KTFA:   Vietnam:

Henig:  Banks suffered big losses from securities trading in 2022

February, 11/2023 - 08:52

Fiin Ratings attributed the banks’ negative results in securities trading and investment to the interest rate hike, the exchange rate uncertainty, the sharp decline of stock indices and the ‘freezing’ of the corporate bond market.

HÀ NỘI — Many banks reported negative results in securities trading and investment in 2022 due to the interest rate hike, the exchange rate uncertainty, the sharp decline of stock indices and the ‘freezing’ of the corporate bond market, cafef.vn reported.

At State-owned VietinBank, most of its main business segments experienced positive development in the last quarter of 2022. The bank’s net interest income rose by 23.6 per cent to VNĐ12.85 trillion and the net income from service activities increased by 53 per cent to more than VNĐ1.78 trillion while the net income from foreign exchange trading was VNĐ1.123 trillion, up by nearly 2.5 times year-on-year.

However, VietinBank’s proprietary trading made a loss of VNĐ126 billion in 2022. The result was much worse than the previous year when the bank made a profit of VNĐ720 billion in the business segment.

Another State-owned big player Vietcombank was also under the same trend. Though the bank’s net interest income grew by 38.8 per cent to VNĐ14.8 trillion, its proprietary trading in 2022 made a loss of VNĐ115 billion, while it made a profit of VNĐ137 billion in 2021.

Techcombank also had proprietary trading seeing a loss of VNĐ241 billion in 2022, against a profit of VNĐ152 billion in 2021.

Sacombank also recorded negative results from proprietary trading. Specifically, the bank lost VNĐ20 billion from the activity in 2022, while in the previous year it made a profit of VNĐ163 billion.

TPBank’s pre-tax profit in 2022 was nearly VNĐ7.83 trillion, up 30 per cent against the previous year, but the bank’s net income from proprietary operation fell by 70 per cent.

According to the quarterly consolidated financial statement recently released by ACB, the bank’s pre-tax profit in 2022 was more than VNĐ17.11 trillion, up 43 per cent year-on-year, thanks to a decrease in credit risk provisions and an increase in income from service activities (up 22 per cent to VNĐ3.53 trillion) and from foreign exchange trading (up 20 per cent to VNĐ1.05 trillion). However, the bank’s securities trading segment plummeted by up to 92 per cent.

Many other banks such as VPBank, SHB and ABBank all recorded lower securities business results compared to 2021.

Fiin Ratings attributed the banks’ negative results in securities trading and investment to the interest rate hike, the exchange rate uncertainty, the sharp decline of stock indices and the ‘freezing’ of the corporate bond market.

Closing the session at the end of 2022, VN-Index and HNX-Index decreased by 32.7 per cent and 56.7 per cent, respectively, compared to the beginning of the year, which caused the stock portfolio held by banks and their subsidiaries of which business results are consolidated on the banks’ financial statements declined sharply.

— VNS     LINK

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Henig:  Nearly $1.4 billion worth of G-bonds raised in January

February, 11/2023 - 10:25

The figure was equivalent to 30.4 per cent of the first-quarter issuance plan and 8.21 per cent of the annual target.

HÀ NỘI — The State Treasury raised VNĐ32.8 trillion (US$1.39 billion) worth of Government bonds, or 96.56 per cent of the total G-bonds on offer, via eight auctions on the Hà Nội Stock Exchange (HNX) during January.

The figure was equivalent to 30.4 per cent of the first-quarter issuance plan and 8.21 per cent of the annual target.

Of which, 49.74 per cent were 10-year bonds while the remainder were 15-year bonds, with respective interest rates of 4.36 per cent and 4.56 per cent. The rates are down 29 and 24 basis points from the previous auction.

On the secondary market, the trading value of G-bonds during the month reached over VNĐ65.79 trillion, down 9.48 per cent month-on-month, with outright transaction value accounting for 53.74 per cent. The rest was traded via repurchase agreements.

—VNS    LINK

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Henig:  Vietnamese aviation sector to fully recover by end of year

February, 11/2023 - 10:10

The Vietnamese aviation sector is expected to fully recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of 2023 with an estimated 80 million passengers and 1.44 million tonnes of cargo to be transported by air this year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam (CAAV).

HCM CITY — The Vietnamese aviation sector is expected to fully recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of 2023 with an estimated 80 million passengers and 1.44 million tonnes of cargo to be transported by air this year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Việt Nam (CAAV).

According to the global outlook for the aviation industry by CAAV, the amount of passengers and cargo transported by air in Việt Nam this year will be up 45.4 per cent and 15 per cent from last year, respectively, or up 1 per cent and 14.8 per cent from 2019 before the pandemic broke out.

Việt Nam saw a full recovery and recorded strong growth in the domestic aviation market in 2022, while its international market is expected to reach the level recorded in 2019 by the end of 2023.

However, there remain huge hurdles for the sector, including limited aviation infrastructure, fluctuation of fuel prices, human resource shortages, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which will continue to have a negative impact on the industry this year.

In addition, there are only a few large airports in Việt Nam, all of which have very limited capacities. 

Domestic airports served 9.8 million passengers in January, up 13.8 per cent from the previous month, including 2.3 million international arrivals, a rise of 10 per cent, according to CAAV.

Vietnamese airports handled 112,000 tonnes of cargo in January, up 11.6 per cent from the previous month, according to the authority.

Around 34 million passengers from Việt Nam are expected to travel overseas this year, triple the number of last year, according to analysts at CAAV.

Though China has already resumed travel and economic activities with Việt Nam, it will take longer than this year for the aviation sector to recover to pre-pandemic levels, experts said.

The IATA predicted a recovery of 80 per cent and 95 per cent in the number of international passengers and domestic passengers, respectively, compared to the pre-pandemic period. 

The Asia-Pacific region is expected to recover slowest, according to the association.

— VNS     LINK

Henig:  Thanh Hoa boosts forest product processing

10:00 | 11/02/2023

(VEN) - The industry promotion and energy efficiency center of Thanh Hoa Province is drafting a forest product processing development project for the 2022-2025 period in compliance with directions of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade.

Thanh Hoa Province is home to 160,000 hectares of forests with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, more than 10,000ha of planted forests and 6.2 million scattered trees, with the area of large timber forests having increased to 56,000ha and Dendrocalamus barbatus to 30,000ha.

The 2022-2025 forest product processing development project is designed to support rural industrial establishments, increase the province’s wood and non-timber forest product export value to US$100 million and encourage more than 80 percent of wood processors in the province to apply advanced production technology by 2025. The project is expected to promote investment connectivity among rural industrial manufacturers, assist them in raw materials planning, technology, production and competitiveness improvement, and adding value to natural and planted timber.

In 2018, the center provided support worth VND1.3 billion for rural industrial producers in the province. In 2019, the center implemented vital industry promotion projects in the province’s Thach Thanh, Nhu Xuan and Nhu Thanh districts at a total cost of VND2.3 billion, and in 2020, it helped three industrial producers in Ngoc Lac, Nhu Thanh and Trieu Son districts apply advanced forest product processing machinery and equipment, and assisted two other rural industrial establishments, one in Nong Cong District and one in Nghi Son Town, to build technical demonstration models.

Thanh Hoa Province is home to more than 400 forest products processors. Industry promotion projects and forest product processing development workshops have helped them enrich their knowledge, standardize and improve production, and apply advanced technology and equipment. Businesses have begun to connect with each other to form value chains.

Industry promotion projects in Thanh Hoa Province give priority to local raw material exploitation and development and provision of jobs for local residents.

Linh Nhi    LINK

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Henig:  Việt Nam seeks solutions to keep up with green urban development trend

07:00 | 11/02/2023

In Việt Nam, a growing number of cities and municipalities are embracing this trend and are making plans to develop green urban areas that will help to protect the environment and support healthy, thriving communities.

As the world's great cities look to the future, one trend that has become increasingly unavoidable is the development of sustainable green urban areas. This shift is driven by a desire to create better, more livable environments for citizens and to improve their overall quality of life.

In Việt Nam, a growing number of cities and municipalities are embracing this trend and are making plans to develop green urban areas that will help to protect the environment and support healthy, thriving communities.

Reality of green cities

According to the Technical Infrastructure Department, the average tree density across Việt Nam is only 2-3 sq.m per capita. This is a low figure compared to the criteria of the United Nations of 10 sq.m per capita and one-fifth to one-tenth of the number in big cities worldwide, which is around 20-25 sq.m per capita.

In HCM City, although national standards indicate tree density is 15 sq.m per capita, the actual figure is much lower, at only one sq.m per capita.

The total area planned for public parks in HCMC is 11,400 hectares, which equates to a tree density of 7 sq.m per capita. However, only 500 hectares are used as parks, which is only a mere 0.55 sq.m per capita.

HCMC needs to plan and build "green belts" around the city, according to Đinh Quang Diệp, former head of the Department of Scenery and Flower Garden Technology.

Diệp's suggestion is because land reserves for green development in central urban areas, such as in Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, and 10, are no longer available. New urban areas in development need green areas to accompany the concrete architecture.

HCM City authorities have been raising the criteria of land reserves for trees in the city while trying to fulfil the current plans for developing parks in the city.

HCM City plans at least 150 hectares of parks and 10 hectares of public greenery from 2021 to 2025. The city will need to plant 10 million trees to get this done.

In Biên Hoà, Đồng Nai Province, where six industrial areas are present, the economic development has brought about a great rise in population and urbanisation.

Biên Hoà is the most populous Class I urban area in Việt Nam, with more than 1.15 million residents. This high population density has made the land reserves in the city smaller, leading to a decrease in land for trees.

The Ministry of Construction's technical regulation states that Class I urban areas must have a tree density of at least 6 sq.m per capita, but Biên Hoà currently has just over one sq.m per capita.

To meet up with demands for green development, Biên Hoà is focusing on reworking its plans for 2030 and 2050.

Opening up a greener space

For years, the green development of HCMC has been tied to the development of infrastructures. However, the speed of green development has never caught up to the speed of urbanisation, especially in areas such as Thủ Đức, Bình Tân, Bình Chánh, and Nhà Bè.

Experts suggested that HCM City must tightly manage the areas planned for parks that have been misused. Urban and residential projects must seriously commit to building parks for a more harmonious environment.

The city of Thủ Đức has ordered 34 wards to gather feedback from residents to build a general plan for 2040 to 2060. The wards are also ordered to review the current public land reserves planned for parks.

HCM City should have a policy that allows social investments in developing public parks of 10 hectares or more, said Nguyễn Đình Hoà, architect and urban planning expert.

Hoà suggested the parks provide proper ways of generating their own income, such as paid amusement parks, art exhibition areas, and indoor or outdoor gyms.

To achieve their tree density criteria of 3-4 sq.m per capita in 2030, HCMC has started a campaign, "Every resident plant a tree".

Funding and human resources, and volunteers have also been called in their quest to plant ten million trees by 2025.

The city also focuses on building legal frameworks and policies that attract investors to build greenery parks. The government will plan for each of these projects, build policies to gather investment, and manage policies to develop and maintain these parks.

In Biên Hoà, Đồng Nai, the authorities have been focusing on the development of new parks and greenery across the city in recent years.

Đỗ Khôi Nguyên, chairman of Biên Hoà People's Committee, suggested the city be allowed to enact their own measures to increase the tree density rate.

The city will gather investors to build parking lots which had to incorporate areas for greenery. The investors of these parking lots are also responsible for managing and developing green areas.

Smaller parks are also planned to be built in the city, which would also meet the demands for recreation of the public, as well as increase the urban green areas.

Source: VNS LINK