Despite the slowdown in global deal-making due to ongoing worldwide economic uncertainty, Vietnam remains active in M&A in 2020, according to a new report by Baker McKenzie.

Landmark 81 in HCM City, the highest building in Vietnam__Photo courtesy of Vingroup

 

The firm’s fifth annual Global Transactions Forecast, jointly released with Oxford Economics, projects that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will decline globally from USD 2.8 trillion in 2019 to USD 2.1 trillion in 2020. The forecast also predicts a downward trend in IPO proceeds from an estimated USD 152 billion in 2019 to USD116 billion, a 23 percent drop.

For Vietnam, the forecast expects GDP growth may ease over the next 18 months, due to export growth trends declining amid lower Chinese import demand and increased global protectionism. Currently, Vietnam’s average annual GDP growth of 6.2 percent is higher than the global average of 2.8 percent.

Baker McKenzie expects cross-border acquisitions to dominate M&A deals in the coming years, as the country’s solid social economic fundamentals continue to attract overseas investors. “Vietnam remains active in M&A right now, due to positive market factors and confidence that help create business opportunities, as well as multilateral agreements that continue to prompt regulatory reform,” said Seck Yee Chung, who heads Baker McKenzie’s M&A practice in Vietnam.

Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia were identified in the report as Asian countries that saw strong inbound activity in 2019. This year’s largest cross-border signed inbound deal in the country was the Republic of Korea's chips-to-energy conglomerate SK Group's USD-1-billion investment in Vingroup - Vietnam’s largest firm.

This was followed shortly by RoK-headquartered Hana Bank’s purchase of a 15 percent stake in the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) worth USD 850 million. The RoK is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Vietnam, as the latter has become a production base for major Korean multinationals such as Samsung and LG. 

Despite continued interest from investors, Vietnam may experience a decline in M&A, as total transactions will dip from 2.6 billion USD in 2019 to USD 1.7 billion in 2020, a 35 percent decrease. In IPOs, the report did not post any estimates for 2019-2020.

Looking ahead, the report predicts that activity will pick up again post-2020, as Vietnam remains an attractive market.

Vice president Dang Ngoc Thinh in Nghe An

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh visited the Vinh Diocese and its Bishop Nguyen Huu Long in the central province of Nghe An on December 18, on the occasion of the upcoming Christmas holiday.

The Vice President said 2019 is a successful year for Nghe An province with many socio-economic targets achieved or overfulfilled. She affirmed that the local Catholic dignitaries and followers have contributed to those successes. 

She wished that the Vinh Diocese would continue encouraging Catholic followers to join national patriotic emulation campaigns, thus contributing more to the nation.

The Vice President took the occasion to affirm that the Party and State always respect the citizens’ right to religious freedom and provide all possible support for them to exercise the right.

In the morning the same day, she presented gifts to needy families and children in Nghi Loc and Dien Chau districts.

Also the same day, head of the Party Central Committee’s Mass Mobilisation Commission Truong Thi Mai paid a pre-Christmas visit to the Hue Archdiocese in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

She was received by Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam and Archbishop of Hue Archdiocese.

On the occasion, Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong also sent a basket of congratulatory flowers to Catholic dignitaries and followers at the Hue Archdiocese.

Mai lauded the Archbishop of Hue Archdiocese, Catholic dignitaries and followers for partnering with the Party committee, authorities and people of Thua Thien-Hue province in the local socio-economic development.

Archbishop Linh said the provincial authorities always create favourable conditions for Catholic followers to contribute more to the society.

Also on December 18, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Tran Thanh Man visited and conveyed Christmas greetings to the Quy Nhon Diocese in the central province of Binh Dinh and Nha Trang Diocese in the central province of Khanh Hoa./.

Ethnic minority women sharing the use of technology to connect and promote products at a worshop held in Hanoi

Representatives of cooperatives and groups of ethnic minority women gathered at a workshop on December 17 to discuss using technology of the fourth Industrial Revolution for business and poverty reduction.

Applying information technology in production and consumption would help improve the businesses of ethnic minorities, contributing to economic development and poverty reduction, said Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Van Thanh.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) this year has provided technical assistance to help implement a project 'Support for ethnic minority women in poverty reduction and economic empowerment via application of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 technology' in northern mountainous Bac Kan province and the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong on a trial basis.

Through the project, ethnic minority groups, particularly ethnic minority women and their business partners, investors, scientists and policy makers have chances to connect.

The 4M initiative (Meet, Match, Mentor and Move) implemented under the project has enabled 784 people, primarily ethnic minority women, to start up, get involved or expand commodity production and markets, connect with other businesses, promote markets and sell their products with technology.

Besides, more than 2,636 people participating in the project received benefits in the product supply chain through co-operatives, production groups and organisations in the two provinces.

“This approach is new, in line with the Government's Industrial Revolution 4.0 programme, in order to achieve the goal of creating opportunities for poor people and ethnic minorities to participate in production, improve the value of products and businesses, increase income, and sustainably accelerate poverty reduction,” Thanh said.

The lessons learned at the workshop were essential for other localities as well as for the ministry in designing poverty reduction programmes, he added.

UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Caitlin Wiesen said: “Ethnic minority women and men are highly innovative and have great entrepreneurship skills. New technologies such as e-commerce, e-payments, smartphones and internet offer great development opportunities for ethnic minorities to expand their marketing and business reach.”

“Bringing together ethnic minority entrepreneurs with businesses, government officials and experts in a multi-stakeholder platform of inclusive innovation can make a significant difference and accelerate poverty reduction results," she said.

Participants also proposed solutions for expanding the model of 'Linking production and business to indigenous product chains with application of e-commerce platform'.

This model is suitable for poor households and ethnic minorities in association with traditional methods and indigenous culture effectively and sustainably applied in other localities such as Lao Cai, Son La, Ha Giang, Hoa Binh, Da Nang and Kon Tum./.

A fruitful rice field in Vietnam

Vietnam was ranked fourth in Southeast Asia and 54th in the world on the Economist Intelligence Unit food security index.

A top world rice exporter, the country scored an overall 64.6 out of 100 points, higher than the 62.9 average among 113 countries and territories.

Compared to Southeast Asia peers, Vietnam was behind Singapore (1st place), Malaysia (28th) and Thailand (52nd), though ranking above Indonesia (62nd), the Philippines (64th), Myanmar (77th), Cambodia (90th) and Laos (92nd).

Vietnam did well in eight indicators - presence and quality of food safety net programmes, access to financing for farmers, change in average food costs, proportion of population under global poverty line, food safety, volatility of agricultural production, urban absorption capacity and food loss - with a score above 75.

However, it struggled in public expenditure on agricultural research and development with 1.7 points, and affordability of food with 5.3 points, which were below the world average of 5.0 and 17.8 respectively.

Singapore topped the global index ranking with an 87.4 overall score, making it the only country in Asia to finish in the top 10. Ireland and the US each earned an overall score of 84 and 83.7 to follow Singapore and complete the global top three.

Yemen, Burundi and Venezuela made up the bottom three./.

An art performance at the announcement ceremony

Chief Representative of the UNESCO Office in Vietnam Michael Croft presented a certificate recognising Hanoi as an official member of the UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network to Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung at ceremony in the capital on December 13.

Chung said the participation in the network enables Hanoi to increase its competitiveness in investment attraction, stimulate urban regeneration, and develop education programmes and cultural events in association with sustainable development.

Hanoi is also ambitious to become an envoy and a bridge to connect other cities in Vietnam and regional countries to join the network, as well as a global intellectual and innovative destination, he added.

The network membership also demonstrates Hanoi’s responsibility to the region and the world in promoting creativity and increasing the participation of people in cultural life and integration, according to Chung.

Michael Croft said that Hanoi becoming a creative city has helped increase its position besides the title “City for Peace”.

He added that Hanoi will enhance cooperation with other creative cities in the world as well as relevant agencies, community, and the private sector to realise its innovative economy.

UNESCO launched the Creative Cities Network in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities that recognise creativity as a significant factor in their development.

The network recognises seven factors - craft and folk arts, media, film, design, gastronomy, literature, and music - as creative fields.

The capital city of Hanoi has a development history of over 1,000 years, and has been in the process of reform and integration, taking creativity and innovative economy as the core in its dynamic, comprehensive and sustainable development.

On October 30, 2019, Hanoi was honoured as one of the 246 cities joining the UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in the field of design.

A folk cultural festival kicked off in Hanoi on the same day in response to the city’s participation in the network./.

Over the past seven decades, Vietnam has significantly contributed to human rights.

The country has struggled to defend national independence and reunification to ensure that all Vietnamese can fully enjoy human rights, including the right to live in peace, independence, and freedom, and to decide their own faith and growth.

The world will celebrate the 71st anniversary of the UN General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10. The Declaration presented the international community’s common values of human rights and laid a foundation for other human rights covenants, including the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Covenant on Economical, Social, and Cultural Rights, and covenants on the rights of children, women, and persons with disabilities.

Since the war, Vietnam has made every effort to build a socialist state governed by law, a state of the people, by the people, and for the people, and improve its laws on human rights.

Effort to promote human rights of all people

Vietnam’s 2013 Constitution has a chapter on Human Rights and Rights and Obligations of Citizens. Since 2013 90 legal documents relating to human rights have been issued to guide enforcement. Vietnam has fine-tuned regulations and built mechanisms to guarantee human rights. All socio-economic development strategies and projects have taken into consideration a people-centered orientation.

Vietnam has ensured human rights in economic, social, cultural, civil, and political fields. Vietnam achieved many UN Millennium Development Goals ahead of schedule and is effectively carrying on with Sustainable Development Goals. An economic growth rate of over 6% has been maintained for many years, while other socio-economic efforts have recorded positive results.

The household poverty rate was lowered to 5.35 percent by the end of last year. Education, healthcare, and housing have improved. All 63 provinces now have universal nursery and primary education. Gender equality has made rapid progress.

The percentage of female deputies in the National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels is 27%, a fairly high rate compared with other regional countries. Freedom of religion and belief is practiced, with thousands of religious festivals held every year. Vietnam has approximately 50 million internet users, one of the highest numbers of internet users in the world.

Contributions to universal values of human rights

Vietnam has actively contributed to human rights and human advancement. Vietnam has proposed initiatives at human rights forums of the UN, ASEAN, and other groups, particularly relating to women, children, persons with disabilities, and climate change vulnerable communities. The UN Human Rights Council adopted Vietnam-proposed resolutions on the impacts of climate change on children and women in 2016 and 2018.

Vietnam has abided by international covenants on human rights, including the UN’s Universal Periodic Review. Vietnam submitted the third-cycle UPR national report and held a dialogue with other UN members in January, 2019. The national report outlined Vietnam’s law revisions, human rights achievements, and implementation of the UN’s recommendations on human rights.

Vietnam has pursued administrative reform, improved public services, fought corruption, promoted democracy, and strengthened the capacity of the State apparatus. Vietnam has pledged to quickly implement SDGs, reduce poverty, and narrow development gaps between communities.

To mark Human Rights Day 2019 (10 December), Vietnam promised to continue to support dialogue and cooperation and work with other countries to promote human rights./.

The protection and promotion of human rights have been firm commitments of the Vietnamese State over many decades.

Human rights have been placed in the centre and been considered an objective and motivation for all policies and actions of the country. Though Vietnam has faced many difficulties and challenges, the task of protecting and promoting human rights has achieved many notable achievements.

Since the 2013 Constitution was approved, the work of legal reform and the completion of national institutions and policies has been further promoted. Up to now, Vietnam has adopted more than 100 laws and codes which relate to human rights. On November 20, the National Assembly passed the Labour Code (revised version) which is basically compatible with the International Labour Organisation’s important international conventions.

According to a UNDP report in 2018, Vietnam ranks 116 of 189 in the Human Development Index and 67 of 160 in the Gender Equality Index. According to a World Bank report, the percentage of poor households in Vietnam has dropped by 13 per cent.

According to the UNDP report, at present 70 per cent of Vietnamese people have daily access to the internet and people’s economic rights have been well protected and implemented.

Vietnam’s achievements in human rights have served as an important premise for Vietnam in its diplomatic activities.

In 2019, Vietnam completed its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) – Cycle III. Our UPR received quite a lot of positive comments from many countries and international organisations.

Besides holding dialogues with UN member states within the framework of the UPR, Vietnam has also conducted diplomatic rounds or bilateral consultations with some partners who have shown interest in human rights.

In all UN, ASEAN and ASEM forums, Vietnam has always reiterated its policy to protect and promote human rights and has committed to contributing to promoting human rights and implementing the global agenda on sustainable development, response to climate change, gender equality and others.

Vietnam holds high the principles of independence, sovereignty and non-interference in other country’s internal affairs, and no politicalisation of human rights. Vietnam considers dialogue and co-operation the best ways to consider all issues relating to human rights.

In 2019, in the Human Right Council, Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines joined efforts to take the Resolution on Climate Change and Rights of Disabled People. The resolution has received support from 49 other countries.

When Vietnam was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council from 2008-09, Vietnam played an important role in pushing through the adoption of Resolution 1899 of the Security Council on women’s role in the post conflict process. In its term as a non-permanent member in the UN Security Council from 2020-21, Vietnam will organise important events relating to women’s role post conflict, particularly in negotiation, peace construction and the post war reconstruction.

There are shortcomings and limitations that need to be overcome. For instance, in legal aspects, we need to make laws more effective and less overlapping. The administrative system needs to be reformed to better serve the people.

The awareness of the people of their rights is insufficient, the capacity of officials to ensure the rights of people is still weak. Objective socio-economic conditions do not allow us to have resources to ensure people's rights as expected. Another difficulty is that some organisations and individuals abuse human rights and democratic freedoms to serve their own political intentions, which is contrary to the common interests of the community and the law.

Vietnam will continue to improve the legal system based on promoting positive aspects and results achieved in human rights policies. We will have to perfect and supplement policies related to human rights issues, as well as develop measures to enforce laws on human rights.

More importantly, we must strengthen education among the public as well as civil servants in the human rights political system; on the responsibility of State agencies to ensure human rights; responsibilities of the people as well as socio-political organisations, professional organisations in ensuring human rights.

Vietnam will continue to promote dialogue and international cooperation, and increase participation in international human rights institutions. Thereby, we can learn and share experience with international partners on the process of ensuring human rights in Vietnam./.