Government okays three more golf courses in northern #Vietnam

Three golf course projects worth VND3 trillion ($129 million) in the northern provinces of Bac Giang and Hoa Binh have been approved.

Under an investment plan approved by Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, a 36-hole golf course will be laid in Bac Giang’s Viet Yen District, covering an area of 14 hectares. It will be built by the Truong An Golf Investment JSC at an estimated cost of over VND1.2 trillion ($51.6 million).

Another 36-hole golf course and resort will be built in Bac Giang by Truong An Luc Nam Golf JSC on an area of 140 hectares. The project, with a total investment of VND739 billion ($31.8 million) will be located in Luc Nam District.

The third project involving a golf course will be constructed on an area of 188 hectares in Ky Son District, Hoa Binh Province by the An Viet Hoa Binh Golf JSC with a total capital of over $1.13 trillion ($48.6 million).

All three projects will have a 50-year operational license.

According to a government decision in 2009, Vietnam planned to have 89 golf courses by 2020. But so far according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, only 30 have been built and put into operation, and many of these are reportedly not doing well.

Source - VN Express

#Vietnam - International Tourism Fair 2019 kicks off in Can Tho

CAN THO An international tourism fair - The VITM Can Tho 2019 - kicked off in the southern city of Can Tho’s Ninh Kieu District on Friday.

The event is being held by the Vietnam Tourism Association (VNTA) in coordination with Can Tho City’s People's Committee and Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and others attended the opening ceremony.

VITM Can Tho 2019 is the largest tourism event to be held in the Mekong Delta.

The aim is to support local tourism businesses to build, promote and sell their products to make tourism a key economic sector in the region.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, vice president of the VNTA Cao Thi Ngoc Lan said this was the first time the VNTA in co-ordianation with Can Tho City's People's Committee had organized the fair.

"The fair is expected to create opportunities for local people, authorities and businesses to present their tourism products and local cuisine to domestic and foreign tourists to make tourism a spearhead for economy," Lan said.

About 320 booths run by international and Vietnamese enterprises, service facilities and destinations in 25 provinces and cities are taking part in the event.

There are also booths from South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Cuba.

The highlight of the fair will be the Mekong Delta Tourism Development Forum which will offer solutions for rapid tourism development.

More than 10,000 indoor and outdoors tours, 5,000 hotel rooms, air tickets and over 5,000 promotional vouchers with 20-50 per cent discounts are on offer to visitors from travel agencies and prestigious tourism service businesses such as Vietravel, Sagota, Saigontourist and Fiditour.

The fair also includes a food festival with culinary contests and a presentation of local specialties.

Chefs from all over the country will be making special local dishes at the festival.

The fair will be running until December 12 at the Center for Trade and Investment Promotion and Exhibition Fair at 108 Le Loi Street. VNS

Source - Viet Nam News

#Cambodia - Ministry proposes aviation association

Phnom Phen International Airport 

The Ministry of Tourism on Wednesday proposed the creation of an aviation association in a meeting with the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation and five airlines.

Tourism Minister Thong Khon said having an association for the industry will facilitate dialogue among all actors and help them find solutions to the challenges the industry faces.

“The association will play a significant role in finding solutions and will help the industry develop smoothly,” the minister said during the meeting, which included representatives of the national flag carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air.

Flight delays and cancellations, problems that beset the local aviation industry, were also discussed in the meeting.

Ministry spokesperson Top Sopheak told Khmer Times yesterday that the ministry’s proposal has had a positive reception among players in the industry.

“SSCA will look into the possibility of forming the association,” he said.

SSCA’s spokesperson Sin Chan Sereyvutha could not be reached for comment yesterday.

According to SSCA, the Kingdom’s three international airports handled 29,705 flights in the first six months of the year.

Source - Khmer Times

Thai companies to build $200m mixed-use project in Siem Reap

Thai companies will invest $200 million in a mixed-use development in Siem Reap that will comprise holiday homes, resorts, and a floating market.

Tous Saphoeun, co-founder of Borei Angkor Landmark Banteay Srei, told Khmer Times that he has entered into a partnership with Thailand’s Sin Corp, Chang Siem Corporation and TPI Polene, one of the largest cement companies in Thailand, to develop a mixed-use project in Siem Reap.

He said it will be built on 500 hectares of land in his property.
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“This mixed-use project comprises different properties, including houses, restaurants and a floating market,” he said, adding that the market will occupy 50 hectares, making it the largest floating market in Cambodia.

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 He said there will also be a 20-hectare theme park featuring animatronic dinosaurs.

Construction will begin this year, he added.

“Thai and Korean architects and engineers are designing the floating market and the resorts,” he said.

The Thai companies are also building a solar power plant on a 70-hectare lot in the province, Mr Saphoeun said.

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Po Eavkong, CEO and co-founder of Advance Real Estate Company, said the project will attract tourists and promote the property sector in the province.

“The number of tourists in Siem Reap is rising, along with demand for hotels, entertainment venues, shops, and tourism services,” he said, adding that strong growth in the tourism industry is driving the development of the property market.

“The project will create many jobs for locals and generate revenue for the government,” he added.

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Source - Khmer Times

Myanmar (Burma) - Mechanism for foreigners to trade in YSX under way

A mechanism for foreign investors and organisations to take part in the Yangon Stock Exchange is under development, according to Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre.

Daily stock trading in Myanmar has declined significantly and the market is sluggish. In order to revive the trading activities, a system to include non-Myanmar investors from various sectors must be developed, MSEC executive director Takashi Takahashi said.

The MSEC and the Yangon Stock Exchange (YSX) are in collaboration, he said during a stock exchange education talk held at Parkroyal Hotel on July 19.

“To make the Myanmar stock market active, what is necessary now is to develop a system to include investors from various sectors.

“If that system is successful, there will be more investors in the market. Right now, there is also a need to attract individual investors,” he said.

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The average volume of daily stock trading in June 2016 was K313 million but it declined to merely K70 million in June 2017, resulting in a significant decrease.

Myanmar stock index, with its base point at 1000 on March 25, 2016, dropped to 552.62 on July 11, 2017.

“We can assume that the change is due to traders shunning the market as the stock prices are stagnant.

“To revive the market, it is necessary to have more listed companies and more traders,” Mr Takahashi added.

 

Under the existing Myanmar Companies Act, a company where a foreigner has any share is defined as a foreign company. Companies listed on the YSX have many restrictions in selling their shares to foreigners.

The government is currently working on a new Companies Act and the draft piece of legislation has been submitted to the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. In the new law, a domestic company is allowed to have up to 30pc foreign investment.

“Without the participation of wealthy foreigners, domestic stock market will remain slack. An individual local investor cannot invest much.

“For foreigners to take part, the Companies Act must be amended,” Myanmar Agriculture Public (MAPCO) executive director U Ye Min Aung told The Myanmar Times.

There are only about 30,000 securities accounts opened for stock trading in the YSX. Compared to the national population, it is a very small fraction, with only 0.05pc per head. 

Those are accounts owned by individuals, and not organisation-based accounts.

The YSX, which was established in December 2015, only has four listed companies on board, while Laos and Cambodia have five listed ones each. In contrast, Vietnam boasts 695 companies and Thailand 731 companies.

“In other countries, foreign investors are allowed to take part. Moreover, banks and insurance firms are seen to be actively trading in the stock market,” Mr Takahashi said.

Source - MM TIMES