On the occasion of Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s business trip to attend the Special Summit to celebrate the 45th anniversary of ASEAN- America relations, many big American enterprises such as Intel, Apple and Google have shared their desire to expand the supply chain, cooperate in technology and move production to Vietnam by coordinating with Vietnamese enterprises that have suitable capability to participate. This is also considered a great opportunity for Vietnam to interact with the world’s leading advanced economy to improve its labor capacity and is a potential market for workers to learn and demonstrate their abilities.

Specifically, Apple wants the Vietnamese Government to continue to have preferential policies to encourage high-tech American enterprises to develop business and invest in Vietnam. On the other hand, Apple also affirmed that it will actively consider the Prime Minister’s proposal on increasing the number of domestic suppliers and raising the rate of using domestic services and goods higher in Apple products in the near future.

In addition, Intel also showed its interest in the Vietnamese market by emphasizing the very important role of Vietnam and Vietnamese factories in Intel’s production chain. Moreover, Intel also highly appreciates Vietnam’s infrastructure and human resources as potential conditions for technology enterprises to continue to expand their operations. Especially in today’s volatile world, Intel’s expansion of investment in Vietnam is a strategic solution.

Currently, Microsoft is working with Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications to deploy digital skills programs both private and public sector, and data science development in Vietnam. Accordingly, technology will help enhance transparency and trust, prevent and fight corruption. Vietnam has a young population, a dynamic country, ready to receive new technologies Microsoft wishes to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam in the fields of digital transformation, ensuring network security, helping Vietnam achieve the goal of reducing emissions to zero by 2050 and contribute to helping Vietnam build a green economy, digital economy, and sustainable development.

In addition, in order to attract foreign investment, the Prime Minister emphasized that the “sincerity, trust and responsibility” stance, “harmonious benefits, shared risks” between big American and Vietnamese enterprises will help the relationship between the parties is stable and good. In addition, to implement the commitments it has joined, Vietnam is continuing to build and perfect institutions suitable to Vietnam’s conditions and circumstances. Moreover, the development of strategic infrastructure such as digital transformation infrastructure, transport infrastructure, energy infrastructure, healthcare infrastructure… will also be the focus of completion to attract foreign investors to establish business in Vietnam.

Besides, Vietnam continues to improve the open and stable business environment, and effectively handle administrative procedures. In particular, digital transformation will help reduce direct transactions, fight negativity, trouble, corruption, save time and costs for people and businesses. Therefore, Vietnamese businesses need to innovate in both capacity and organization to capture this opportunity well.

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/setting-up-company-in-vietnam/many-american-eagles-expressed-their-desire-to-invest-and-expand-into-vietnam.html

Indian Businesses Consider Vietnam as a New Investment Destination

  On the occasion of the 45^th anniversary of Vietnam - India diplomatic relations and 10 years of strategic cooperation between the two countries, Mr P. Harish, Ambassador of India to Vietnam said that the two countries' cooperation is very nice, many Indian businesses are considering Vietnam as a new investment destination in the region and choose to set up business in Vietnam.

India and Vietnam relationship have been developing very strongly since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1972. The two countries advanced their relationship into strategic partnership in 2007 and then became comprehensive strategy in September 2016, when the Prime Minister of India visited Vietnam. This cooperation framework includes security, defense, economic and cultural cooperation, high-level delegation exchanges and people-to-people exchanges.

In terms of trade, bilateral trade has increased tenfold, from 1.15 billion USD in fiscal year 2006 – 2007, to 10.1 billion USD in fiscal year 2016 - 2017 (according to Indian data). The two countries' leaders have set a bilateral trade target of 15 billion USD by 2020. India is among the top 10 trading partners of Vietnam and Vietnam is India's fifth largest trading partner in ASEAN region.

Regarding investment, Vietnam currently has 136 Indian projects, with a total registered capital of about 1.28 billion USD, including capital from India through third countries, mainly focusing on areas as oil and gas, renewable energy, minerals, agricultural product processing, information technology and automotive components. The latest project of India in Vietnam is the instant coffee processing project of Tata Coffee Company in Binh Duong province, with a total registered capital of 63 million USD.

In order to achieve this goal, Vietnam and India need to work more closely in strengthening the exchange of business delegations and encouraging investment in one another, to promote trade.

In addition, Vietnam and India are expected to strengthen connectivity in aviation and sea line. Expected this year, Vietjet will open direct flights to India. Furthermore, linkage in the banking and finance sectors is also accelerating. Also, India has also strengthened its projects in Vietnam in the areas of human resource development, IT capacity building, English language teaching and science and technology.

With such a multidisciplinary approach, we can realize a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and explore the potentials of two nations.

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/indian-businesses-consider-vietnam-as-a-new-investment-destination.html

Vietnam Increases Ranking in The List of Global Competition

  The Global Competitiveness Report 2017 - 2018 was announced on September 26^th 2017, confirming that countries are improving in terms of health, education and technology.

The latest global competition list of the World Economic Forum shows a messy picture of Asia, while Vietnam and Indonesia jumped in rank, Japan and India slumped.

Vietnam jumped to 55^th place, up 5 steps compared with last year and 20 steps compared with 5 years ago. Accordingly, Vietnam has made remarkable progress in terms of technology and labor market efficiency. Trade is also a key factor that help Vietnam increasing ranking. Specifically, Vietnam is ranking 7^th in terms of import ratio against GDP and 11th in export ratio against GDP.

The withdrawal of the US from the TPP may have removed some future trade opportunities of Vietnam, but the report states that "Vietnam’s growth is expected to be sustained, thanks to strong exports activities".

Meanwhile, Indonesia ranked 36^th, up from the 41^st position of last year. Other Asian countries that also increased in rank are: Malaysia (23^rd); China (27^th) and Thailand (32^nd). The Philippines also rose one step to 56^th.

Japan led the opposite direction: Ranked 9^th after decrease ranking in two consecutive years. The world's third-largest economy continues to grow well in areas such as infrastructure, health and education, but is struggling with macroeconomic environment due to massive public debt.

Although leaping two years ago, India dropped one step down to the 40^th position. Singapore again dropped to 3^rd position, behind the United States.

We, ANT Consulting company, support you with the service of setting up a company in Vietnam, Risk management in Vietnam, Employee background check in Vietnam... to help you shorten the implementation time.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/vietnam-increases-ranking-in-the-list-of-global-competition.html

Macau Casino Group Poured Billions of Dollars into Vietnam

  Sun City is currently the largest casino resort group in Macau, spending billions of dollars investing heavily in casino resorts in Asia and set up casino business in Vietnam.

The group was founded in 2007, owns about 17 VIP clubs and 280 gaming tables, serving Macau's largest betting and casino market as well as VIP clubs in Korea, China and Philippines.

Currently, Sun City operates large casinos with monthly betting up to 130 billion HKD (approximately 17 billion USD). However, in order to expand its business in Asia, Sun City is spending billions of dollars investing in casino real estate projects in Japan and other countries, including Vietnam.

This plan of Sun City kicked off in 2014 with the acquisition of shares and the bid to operate large casinos in many countries.

In Vietnam, a 4 billion USD casino resort project in South Hoi An is underway to build phase 1 with a total investment of 500 million USD with the participation of Sun City. Three partners involved in investing in this billion dollar resort complex are Sun City, Chow Tai Fook (Hong Kong) and Vinacapital.

According to Bloomberg, Sun City owns 34% of the complex through its subsidiary and has acquired the casino management contract of the project.

The South Hoi An project has scale of up to 985.6 ha, the total investment is 4 billion USD. Currently, the phase 1 of the project is expected to develop on an area of about 163 ha, with an investment of nearly 500 million USD, including resort, casino complex, luxury golf course, hotel rooms, luxury apartments and add-ons...

Previously, Sun City has also been eyeing the Vietnam resort market when concerning and want to invest in a casino project in Duong To (Phu Quoc). However, due to the land fund in this area has been licensed to other investors, Sun City wants to replace by Rach Tram, Bai Thom commune.

In 2010, VinaCapital and Genting Berhad of Malaysia were licensed to invest in South Hoi An project, however, due to financial difficulties, in 2012, Genting Berhad unexpectedly withdrew from this project, thus VinaCapital has been continuously seeking for investment cooperation partner. In 2014, Hong Kong billionaire Cheng Yu Tung - the owner of Hong Kong's Chow Tai Fook, a Hong Kong-owned jewelery and real estate group, ranked by Forbes as the fourth richest person in Hong Kong with total assets worth 16.2 billion USD has participated into this project, in partnership with Sun City and VinaCapital.

With the expansion of casino-based real estate business in Vietnam as well as in other countries in the region, Sun City is clearly seeking to become a leading casino corporation in the world, such as Las Vegas Sands or Wynn Resorts.

According to Bloomberg, Sun City's expansion ambitions are planned even when the Macau casino market is growing fast thanks to China's economy recovering and players spending more and more money, with a 20.4% increase in August. Casino revenue in Vietnam is estimated at 1.2 billion USD, according to Grand Govertsen, a Macau-based gaming analyst. Finally, also according to this report, Vietnam now has about 30 gaming establishments with prizes with 1,900 slot machines and 400 tables. With the relationships with VIP customers of Sun City, it is believed that the project will achieve significant ROI.

We, ANT Consulting company, support you with the service of setting up a company in Vietnam, Risk management in Vietnam, Employee background check in Vietnam... to help you shorten the implementation time.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/industry/macau-casino-boss-poured-billions-of-dollars-into-vietnam-real-estate.html