Risk Management: A Vital Element When Doing Business

  Risk management is a vital element when doing business but so far, not many enterprises concern about it.

According to a recent survey with 522 companies, there are only 43 companies, accounting for about 8%, have the independent risk management department in their business. More noteworthy, the majority of these 43 companies operating in the banking and financial sector, which has nothing new to risk management. In fact, not all banks have independent and effective risk management departments. The negative problems related to the banking system in recent times somewhat showed the picture about the risk management of this sector.

Risk is understood as any events and situations that could harmful to the ability to achieve the business objectives of the enterprise. Risk management is organized in a formal way and is conducted continuously to identify, control and report the risks that may affect the achievement of the business objectives of the enterprise.

So why businesses are not interested in risk management? Part of this problem stems from the awareness of the leaders. In order to build and operate the risk management system in the enterprise, it needs the commitment of the senior leaders. If senior leaders do not aware of this problem, the administration process will be difficult to achieve the desired effectiveness.

Recently, there are many theories and systems of risk management but small and medium enterprises should be cautious when apply because system and theory are just general and they should be adjusted when applying to each business.

In order to form the culture of risk management, the leaders must along with the employees to implement it regularly and for each project. In theory, the risk management process is carried out in 5 steps: identify risk; evaluate its impact; determine the likelihood; action and measures; monitoring and evaluation.

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/risk-management-a-vital-element-when-doing-business.html

How to conduct research in Vietnam from official media source?

  The media is an effective source for us to search necessary information for learning, business activities or for daily life. However, with the development of the Internet, communication has a stronger influence and is the leading tool that we often use to find information.

Using Internet for adverse media screening in Vietnam

Besides the benefits that the media brings, the media might be abused to pose many risks for users. Therefore, how to find official information in the media source is a topic of concern for many people, whom wish to search i.e. reputation of business partners, record of business owners, shareholders, employee background check, background check on company, public information of company or individual, actual business operation of company, government policies, regulatory matters…

Using Internet to verify media sources in Vietnam?

It is increasingly important to check sources of information, especially on the internet and using social media. Any individual joining a media network, social network can post any contents and share information, even if the information may be false. In fact, images and videos can also be plagiarized, mislabeled, or fabricated to convey information. Meanwhile, when users do not have time to learn and verify the source of false information and the fact that this information is not censored, it can spread quickly in the mass media.

Therefore, to avoid accessing or searching for fake news, users should not rely on all the information on social networks. Accordingly, users should check trusted news websites or government websites. In addition, users can check the author, title or name of the agency or organization that wrote or published information and articles. Users will then have an initial assessment of whether they are eligible to post and can trust what they have posted.

Further, before sharing a post on social network platforms, users should check if it is reliable and authentic information. However, on social network, it is not easy for users to authenticate information within a short period of time. The best way is that users should get direct information from contacting an agency or expert in this field or refer to reports and content of a reputable news site.

How risk consultant in Vietnam could help adverse media screening in Vietnam?

In addition, users should rely on organizations that specialize in field in which the user is looking for information. For examples, if the a person is having health problems and wish to consult the instructions or recommendations on where to go for medical treatment, the user should call a medical facility for guidance and advice from experts or visit the website of the Ministry of Health for the most official and reliable information. Or a foreigners whom wish to find government policy or information for travel and entry for immigration during Covid-19 pandemic time, he/she can contact or visit the website of the relevant Vietnam Immigration Department.

One problem today is that fake channels are trying to design the interface to have a similar look like official websites and insert characters that if not alerted users can easily confuse. Therefore, users should carefully check the website address from which they get information.

In conclusion, it is important for media users to watch out for official and stay away from fake news when searching for information.  In addition to being vigilant and looking for official sources to get information, users can contact information search consulting company in Vietnam for effective solutions.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/how-to-conduct-research-in-vietnam-from-official-media-source.html

The Wave of New Technology Companies Wants to Choose Vietnam as The Destination

  After the wave of technology companies pouring capital into Vietnam 10 years ago, there seems to be a wave of new technology companies wanting to choose Vietnam as their destination.

Last weekend, LG (Korea) went to Dong Nai to seek investment opportunities in items related to digital transformation and building smart cities in this province. According to representatives of LG, the Group is cooperating with a number of major corporations in the world to produce and supply 4.0 technology to deploy large smart city projects for some countries around the world.

Dong Nai is implementing smart city project, so LG Group wants to participate in some categories, such as smart industrial parks, smart transportation, smart health care, smart factories, smart logistics… Funding to implement a smart city is about 15,000 – 20,000 billion VND.

Even as LG, after making its mark with the production complex of electronics, home electronics in Hai Phong (including 3 factories LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Innotek), at the end of last year, also set the ambition to make Da Nang become the Group’s information technology research and development (R&D) center in Vietnam. And now, although the information is not very specific, there is also a new investment direction.

The fact that Vietnam is promoting digital transformation has also attracted special attention from Taiwanese businesses. According to PwC’s research has just been published, the importance of Vietnam for Taiwanese businesses has increased from 18% in 2018 to 24% by the end of 2020 and ranked 4th, after the US, Japan and China.

According to Taiwanese PwC, the fact that the Vietnamese Government is actively focusing on promoting digital transformation will almost be a free ‘preferential’ policy for all foreign businesses to invest in Vietnam. Because, the impact of digital transformation not only helps reduce production costs, but also promotes efficiency and business performance here.

About 2 weeks ago, the leaders of Bac Giang province had a meeting to discuss with departments and branches to push up the clearance progress of Quang Chau Industrial Park (Viet Yen, Bac Giang). This industrial park has a total area of 426 hectares, but currently only 336 hectares have been cleared ground, the remaining 90 hectares have not.

Under the direction of the Vice Chairman of Bac Giang Provincial People’s Committee, the People’s Committee of Viet Yen district must focus highly on the work of site clearance for the remaining area, ensure early handover to the investor, even consider this is the top priority task.

It is easy to understand why Bac Giang province is so impatient. Provincial leaders want to soon hand over the entire premises of this project so that they can “welcome strategic investors”. The details have not been disclosed, but it is most likely related to the Foxconn Group’s investment expansion project that is about to be deployed in this industrial park. And most likely, this is the project that has been mentioned for a long time – 270 million USD, producing smart TV for a famous brand.

Meanwhile, Luxshare Group, after investing in building a factory in Van Trung Industrial Park, is also implementing another project in this industrial park, with an investment of 190 million USD. According to Luxshare-ICT Van Trung General Director, this new factory specializes in manufacturing all kinds of wireless headsets (bluetooth), smartwatches and bluetooth speakers.

In addition to the factories in Bac Giang, Luxshare is also in the process of expanding its investment in a factory in Nghe An. Meanwhile, Wistron Group has invested 273 million USD project in Ha Nam, while Pegatron Group has invested 2 projects 500 million USD in Hai Phong.

Looking at this angle, it seems that there is a next wave of investment in the high-tech sector pouring into Vietnam. In a report titled “Rising Star: The Role of Vietnam in Transforming Supply Chains in Asia”, according to Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Vietnam is still an interesting option for manufacturing operations and those looking to diversify supply chains in Asia.

According to the EIU, high-tech manufacturers will continue to receive incentives for many years to come and that is an advantage, so that along with other advantages, for example joining many trade agreements, Vietnam will become “a very convenient alternative name for a part of Chinese production”.

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/the-wave-of-new-technology-companies-wants-to-choose-vietnam-as-the-destination.html

Da Nang Hi-Tech Park – Investment Attraction in 2021

  On February 5th, 2021, Da Nang High-Tech Park and Industrial Zones Authority granted the Investment Registration Certificate to a Japanese corporation to invest in the Research Center project, Development and Production with total investment capital of 35 million USD.

This is a project to carry out scientific research and technology development in the fields of science, engineering and technology for the next generation of robots, unmanned aircraft, Hydro energy equipment, Nano equipment, technology. artificial intelligence (AI), water purification systems, wireless power transmission systems and new material development. The project also researches and develops in the fields of information technology, medical equipment, prototype production (testing), and manufacture of unmanned devices, robots, and medical devices for product commercial purposes and technology after research and development.

From the beginning of 2021 up to now, Da Nang High-Tech Park and Industrial Zones Authority has attracted USD 145 million of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital, increasing the total registered FDI investment capital into the Da Nang hi-tech Park reached USD 536.1 million. Until now, Da Nang Hi-Tech Park has attracted 24 projects, including 12 domestic projects and 12 FDI projects.

In addition, on February 16th, 2021, the Prime Minister agreed to add an industrial zone supporting Da Nang high-tech park with an area of ​​58,531 hectares. This will help the Hi-Tech Park expand the area, helping investors to easily implement the project.

Besides, Da Nang city has a number of policies to attract investment in high-tech zones such as reducing company income tax, land rental, import tax, support to find suitable labor sources, etc. these are great advantage for investors to be able to do business during the investment process.

Currently, Da Nang is attracting investment for science and high-tech projects, so the investment by high-tech investors in Da Nang will be facilitated by the government to supporting investment procedures to set up company, manufacturing facility in Da Nang. With its efforts, Da Nang hopes that Da Nang Hi-Tech Park is expected to become a “Silicon Valley” in the near future.

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/da-nang-hi-tech-park-investment-attraction-in-2021.html

Signs of possible corporate frauds to notice and avoid

  Vietnam has signed many Free Trade Agreements with many countries and regions around the world, which makes international economic exchange easier. However, the expansion of international trade also makes many businesses at risk when they encounter fraudulent customers in their business.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in 2020, the Trade and Embassy of Vietnam in the a number of countries continuously received invitations to sell, buy goods and sign commercial transaction contracts which have signs of fraud and scams.

Despite many warnings and notices, but due to subjective psychology, high profits, limited foreign trade operations, lack of understanding of customers, difficulties due to epidemics, many businesses cannot directly meeting, checking goods,… using online transactions, which causes businesses to take advantage of fraudulent acts.

Some ways of commercial fraud activities such as: Unpaid delivery; Forging documents even bank papers to get goods; Set the person to get export documents; Using hackers to infiltrate the email addresses of two parties that are having transactions, track the progress of the negotiation, when the buyer prepares to transfer money to buy goods, hack the mailbox (or create an email account with the exact same address as the seller’s email) to send fraudulent account information. After the buyer transfers money to the fraudulent account, they will immediately withdraw the money and disappear; Using advantage of carelessness and unprofessionalism of domestic enterprises such as not asking a reputable inspection organization to check the goods before delivery, not verifying information about partner enterprises… to transfer goods with no value, not in accordance with the contract, or to notify the damaged or poor quality goods to pressure the price, deduct the debt or claim compensation …

Some signs of identifying fraudulent businesses which one should pay attention are: the price negotiation, the contract takes place easily, quickly, less bargaining, accepting high prices; Deposit to receive investment money; Do not provide or provide documents of many different legal entities; Opening L/C at a non-reputable bank in a third country; Business license is about to expire …

In order to avoid working with fraudulent partners, businesses need to improve their professional expertise, legal knowledge, and thoroughly understand their partners before making transactions, especially the new partner is dealing for the first time.

The current commodity prices could be updated through market information or on international commodity websites. Therefore, when there is a request for goods to be paid too high, or too low compared to the prices in the market, the enterprises need to pay close attention and carefully check their reliability.

It is also possible to reduce the risks through the professional service of local risks management in Vietnam for conducting of business due diligence, business license record checking, site visit survey, shareholders or directorship checking, criminal record certificate checking, business reputation verification, public reputation search, research for records of enterprises, research for the reputation of the company, …

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/signs-of-possible-corporate-frauds-to-notice-and-avoid.html

Company profiling and due diligence

  At ANT Consulting, we could assist client to study the financial strength business due diligence of a company  in Vietnam and provide useful information extracted from the local press, industry contacts, and other sources.

We could provide:

• A report on a target company;
• A listing of the company’s key officers and senior management;
• Banking and other financial information about the company;
• Market information, including sales and profit figures, and potential liabilities
• Employee Background Check in Vietnam

We could also provide clients with an opinion as to the viability and reliability of the overseas company or individual as well as an opinion on the relative strength of that company’s industry sector in target market.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/company-profiling-and-due-diligence.html

M&A Due Diligence and Execution in Vietnam

   Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activities in Vietnam have been rapidly increasing over the the years in value and number of transactions when Vietnam’s opening policies to attract foreign investments loosen up.  The M&A due diligence and execution are therefore important steps to ensure a successful transaction.

For foreign investors wishing to take advantage with a certain level of risks in Vietnam where the cost of labour are cheap, mid-income populations are growing, and the need of capital are high, it is important to find the right target companies to invest.  Challenges might arise when approaching the right local companies, locating the right decision makers within the local companies, encountering differences in languages and cultures.

It is important that the local consultants with the understanding of the business and legal environment in Vietnam where the local companies are incorporated could be involved at an initial stage to monitor and minimize the risks, improve the effectiveness of the M&A process in Vietnam.

The Vietnam consulting company could also provide corporate intelligence and insights of the Vietnam targeted companies to have an overall evaluation of the compliance of the Vietnam companies, possible risks involved and growth potential.  Financial forensic services might also be needed before other further steps.  Then, the following will need to be considered when undertaking the M&A in Vietnam.

Due diligence

M&A due diligence in Vietnam is a vital step because it determines whether the M&A will succeed or not. There are some aspects that must be carefully considered:

• Financial reports

Review all the financial reports of the Vietnam targeted companies within 3 to 5 years to assess the current and future financial situation. These data needs to be audited by a reputable independent auditing company. Evaluating financial situation targets on many aspects such as the reasonable connection between the financial statements, operating and sales margin of the business in relation to the average in that industry.  These data allow valuation real value of the target business.

• The cash flow

Checking the dates on invoices showing that whether targeted businesses have paid promptly or not. Term of payment may vary from industry to industry, but generally 30 to 60 days. If the money order is paid after the billing date period of 90 days or more, it means that the business owner may be struggling with cash flow. Finding out that if the clients’ inability to pay bills or not is very important.

• The staff

Determining the importance of staff for the success of the business considering work habits of employees, working time of key employees; ability to remain working after a change of the owner occurs; the incentives necessary to keep key employees; ability to easily replace key employees; the relationship of key employees with the company’s customers.

• The customers

This is the most important assets of the Vietnam targeted company. Make sure that clients are as the other tangible assets of the business. Evaluating customers on some primary aspects: the relationship with the current owner of the business, customer history with business relations and the contribution of each customer to the profits of the company; assessing that customer will leave or stay when the business having new owners; customer services and dispute of the company, the relationship of the former owner of the business with the community or the industry.

• Business location

This is especially important if the targeted company is a retail company. Does the importance of business location play a crucial role for the success of the company? How is the location of the company you plan to acquire? Is there sufficient parking lot for customers? How does the company depend on sales in the region? How is the prospects of the business in this area? Does this place have been in the process of rapid change from new residential district office building or not? Has business location become more or less desirable because of contemplated changes in surrounding area or not?

• Competitors

Considering this aspect in order to define the capacity of the targeted business in the industry, the following questions would help: who are its competitor and what are their strategies? Does the price war happen frequently? How has the competitive environment changed?

• Business registration, permits and zoning

It’s necessary to make sure that business registration certificate and other legal documents can be easily given to the buyer. It would be better to acknowledge the procedures to transfer these documents and its fee with the help of local management consulting company in Vietnam. If the targeted company is a joint-stocks company, what is the procedure for the business registration? Can foreigners own the company 100% according to Vietnam laws?  Conditional investments in Vietnam need to be considered carefully by lawyers in Vietnam to avoid mishaps.

• The company image

Company image can be a significant asset and that cannot be assessed in the financial report. There are many intangible factors to consider when evaluating a company: how to serve customers, how employees answer the phone and the level of support the community or the industry.

Negotiate the price

It is important to understand the purpose and motivation of both parties. The sellers’ motivation are formed and affected by value drivers. There are two main value drivers which are approach value and avoidance value. Approach value is our purpose such as prosperity and avoidance value is the negative effect that we need to eliminate. Normally, the buyers try to find out what are the reasons why the owner wish to sell the companies. This will help the buyers plan a reasonable strategy beforehand.

A research analyzes the general aspects that the buyers seeking for via conducting surveys companies’ owner who have sold or transformed their enterprises. The research results are focus on profit maximization (79%), minimization of tax payable (73%), protection of viability of the company (71%)…(Source: Acquisition Marketplace Review, 2007).

The motivation of the buyer in most cases is similar to the motivation of the seller, which is to maximize profits, expand markets, increase revenue, operating areas, areas of activity, minimize taxes…

Finding the right business partner in Vietnam is also important. We recommend doing research on the reputation of the company and individual shareholders, corporate or individual, gathering publicly available company information, and performing background checks on key personnel to find potential risks in cooperation. Working with a reliable partner can help achieve economic benefits, saving time and money in business.

Source: https://www.antconsult.vn/news/ma-due-diligence-and-execution-in-vietnam.html