AEC Feed

Twenty Vietnamese enterprises are attending “Trade Expo Indonesia”, which is under way in Jakarta, to advertise their products and survey the market.
These companies specialise in wooden furniture, home appliances, textiles and garments,
agriculture, seafood, construction materials, electronics, machinery and beverages.
Le Hong Minh, head of the Vietnamese Trade Office in Indonesia, said bilateral trade between Vietnam and Indonesia would likely reach between US$5.4 billion and $5.6 billion this year, adding that it might be difficult to realise the goal of $10 billion in two-way trade in 2018.
In the time ahead, his office will continue to support Vietnamese firms in joining trade fairs and exhibitions, as well as create opportunities for them to work directly with Indonesian enterprises to seek cooperation, Minh said.
The expo, Indonesia’s largest annual trade fair, has attracted the participation of 120 countries and territories, with 15,500 booths. It will run until tomorrow. – Viet Nam News

DoubleDragon branches into hospitality, seals hotel investment deal

Philippine developer DoubleDragon Properties Corp has completed a deal to acquire a 70-per-cent stake in hotel developer and operator Hotel of Asia Inc (HOA) for 832.17 million pesos (about Bt606 million), marking |its entry to the hospitality business.
HOA has 855 hotel rooms under its wings under home-grown condotel brand Hotel 101 and the Philippine franchise of Jinjiang Inn, one of the largest hotel brands in Asia.
DoubleDragon chairman Edgar Sia II believes that the hospitality industry will continue to be one of the fastest growing segments in the Philippines and thus would be an ideal way for DoubleDragon to increase its leasable portfolio in line with its focus on creating recurring revenue backed by appreciating assets.
HOA was initially created |in 2011 as a joint venture among Sia’s Injap Investments Inc,| Chan C Bros Holdings Inc |(CCBHI) of the Oishi Group and Staniel Realty Development Corp (SRDC).
This hotel company will soon add another 608 rooms to its portfolio with the development of Hotel 101-Fort.
With the closing of the transaction, Injap Investments has fully divested its interests in HOA and consolidated it at the DoubleDragon level, while CCBHI and SRDC will retain a direct stake of 15 per cent each in HOA. – Philippine Daily Inquirer

‘Hot money’ outflow from the Philippines hits 32-month high

The net outflow of so-called “hot money” from the Philippines in September hit a 32-month high amid profit-taking among foreign investors, coupled with fewer new investments because of external uncertainties and a deadly blast in the president’s home town, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data showed.
Last month, the Philippines posted a US$807.2-million net outflow in foreign portfolio investment, the highest since January 2014’s $1.8 billion.
Net outflow meant more |portfolio investments left |than entered the country that month.
In September, the 2.1-billion-peso (Bt1.53 billion) hot-money outflow exceeded the 1.3 billion pesos in inflow.
In a statement, the central bank attributed to “profit-|taking” last month’s outflow, which was up 56.5 per cent from August’s $1.3 billion and 23 per cent higher than $1.7 billion in September last year. – Philippine Daily Inquirer