The Mobile World’s Unusual Developments: Over 100 Gold Businesses Feel the Heat.

Hanoi authorities inspect 116 gold businesses

Chu Xuan Kien, Director of the Hanoi Market Management Department, has signed and issued a plan to inspect 116 gold businesses in the city.

Specifically, the Market Management force will inspect gold businesses’ business registration certificates, certificates of eligibility for business operations, compliance with price listing regulations, and adherence to intellectual property rights and product gold and jewelry origin requirements.

During this inspection, the Hanoi Market Management Department will organize gold and jewelry sampling for quality control to detect any violations. They will also inspect the implementation of commercial law regulations, including the application of digital technology in gold trading.

According to the Hanoi Market Management Department, this inspection aims to promptly detect and strictly handle cases of trading in fake gold, jewelry with intellectual property rights violations, and gold products of unknown origin or substandard quality. It will also help combat gold smuggling and stabilize the gold market, thereby protecting consumers’ rights and interests.

The inspection list includes several large-scale gold, silver, and gem companies, such as Bao Minh Gold, Silver, and Gemstone Company, Limited; Bao Tin Gold, Silver, and Gemstone Joint Stock Company; Huy Thanh Gold, Silver, and Gemstone Joint Stock Company; Bao Tin Minh Chau Gold, Silver, and Gemstone Company; and Trong Tin Gold, Silver, and Gemstone Company.

After reaching its highest price since the beginning of the year, on August 24, the price of gold rings suddenly dropped. The buy-sell spread for gold rings ranged from VND 1.1 to 1.3 million per tael, depending on the gold company. After a week of holding gold, customers incurred a loss of VND 1.5 million per tael, excluding the buy-sell spread.

Eight enterprises unexpectedly disqualified from the Long Thanh Airport ‘super’ package tender

The Vietnam Airports Corporation (ACV) invited bids for Package 4.7, which includes the construction and installation of aircraft parking lots, passenger terminals, and other works for Component 3 of the Long Thanh International Airport Project’s first phase.

The project has a bid price of over VND 6,300 billion. The method for selecting the contractor involves a single-stage two-envelope bidding process, and the form of contractor selection is not through national bidding.

Two consortia of leading companies participated in this bid. The first consortium consisted of eight contractors, led by Deo Ca Group Joint Stock Company, including Deo Ca Construction Joint Stock Company, Deo Ca Infrastructure Investment Joint Stock Company, Lizen Joint Stock Company, Thang Long General Corporation – Joint Stock Company, Hoang Long Investment and Construction General Corporation – Joint Stock Company, Hoa Hiep Limited Liability Company, and Son Hai Group Joint Stock Company (referred to as the Deo Ca Consortium).

On August 13, 2024, ACV issued Notice No. 3351/TB-TCTCHK VN, announcing the list of bidders that met and did not meet the technical requirements. Accordingly, the Deo Ca Consortium was disqualified for failing to meet the legal qualification requirements for the Package 4.7 bid.

Specifically, a member of the Deo Ca Consortium, Hoang Long Investment and Construction General Corporation – Joint Stock Company, with the code vn2800177056 on the National Bidding Network, had been temporarily suspended on the system from June 30, 2024, until the approval date of the list of bidders.

According to a bidding expert, the mistake made by a member of the Deo Ca Consortium in this case could be considered quite silly. Point a, Clause 11, Article 12 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP stipulates that bidders must pay an annual fee of VND 330,000 to maintain their name and capacity on the National Bidding Network system.

Thegioididong.com shuts down more than 170 stores in one month

The World of Mobile Devices Joint Stock Company (stock code: MWG) announced its business results for the first seven months, recording a net revenue of VND 76,541 billion, a 15% increase compared to the same period last year. Thus, MWG has completed 61% of its revenue plan.

In terms of revenue structure, Dien May Xanh contributed the highest proportion at 46.2%, followed by Bach Hoa Xanh at 30.1%, The Gioi Di Dong (including Topzone) at 20.9%, and finally, other segments. Specifically, the revenue of The Gioi Di Dong and Dien May Xanh reached VND 7,200 billion, up 5% over the same period last year but down compared to the previous month.

For the first seven months, the total revenue of The Gioi Di Dong and Dien May Xanh chains reached VND 51,300 billion, up more than 6% over the same period last year. Bach Hoa Xanh contributed approximately VND 23,000 billion to MWG’s revenue, a 40% increase compared to the same period last year.

Notably, the wave of store closures in The Gioi Di Dong continued to expand. As of the end of July, MWG had 1,028 The Gioi Di Dong stores (including Topzone), a decrease of 18 stores compared to the end of June. Similarly, the Dien May Xanh chain reduced by 59 stores, bringing the total to 2,034 stores.

Reasons behind banks’ surge in real estate lending

Vietbank’s lending to real estate businesses reached VND 20,050 billion, a 25% increase. In the past six months, the proportion of credit injected into this sector to total credit also increased from 19.8% to 22.5% at the bank.

Nam A Bank’s outstanding loans for real estate business activities increased from VND 12,802 billion to VND 16,849 billion in six months, a nearly 32% rise.

According to the Ministry of Construction’s Q2 Real Estate Market Report, in just the first two months of the quarter, banks injected an additional VND 42,640 billion into the real estate market, bringing the total outstanding credit for real estate business activities to VND 1.2 quadrillion.

In a recently published report on the banking sector, VPBank Securities Company stated that sustainable credit growth momentum should come from the capital demands of the people, and a significant part of this is credit driven by the real estate sector, including home purchase and real estate business needs.

Credit groups related to real estate are considered to have high and stable borrowing demands and are accompanied by collateral assets, reducing the risk of bad debts.

Night tourism: ‘If we don’t do it, it’s lacking, but if we do, it’s excessive’

On August 21, National Assembly Deputy Pham Van Hoa (from Dong Thap province) questioned Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, about the development of night tourism. Mr. Hoa pointed out that night tourism is still poor in reality, and artistic activities are mainly held on weekends.

The deputy from Dong Thap province requested that the Minister come up with solutions to stimulate and develop night tourism, promote healthy entertainment activities, keep tourists staying overnight, and generate revenue for localities.

In response to the deputy’s question, Minister Nguyen Van Hung stated that he had already answered a similar question at the 7th session. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed several models for developing night tourism products, encouraging localities to research, calculate product lines, and assess the needs of tourists to build suitable ones.

The Minister agreed with the National Assembly deputy’s opinion and stated that many localities are “lacking if they don’t do it, but excessive if they do.” As the deputy warned, they may create products that customers do not want. However, he believed that this is the responsibility of the Provincial People’s Committees and People’s Councils. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has provided frameworks to guide the localities, but it cannot create tourism products for specific localities.

FLC’s Deputy General Director resigns before the extraordinary general meeting

FLC Group has just announced a resolution of the Board of Directors (BOD) on the resignation of Ms. Tran Thi Huong from her positions at the Group. Accordingly, the BOD agreed to accept Ms. Huong’s resignation from her position as Permanent Deputy General Director and Head of Administration from August 22.

Regarding Ms. Huong’s request to resign from her position as a member of the BOD, the BOD will proceed with the necessary procedures to present to the General Meeting of Shareholders at the nearest meeting.

Recently, FLC unexpectedly convened an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders. The list of shareholders attending the meeting will be locked on September 12. The time and venue of the meeting have not been announced.

The meeting agenda includes the dismissal and election of members of the BOD and the Supervisory Board, amendments to the regulations on the operation of the BOD and the Supervisory Board, etc. FLC has not yet held its 2024 annual general meeting of shareholders.