Vietnam securities firms eye foothold in Laos, Cambodia

12/31/2010
Source: Thanh Nien, SGTT (Hanoi)

With Laos and Cambodia’s first stock exchanges slated to begin trading next year, Vietnamese securities companies are seeking to expand their operations and Vietnamese stock market players see more investment options.

The Lao Securities Exchange was established in October and will commence trading operations on January 11. Banque pour le Commerce Exterieur Lao (BCEL), one of the largest commercial banks in the country, and EDLGeneration Pcl, a unit of state-owned Electricite du Laos, will be the first two enterprises to be listed on the bourse.

The exchange’s opening has helped Vietnam’s Sacombank Securities expand its business to the smallest economy in Southeast Asia. The brokerage firm and the Lao Development Bank (LDP) have set up the first securities firm in Laos, named Lane Xang Securities Public Co. Sacombank Securities holds a 51- percent stake in the joint venture.

Lane Xang was financial adviser for the initial public offering (IPO - a necessary process before being listed) made by BCEL.

The firm has also signed deals to do the same for other Lao enterprises.

“Lane Xang has won in competition with many Thai and Korean securities companies [to become advisers to the BCEL IPO] as the Lao economy is similar to Vietnam’s, which has begun from a state-owned base and then entered the equitization stage,” said Nguyen Hoang Giang, consultancy director of Sacombank Securities.

Giang said Lane Xang Securities not only provides financial consultancy services for enterprises seeking to list their shares on the Lao stock exchange but also acts as a broker for investors wanting to trade shares on the bourse.

The IPO of BCEL, the first-ever in Laos, closed on December 23. The atmosphere was exciting and the shares were oversubscribed, said Giang.

Nearly 20.5 million BCEL shares, or 15 percent of the lender’s registered capital, were offered on auction at an average bid price of 5,910 kip (74 US cents), he said.

Only Lao investors were permitted to subscribe for shares in the bank as the Lao Securities Exchange Commission is yet to decide on the portion of shares that foreign investors can hold in a company, the Vientiane Times said on December 15.

However, many Vietnamese investors are hopeful that they will get the opportunity to buy shares of Lao companies in future IPOs.

As for the Cambodia, the Kingdom’s first stock exchange is also due to open in 2011.

The launch of the US$6 million bourse, which is being built by a South Korean developer, has twice been delayed but the Finance Ministry says it will begin trading by July 2011 “at all costs.”

The ministry has given priority to state companies for listing, and has asked Telecom Cambodia, port operator Sihanoukville Autonomous Port and the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority to list their shares, Reuters said last month.

Meanwhile, two Vietnamese firms, Cambodia-Vietnam Securities and Sacombank Securities (Cambodia), are among fifteen companies that have been granted licenses by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia to operate on the bourse.

The former is permitted to operate as an underwriter that will provide advice on the issue of securities - such as pricing, public offerings and distribution timelines.

The Cambodia-Vietnam Securities Company belongs to the Bank for Investment and Development of Cambodia Plc, a subsidiary of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, also known as BIDV.

Several other Vietnamese companies that wished to remain anonymous said they had plans to open securities firms in Laos and Cambodia in the near future.

Viet gold traders invade Cambodia and Laos

Local gold traders expand business to Laos and Cambodia

Tuesday, Aug 17,2010
Saigon Giai Phong (Vietcong Commie Party)

According to Nguyen Thanh Long, general director of Saigon Jewelry Co., the biggest gold shop in Vietnam, the company had presented a plan to the Government, seeking permission to open a factory in Laos.

If the company receives approval from both Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee and Laos’s government, it will start producing SJC-brand gold bars in Laos later this year, he said, adding that it will promote manufacturing and selling of jewelries in Laos next year before expanding business to Cambodia.

Earlier, Sacombank Jewelry Co. debuted its SBJ-brand gold bars and opened a subsidiary in Cambodia.

Illegal and unethical employment practice against Khmer employees at the Viet Sacombank in Cambodia?

"After crossing the bridge, then destroy the bridge": The Viet style of employment in Cambodia

KI-Media note: The following message was provided by an anonymous KI-Media reader regarding illegal and unethical employment practice against Khmer employees of the Viet Sacombank in Cambodia

To all Khmer employees to consider of this Vietnamese Company Called " SACOMBANK " + SBJ or whatever all in one relation.

I am currently working for this Vietnamese Gold Company Sacombank SBJ Cambodia as a Sales position. I started with this company from a very beginning. This company signing a Probationary Labour Contract for 3 months period with a salary of $200 net per month. I have worked for them since their company has no presence in Cambodia yet until recently they establish their network and Office here at 58 Norodom Blvd, Sangkat Chey Chumneas, Khan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh. Also my probationary period has come to an end and I have perform my duties exceptionally in Labour contract.

Once the probationary period contract ended, they started to sign a fixed contract with me for One Year, however, they decreased my salary down to $180 per month and included all the job related expenses as sales person must use our own motorbike and petrol. [This contract is] Even worse than my probationary contract and when I speak to the Director of Sacombank SBJ Cambodia, Mr. Pham Anh Tai, he was making an excuse that because I can not speak Vietnamese. This is a ridiculous excuse, I wonder whether our Cambodian Labour laws protect our Khmer laborer. This foreign company is bullying our Khmer laborer and exploiting us because we need a job from them. Even more shameful and pressure from this foreign company is that even we work for them one year after that they only sign contract with us for 6 months or 1 year again.

Normally, after 3 months probationary then there will be a fixed contract without ending for a normal position like us for any other local company here in Cambodia. But this Sacombank SBJ Cambodia and their other companies such as Bank exploiting on Cambodian laborer. After probationary then sign one year contract. Even worse is after one year they can decrease our salary and sign another 6 months contract or one year again or decrease our salary. This is their practice on Cambodian employees.

Now I can not stand with their treatment to our Khmer people like me. I have submitted my resignation letter since I can not accept this insult. I hope Ministry of Labor should look into such a practice to protect Khmer laborers in our own homeland from being exploited by Vietnamese Company. Khmer need jobs that is why we labor for them but we want dignity in our home ground too.

"After crossing the bridge, then destroy the bridge," this is the Vietnamese Style!

Yours Sincerely,

Name not provided

Vietnam opens bank in Cambodia to promote bilateral trade [... or to better control Cambodia?]

PHNOM PENH, Jun. 24, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Vietnam's commercial bank Sacombank opened its first branch in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, bringing the total number of commercial banks in Cambodia to 30, local media reported on Wednesday.

Bank officials say that Cambodian operation will not compete with local banks, but will assist cross-border transactions between Cambodia and Vietnam.

"We are here to improve cross-border business, especially between Cambodia and Vietnam," John Vong, deputy CEO of Sacombank, was quoted by the Chinese language newspaper the Commercial News as saying.

The bank's Chairman Dang Van Thanh said that "the bank is aiming to provide loans to Vietnamese enterprises investing and operating in Cambodia, overseas Vietnamese, especially those running small and medium-sized enterprises."

The government figures showed that bilateral trade between Cambodia and Vietnam is projected to rise to two billion U.S. dollars in 2009, up from 1.62 billion U.S. dollars in 2008.

Chea Chanto, governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), said at Tuesday's launch that "the investment of Sacombank in the Cambodian market is an expression of confidence by Vietnamese investors in Cambodia's banking sector."

"Cambodia is a good location for banking because it is an economy open for investment from other countries," he added.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: The Vietnamization of Cambodia

Click on the cartoon to zoom in

Cartoon by Sacrava (on the web at http://sacrava.blogspot.com)

One-sided trade only benefits Vietnam

Trade with Cambodia reaches high of $1.7b

15-01-2009
VNS

HA NOI — Trade between Viet Nam and Cambodia came close to US$1.7 billion in 2008, a 31 per cent year-on-year increase, according to sources from the Viet Nam Commerce Bureau in Cambodia.

Viet Nam exported more than $1.45 billion worth of goods, including construction steel, farm machinery, fertilisers, plant protectants, consumer goods, processed agricultural produce and seafood, dairy products and re-exported oil and gas.

During the 2004-08 period, Vietnamese exports to Cambodia rose by 40 per cent. Export turnover was five times higher than import costs.

Among Viet Nam’s major exports, seafood accounted for 80 per cent of the Cambodian market share, followed by steel at 68 per cent, and processed farm produce at 67 per cent.

Cambodia’s major exports to Viet Nam were mainly processed timber, rubber latex, rice, cashew nuts, tobacco leaves and cassava. Total turnover for these goods reached $250 million.

With 19 projects and a cumulative investment capital of $228 million, Viet Nam now ranks 10th amongst Cambodia’s largest foreign investors.

According to the Cambodian Ministry of Trade, Vietnamese investment capital in Cambodia has increased sharply in recent years and two-way trade turnover is expected to reach $2.5 billion by 2010.

This is a positive sign that Cambodia will become an attractive destination for foreign investors in the future, especially when the country opens its securities market in 2009.

By the end of 2008, 120 Vietnamese companies or representative offices had been set up in Phnom Penh.

Recently, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) allowed the Sai Gon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) to open a branch in Phnom Penh.

This is the first Vietnamese bank to be granted this licence in the country.

Sacombank must comply with the Investment Law and Decree No 78 of the Government for overseas investments. It must also ensure safe banking activities and obey Cambodian law.

The bank is currently building new office-space and has begun recruiting and training staff. The branch is expected to be operational in June.

Sacombank has nine branches and more than 20 transaction offices in border provinces, including Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An, Dong Thap and An Giang.

[Vietnam's] Sacombank to open branch in Phnom Penh: [Another step to the Indochinese federation]

01/13/2009
VOV News (Hanoi)

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has allowed the Saigon Commerical Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank) to open branch in Phnom Penh.

This is the first Vietnamese bank to be granted a licence to establish such a branch in the country.

At present, Sacombank is busy building office-space and recruiting and training staff. The branch is expected to come into operation in June, 2009.

According to the Cambodian Ministry of Trade, Vietnamese investment capital in Cambodia has increased sharply in recent years. Two-way trade turnover between the two countries is expected to reach US$2.5 billion by 2010. This is a positive sign that Cambodia will become an attractive destination for foreign investors in the future, esepcially when the country opens its securities market in 2009.

Currently, Sacombank has 9 branches and more than 20 transaction offices in border provinces, including Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An, Dong Thap and An Giang.