Today at 45, Thao is poised to be Vietnam’s – and most likely Southeast Asia’s first — lady billionaire by managing VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Corporation, Vietnam’s sole private airline, where the flight stewardesses in red and yellow bikini suits will pleasantly greet you aboard.

The net worth of this low-cost carrier airline is expected to peak at $1.3 billion (PhP59 billion) in the next few months, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making her the first ‘Iron lady’ tycoon in the airline industry.

A gargantuan chunk of her wealth is sourced from VietJet and her shares in Dragon City, a 65-hectare real estate development located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Thao told Bloomberg in an interview that her focus now is how to boost VietJet’s growth and how to expand its market share and make it number one.

She also plans to sell 30 per cent of her 95 per cent ownership stake in the company.

In addition to VietJet, Thao also owns big stakes in three Vietnamese resorts and is vice chair of the privately-controlled Ho Chi Minh City Development JS Commercial Bank, also known as HDBank.

Started at an early age

Thao started her business career in 1988 when she was still a college student in Russia studying finance and economics. With meager money in her pockets, she distributed consumer goods imported from Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea in the then Soviet Union.

After earning her first million in three years, Thao shifted her business products to steel and fertilizer.

She returned to Vietnam and invested in Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint-Stock Bank (Techcombank), and a second lender, Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank.

‘Reaching for the skies’

She opened her airline in 2011, competing with state-run Vietnam Airlines. Vietjet currently flies 47 destinations within the country and across Asia.

When interrogated on the bikini image of her cabin crew, Thao said: “You have the right to wear anything you like, either the bikini or the traditional ao dai (Vietnamese clothing). We don’t mind people associating the airline with the bikini image. If that makes people happy, then we are happy.”

Last October, Vietjet’s first female pilot is a Filipino named Antonette Ortiz Parocha.

In the spring of 2015, Air Transport World reported that the Vietjet had a revenue of 10.9 trillion dong (S$673 million), and the numbers is foreseen to escalate once the carrier opens flights to other destinations.

Of the sum, 10 quadrillion Vietnamese dong was paid by enterprises from different sectors, while 1 quadrillion Vietnamese dong was recorded in the life insurance sector and 700 trillion Vietnamese dong in health insurance, Khanh told the conference, which reviewed the results of insurance market development plan during the period.

Vietnam is currently home to 61 insurance providers, including 29 non-life insurance firms, 17 life insurance enterprises and two re-insurance and 12 insurance broker companies.

Nearly 10 million people are covered by health insurance and 30 million people are insured against aviation and railway accidents, in addition to about 12 million students with health insurance cards.

Khanh commented that the sector fulfilled goals set in the 2011-15 insurance market development strategy with an average growth rate of 16 per cent per year.

By the end of 2015, total revenue was estimated at more than 84.3 trillion Vietnamese dong, or 2 per cent of gross domestic product.

The total indemnity fund during the period was nearly 130.4 trillion Vietnamese dong, up 2.36 times from 2010.

Deputy Director of ISA Doan Anh Tuan said insurance providers had accumulated 157 trillion Vietnamese dong to reinvest in the country’s economy.

“They contributed more than 5 trillion Vietnamese dong of corporate income tax to the State budget. About 2.57 trillion Vietnamese dong was sourced from life insurance providers and the remainder from non-life insurance businesses,” said Tuấn.

Tuan said the insurance sector was the ‘midwife’ of the economy. As many as 80 per cent of construction projects and major State projects were insured.

When riots damaged foreign investor’s property in industrial parks in Ha Tinh, Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, insurance firms were one of the first agencies on the scene and worked with investors to solve damages, he said.

Indemnity over the incidents was estimated at 144 billion Vietnamese dong, but it is now 916 billion Vietnamese dong for the investors in the three provinces. This contributed to helping investors feel secure but also restore their belief in working in Vietnam, he said.

(US$1 = 22,284.50 Vietnamese dong)

The 70-seater restaurant is decorated in the style of a private London home, with a few Philippine interior design touches. Romulo Café draws upon the family legacy of one of the Philippines’ foremost international statesmen, General Carlos P. Romulo, and his wife, the late Virginia Llamas-Romulo, who maintained the family’s heirloom recipes.

Romulo Café’s first international outpost is owned by their granddaughter, Rowena Romulo, who previously worked in banking.

The establishment has four separate dining areas: the Ambassador’s Lounge; the Diplomat’s Dining Room; the General’s Bar and the CPR Library, which can also be converted into a private dining space.

The restaurant offers popular signature dishes from its Manila branch, such as Lola Virginia’s Chicken Relleno, Adobo Romulo Style and Tito Greg’s Kare-Kare. Less conventional, re-imagined dishes are also offered, such as Bangus Paté and Pansit Puti.

Starters and Salads range from £5 to £11, while mains range from £10 to £19.

The newly opened restaurant also played host to a romantic marriage proposal between a Greek-Filipino couple. Greece-born Steve Stylinou popped the question to his Filipina girlfriend, Vicky Rom, during dinner.

“Romulo Café is so beautiful,” said Stylinou after the proposal. “It was the perfect place for me to ask for Vicky’s hand in marriage.”

“I’m so happy,” said Rom, smiling. “It was such a surprise. We are thinking of having our wedding party here in the Café. Apparently it can fit 70 people for sit-down dinner and there’s also the Library, which can fit 30 people for cocktails. Perfect for a quiet, intimate party.”

“The wedding will hopefully be in May,” added Stylinou.

Paving the way for Filipino food

Owner Rowena Romulo said, “Opening a branch of Romulo Café in London means a lot to me and my family. My Lolo’s open and warm character enabled him to touch the lives of many people, across countries and cultures. [We] have tried to touch lives through the medium of food.”

“I hope that Romulo Café in London will make a true statement, not just about how good Filipino food is, but about how we see ourselves as Filipinos. Wherever we are in the world, we hold our heads up high.”

Gina McAdam, the restaurant’s marketing director, said, “This place is for international food lovers and foreigners. They get a chance to discover and learn more about a cuisine that is relatively unknown. We have about 250,000 Filipinos in London, if not the UK, but Filipino food has been relatively overshadowed by other cuisine such as Malaysian, which is a little more well known.”

“We see this as a challenge, as a mission, if you like, to put Filipino food on the map,” continued McAdam. “Of course, there are others who have helped open doors in London, who run Filipino food stalls and restaurants. We think of ourselves as a legacy restaurant and as trailblazers.”

She added: “We’d just like to welcome all Filipinos in London and all over the world to Romulo Café in London. This is your restaurant. It serves heirloom dishes that I think you can identify with. So we welcome you from wherever you are, whatever you do, this is your restaurant.”

.As the government has permitted inve stment for eucalyptus plantations since 1990, this statement does not conflict with the Prime Minister’s Order No 13/PM, dated 11/06/2012 on the suspension of approval of new mining prospecting and exploration or rubber and eucalyptus plantation concession projects in the Lao PDR.

The investment by the companies should operate on a 2+3 system where farmers provide the labour and the land while the companies supply the saplings, technical assistance and marketing without large land concessions from the government.

The new areas of the Boulapha company for the promotion of eucalyptus includes more than 3,000 hectares in Hinheup district, Vientiane province.

The new areas in the province were studied by the company in cooperation with local authorities and the areas do not impact on conservation forest.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, on behalf of the government, should be responsible in studying plantation areas, and deciding which areas are suitable and which are not, in order to avoid environmental impacts, according to the announcement.

The ministry shall also follow the agreement document between the land owners and the company to ensure there are no conflicts between the different parties.

The Boualapha company has already planted some areas of eucalyptus in Hinheup district and some other districts of the province.

Meanwhile Swedish-Finish Stora Enso Lao Co Ltd (SEL) is one of the investors operating eucalyptus plantations in Saravan and Savan nakhet provinces.

The first plantations were established in Nong district, Savannakhet province, in 2007 and in Ta-oy district, Saravan province, in 2008.

SEL has applied to the government for a total land concession of 35,000 hectares but the company has currently planted more than 2,000 hectares in the two provinces.

Every hectare of land concession has benefited villagers and local authorities due to the participation of the community with the company.

The company pays US$350 annually into a village development fund to cover the le asing period, which is normally 50 years.

With the fund, village authorities are able to develop local requirements such as road improvements, electricity and clean water systems with the agreement of the district governor.

Villagers have also benefited from planting rice for three years between the rows of the plantation trees and in fallow years other farming such as cattle grazing, rattan and cassava, which covers 70 percent of the land.

To promote rice and other crops, the company has supplied funds to buy the seeds and farmers have no need to slash and clear the land for planting.

People have also received income for their labour in planting, weeding and fertilising the trees. Cooperation between the villagers and the company has helped to decrease shifting cultivation without des troying forestry.

The company has also invested a considerable sum in UXO clearance, which has provided staff and farmers with safe working conditions.

In press advertisements yesterday, the San Francisco-based transport app provider marked its third anniversary in Singapore by launching a bold car-financing scheme that seems at first glance to flout regulations introduced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) three years ago. It says Uber consumers can secure loans of up to 80 per cent of the car’s price, claiming: “Your dream car is now within reach!”

Uber, which is no stranger to controversy the world over, said the deal does not break any law in Singapore. It stated that cars must be registered under a company name, and under a scheme that allows them to be used for offering paid rides – even if not with Uber. “The government scheme applies to personal cars only,” Uber Singapore general manager Warren Tseng said.

MAS concurred: “MAS’ motor vehicle financing restrictions do not apply to loans for the purchase of private-hire cars. Drivers should be aware that they will incur additional costs, including higher insurance premiums, should they enter into such arrangements.”

Tseng claimed, however, that Uber has “negotiated deals with insurance partners which can offer premiums at as low as S$1,300 (US$958) per year for a comprehensive insurance package which covers personal and private-hire use”.

Industry sources said premiums for private-hire cars are typically three to five times that of those for normal private cars.

Checks by The Straits Times also revealed higher interest charges. For instance, Fu Yiap Motor Trading, one of several used car dealers Uber has paired with for this deal, quoted interest rates of between 2.98 and 3.25 per cent – more than one percentage point higher than what leading lenders are quoting.

A customer borrowing S$60,000 over five years would end up paying some S$4,000 more.

While the deal is not tied to any obligation to drive for Uber, Tseng said the scheme “gives people a way to afford a car… earning money in their spare time and also helping to cover car costs”.

Industry watchers are not impressed. Neo Nam Heng, chairman of diversified motor group Prime, said: “It is no big deal. Uber is merely a match-maker, bringing customers to these car dealers. Of course it hopes that these people will end up doing Uber rides.”

(US$1 = S$1.36)

The workshop discussed ways to promote the participation of APEC small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of textile and apparel global value chains.

The event aims to support the deeper and more effective integration of SMEs into the APEC region, said Tu.

It also aims to enhance the participation of SMEs in global value chains (GVCs) in general and the apparel sector in particular.

The value chain follows the creation of products or services through different production phases, including physical transformation, the input of various manufacturing services, the distribution of products to consumers and their disposal after consumption, the deputy minister explained.

These activities can be conducted within the enterprises or among different enterprises of a particular geographical area.

“In fact, the GVCs are a new and more comprehensive approach to international divisions of labour,” Tu said.

“It means that any enterprise participating in the process of manufacturing can be considered to participate in the GVCs,” he added.

However, access to international divisions of labour based on GVCs would help enterprises have a better understanding of their position in the global market, and therefore they can actively select appropriate phases to maximise their benefits, he said.

It is clear that enterprises in general and SMEs in particular must actively participate in GVCs directly or indirectly, he said.

Pham Quynh Mai, deputy director of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, did not hesitate to discuss the difficulties faced by the textile and apparel sector despite its fast growth. The sector is still depending on raw materials and materials imported form foreign countries, especially China.

“This will have a big impact on the country’s textile and apparel sector if the market has disadvantageous changes,” she said.

To access markets, enterprises need strategies and knowledge, while SMEs should sign design and outsourced manufacturing contracts with large enterprises to learn from their experiences, said Nguyen Huong Tra, a SME development expert at the workshop.

The lab is the first of its kind ever provided by a Vietnamese bank. It offers customers self-service banking transactions inside the digital Wi-Fi hot spot.

Vietcombank Digital Lab is part of a Vietcombank project to build a modern branch network called “Smart Branch”. The project is part of Vietcombank’s strategy to develop digital banking services.

Instead of queuing for bank tellers, clients can now make transactions themselves using the digital lab, including sending money, cash withdrawals, money transfers, opening bank accounts, and other banking services.

Now that their first two digital labs have been launched, Vietcombank expects 40 per cent of transactions to be conducted through e-banking channels, with about 50 per cent of clients using electronic banking services, such as internet banking and mobile banking.

The test facility is the first to be developed by a local company. Currently, tyre makers use a test facility owned by PT Bridgestone tyre Indonesia, a subsidiary of Japan’s Bridgestone Corporation.

Industry Ministry director general for chemical, textile and various industries Harjanto said that Gajah Tunggal would open the test facility in May this year.

“It will be the first of its kind built by a local company, and second only to that of Bridgestone in the country,” he said.

The facility, which will occupy a 65-hectare plot of land in Karawang, West Java, will be used to test the quality of tyres for motorcycles and public vehicles.

Gajah Tunggal also plans to build another test facility in 2017, which is expected to open in 2018.

In the Asian region, tyre test facilities are currently only located in Indonesia, Japan and Thailand.

Gajah Tunggal president director Christopher Chan said that investment for the facility hit around US$100 million.

He said that he expected the government to also provide tax incentives for homegrown companies.

Voicing a similar view, Indonesian tyre Producers Association (APBI) chairman Azis Pane said the government should treat local tyre investors equally with foreign investors.

In addition, Pane said he was upbeat that the tyre industry would grow this year as the country’s economy seemed to be on an upward trajectory.

“In terms of volume, I think it will grow this year even though it won’t be as high as the 2011-2012 period,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Azis estimated that the country’s tyre industry would grow by 5 to 6 percent this year, a recovery from the huge plunge of between 9 and 14 percent last year.

Demand for tyres in the country very much depends on the automotive market, which is hugely affected by consumer spending.

Last year alone, when the country’s economic growth hit a six-year low of 4.79 percent, domestic car sales slumped by 15.8 percent to 1.01 million units from 1.2 million units in 2014.

Experiencing a similar headwind, motorcycle sales dropped by 17.7 percent to 6.48 units in 2015 from 7.87 million units in 2014.

Sales of Indonesian tyres overseas were also hugely affected by the weakening US economy, which is the largest export destination for Indonesian tyre makers.

The world’s economic giant experienced a flat gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.4 percent in 2015, with an expanded growth of 1.4 percent in the last quarter of 2015, according to the US Department of Commerce.

According to Industry Ministry data, the nation’s 14 tyre companies produce a total of 77 million tyres for cars, trucks and busses as well as 64 million for motorcycles. From the total output, 70 percent is exported to various countries, including the US, Japan and some Asian countries.

The Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) has previously estimated that the car sales will slightly grow this year as the country’s economy was expected to experience larger growth in the second half of this year on the back of the implementation of the government’s stimulus package and budget spending.

Gaikindo has estimated that domestic car sales will hit 1.05 million units this year.

Over the weekend, a business weekly reported that Tune Air (AirAsia founder) in partnership with China Everbright was planning to privatise AirAsia, citing sources familiar with the matter. However, company official stated they have not received any formal offer and would not comment.

“On behalf of the company, the board of directors wishes to inform that after making due enquiries with all the company’s directors, they are not aware of the reason for the article.

“The founders and Tune Air also indicated that they are not considering a privatisation at this stage,” AirAsia said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

On Monday, Maybank Investment Bank Research said the facts were unconvincing for a privatisation to happen this time.

It recalled that AirAsia had called for an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Dec 15, 2015 just to secure shareholders’ mandate to buy back 10% of its shares, effectively “sending a firm message that it is not for sale”

AirAsia has commenced its first buy back tranche shortly after announcing its fourth quarter 2015 results in February 2016.

“This maiden buy back proves that the management is making good of its ‘not for sale’ declaration. Furthermore, Tune Air has not accumulated shares in AirAsia for the past 12 months, according to filings to the Malaysian stock exchange. And if China Everbright has, the stake will be less than 5 per cent which does not require filing to the exchange,” it said.