Briefs

 THE ECONOMIC climate in Singapore has deteriorated this year, according to companies polled in a survey, with almost half expecting the coming year to be even worse.
These are findings of the latest annual National Business Survey conducted by the Singapore Business Federation.
The survey polled more than 1,100 companies across all major industries about the outlook for 2017, their views on government policies and the key challenges faced
The survey showed that operating costs and manpower remain key concerns for companies, with about two-thirds of survey respondents citing those as major challenges.
Businesses are also hoping for more government assistance to tide them over during this period of slowing economic growth. Only 28 per cent of all companies polled said they are satisfied with government policies. Among small and medium-sized enterprises, only 27 per cent said they were satisfied, compared with 39 per cent of larger companies. – The Straits Times

Northern Laos tops 
New Year destinations
LUANG PRABANG and Vang Vieng district in Vientiane province and are the two main hotspots favoured by local and foreign holidaymakers for New Year.
 Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea are the top overseas destinations for Lao people to ring in the New Year, according to some local travel agents.
A Northern Travel Laos official said local and foreign visitors liked to tour the northern provinces over New Year, with the top destinations including Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Xieng Khuang province and Vientiane.
“Most foreign visitors that we deal with and arrange tours for in Laos are European. We also have customers from the USA, Australia and Switzerland, and some Asian visitors from Malaysia,” the official said.
Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang and Vientiane are especially favoured by Thai tourists, according to the travel company. —Vientiane Times

Vietnam earns $2.2 bn from 
rice exports this year
 VIETNAM exported an estimated 4.88 million tonnes of rice this year, earning $2.2 billion (Bt79.1 billion), down 25.8 per cent in volume and 21.2 per cent in value year on year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said. 
In December , 399,000 tonnes of rice worth $181 million were shipped abroad. 
China remains the largest importer of Vietnamese rice, with market share of 35.9 per cent. In the past 11 months, Vietnam shipped 1.61 million tonnes worth $722.2 million to China, down 20.5 per cent in volume and 11.7 per cent in value from 2015. 
Ghana is Vietnam’s second largest rice importer, with an 11.1 per cent market share. 
Markets with strong drops in Vietnamese rice imports are the Philippines (down 65 per cent), Malaysia (48 per cent), the United States (33 per cent) and Singapore (30.7 per cent), as well as Indonesia (22 per cent), the Ivory Coast (21.5 per cent) and Hong Kong (19 per cent). Total rice output is estimated at 43.6 million tonnes, down 3.3 per cent from last year. — Viet Nam News

Vietnam Airlines, Vinatex 
to go public in January
THE SECURITIES market will welcome two state companies on to largest state-owned enterprises on to the Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) on January 3, the Hanoi Stock Exchange said.
Vietnam Airlines, the country’s biggest aviation company, will trade 1.22 billion shares with the code HVN at a starting price of 28,000 dong (Bt44.20) per share, putting its market capitalisation at $1.5 billion. The debut price of Vietnam Airlines’ shares on UPCoM is higher than that of 22,307 dong per share when Vietnam Airlines was equitised in 2014.
On November 31, the state held 86.16 per cent of the aviation firm’s capital, equal to more than one billion shares. Japan’s ANA Holdings is the strategic investor, with more than 107.6 million shares, equal to 8.77 per cent of Vietnam Airlines’ capital. Also on January 3, Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) will start trading 500 million of its shares on UPCoM.
Vinatex will go public with code VGT at a starting price of 13,500 dong per share. Market capitalisation will be 6.75 trillion dong.
The state holds 54 per cent of Vinatex, while property and retail company Vingroup and the Vietnam Investment Development Group own 24 per cent. –Viet Nam News