Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) announced that its parent company earned more than 21 trillion dong (Bt3.2 trillion, $940 million ) in |revenue and 4.8 trillion dong in after–tax profit in the first half, an increase of 17 per cent and 32 per cent year-on-year, respectively
During the period, Vinamilk saw strong expansion of its foreign market. In the first half of 2016, the local dairy giant reported the revenue and gross profit’s growth in its foreign market of 11 and 57 per cent, respectively.
The growth of revenue and gross profit earned by the firm in Viet Nam were 18 and 24 per cent, respectively
As per the second-quarter financial statement, the parent company earned 11.65 trillion dong in net sales, up 16 per cent year-on-year. It also reported after-tax profit of 2.7 trillion dong in the quarter, an increase of |28 per cent year-on-year. — Viet Nam News

Garuda records $63.2m
losses in first half
National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia experienced $63.2 million (Bt2.2 billion or around 824 billion rupiah) in losses in the first half of 2016, the company’s senior official said.
Garuda Indonesia president director Arif Wibowo said in a press conference in Jakarta on Monday that in the same period of last year, the company booked a net profit of 392.6 billion rupiah ($29.3 million). The losses it suffered were triggered by tight competition in domestic flights, which led to a price war.
“What we have been facing in our domestic flights is a decline in yield, which reaches almost 10 per cent compared to the previous year,” he said.
Arif further explained that although Garuda Indonesia’s passenger revenue per kilometre had increased by 9.8 per cent, accompanied by a 19 per cent increase in Citilink Indonesia’s passenger revenue and a 20 per cent increase in the latter’s |passenger capacity, all of these factors could not cover the big losses suffered by the company.
Meanwhile, Garuda’s total revenue reached $1.76 billion in the first |semester of 2016, down by 4.1 per cent from $1.84 billion in the same period of last year.
He further said Garuda strove to improve its work performance by operating nine of its 17 new aircraft and by expanding to Europe, where people could reach via Heathrow and Gatwick airports in London, the UK. |– The Jakarta Post

Strong interest in
Malaysia: Mida
Despite the global economic uncertainties, Malaysia has continued to attract strong interest with 71.8 billion ringgit (Bt 615 billion) of investments recorded in the first seven months of this year.
Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) chief executive officer Datuk Azman Mahmud said the figure was from |262 projects in the pipeline involving new investments and expansions of |existing ones in the manufacturing and services sectors.
“The investments are expected to be realised within the next one to two years,” Azman told reporters at the ground breaking ceremony of the 30.6 –million-ringgit new plant for the Germany-based SEW Eurodrive at Frontier industrial park in Ulu Tiram near here.
The company is leader and pioneer in drive-based technology automation. — The Star.

Jump in South Korean
travellers to SE Asia
Southeast Asia became the destination that experienced the third largest increase in the number of South Korean travellers in July, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency.
Based on data from Hana Tour, the nation’s leading tour agency, the number of travellers to the region in July increased by 40.2 per cent from the same period last year, following China (92.3 per cent) and Japan (48.3 per cent).
In the month, the number of its clients going abroad came to 289,000 last month, up 43.3 per cent from the same month last year. — The Nation