Investment

The new draft Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units stipulated that US$2 billion is the minimum capital requirement to integrate a casino into an investment project.

Dien Bien province proposed an airport upgrade in order to ensure that through 2020, the A320, A321 and equivalent airplanes may be put into operation instead of the current ATR 72 aircraft.

The central province of Nghe An is striving to lure eight foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth 100 million USD in 2018.

Up to the end of December, 2017, the Management Board of Phu Quoc Economic Zone has allocated and leased land to 85 projects with the total area of 2,103.3ha.

Singapore`s sovereign wealth fund Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) has reduced its ownership in Vietnam`s budget airline VietJet Air (VJC) to 4.97% and is no longer a major shareholder of the carrier.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI) asked the government for hiring domestic consultants to support the land acquisition, compensation and resettlement project of Long Thanh airport.

Vinhomes, the luxury villa and serviced apartment development arm of Vietnam`s biggest property developer Vingroup (VIC), has registered to list nearly 2.7 billion shares on Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE).

Viet Capital Securities (VCSC)`s pre-tax profit target in 2018 is set at VND1 trillion (US$43.8 million), up 26% year on year.

Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VOF), the flagship fund of VinaCapital, announced on April 3 that it has made a private equity investment worth US$10 million in real estate brokerage firm CenLand to obtain a significant minority stake.

Amata Vietnam Public Company Limited, a subsidiary of Thailand-based Amata Corporation PCL, has been licenced to develop the first phase of a 1.6 billion-USD industrial and urban project in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh.

The golf course land located next to Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City could be used for the airport expansion, said Vietnamese official.

National Assembly`s Social Affairs Committee stated that key industries will be given to special economic zones.

Nawaplastic Industries, a subsidiary of Thailand`s Siam Cement Group (SCG) has registered to purchase an additional of 818,609 shares at Binh Minh Plastic, lifting its ownership to 50.89%.

Japanese trading firm Itochu spent about Y5 billion (US$46.9 million) to lift its stake in Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, or Vinatex, to nearly 15%.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently approved a VND21 trillion (US$925 million) program on developing infrastructure of the nation’s economic and industrial zones until 2020.

Infrastructure holding firm Metro Pacific Investments Corp. has acquired 49% of Tuan Loc Water Resources Investment (TLW), one of the largest water companies in Vietnam, for P1.99 billion (US$38 million).

There has been significant improvement in removing cumbersome procedures in the past year, however, foreign businesses are still concerned about legal provisions regulating operations of investors after having registered and receiving licenses.

The Ministry of Transport has agreed in writing with the proposal of Soc Trang People`s Committee for the Prime Minister’s approval on the revised master plan to upgrade Soc Trang seaport to a special seaport (IA grade) in the national seaport system.

Hanoi Trade Corporation (Hapro) saw a return of VND980 billion (US$43 million) for the sale of 75.9 million shares in its initial public offering (IPO) on March 30, announced the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX).

The Saigon One Tower project - the first mortgaged asset seized by Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) for bad debt will be auctioned with the starting price of VND6.1 trillion (US$267 million), announced VAMC on March 27.