Speaking at the workshop on Commitments on the GIs in the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), jointly held by the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP) and the Ministry of Science and Technology in Hanoi on Wednesday, experts said counterfeit goods had been plaguing the world. Currently, the EU recognises only the Phu Quoc sausage as a Vietnamese GI product out of the 7,000 GIs granted in the major market.

Tran Viet Thanh, deputy minister of Science and Technology, said GI products could be more competitive than other products as they are recognised for their quality and trademark.

“Vietnam has several high-quality products unique to each locality. However, the issue of GIs should be given attention as the country has only one GI product in the large EU market,” Thanh said.

He said businesses have not fully understood the importance of the GI registration. Vietnam should learn from the experience of working in the demanding market to build a GI management system, thus improving its export value.

Jana Herceg, deputy head of the Economics and Trade Section of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, said the country had several famous products, such as dragon fruit, coffee and tea.

Vietnam could exploit these products to benefit from the registration of GIs, she said.

The country should build a national system for quality control when considering and recognising GI protection. This could help the country’s products surpass technical barriers to penetrate the EU market, she added.

“GI owners would have both opportunities and challenges. This is why they should focus on enhancing quality, promoting their trademark and marketing their products,” she said.

Luu Duc Thanh, head of the office’s GI and international brand division, has said in the past that Vietnam had been selling a number of well-known products without GIs, which had led to the lack of a legal foundation for dealing with counterfeit goods.

Vietnam currently has 43 products with registered GIs, varying from flowers, fruit and food to consumer goods. They come from across the country, including Ha Giang Province in the northern mountainous region, Quang Ninh Province in the northeast, Thanh Hoa Province on the northern central coast and Vinh Long or Bac Lieu in the Mekong Delta, according to Dao Duc Huan, Director of the Rural Development Centre.

He pointed out the lax exploitation and management of Vietnam’s GIs, resulting in the widespread counterfeiting of GIs domestically and abroad.

An obstacle to GI protection is that producers are working separately. As many producers and farmers have not fully understood the importance of GI protection, they have not attempted to actively co-operate with each other. Instead, they compete unfairly, affecting the creation of products specific to each region.

Huan also noted the lack of funding for GI registration and overseas market development strategies.

Claudio Dordi, technical assistance team leader of the EU-MUTRAP, said the effective management of GI-registered goods needed the close co-ordination of enterprises, industry associations, local management agencies and independent quality certification bodies in each locality.

Vietnam and the EU concluded negotiations on their FTA in Brussels last December.

The EVFTA will eliminate 99 per cent of import tariffs on Vietnamese goods delivered to the EU and vice versa after seven to ten years. It is expected to increase Vietnam’s exports to the EU by 4 per cent and EU exports to Vietnam by more than 3 per cent each year.

The EU is one of the top trade partners of Vietnam, with bilateral trade increasing from US$17.75 billion in 2010 to $41.4 billion in 2015.

UEM Sunrise is the master developer of Iskandar Puteri.

UEM Sunrise said in a statement that as part of its global expansion strategy, Amorepacific planned to invest about US$170 million in Malaysia. The 25.37-acre land will house Amorepacific’s integrated centre for research and development, manufacturing and logistics of cosmetics products.

With the establishment of the new facility, Amorepacific expects to create 300 to 500 jobs in Iskandar Puteri, one of the five flagship zones of Iskandar Malaysia.

UEM Sunrise executive director Izzaddin Idris signed the agreement on behalf of UEM Land while Amorepacific was represented by its Asean regional headquarters head, Robin Na. In the statement, the cosmetics giant said it was attracted to SiLC due to, among others, the central utility facilities located within the industrial park, which is equipped to provide utilities such as industrial steam, chilled water and industrial waste water management, as well as its close proximity to Singapore via the Malaysia-Singapore Second Crossing where its regional headquarters is located.

Amorepacific was established in 1945 and is South Korea’s number one cosmetics company.

Izzaddin believes that the direct investment by Amorepacific will have a “queen bee” effect on SiLC. It will create a positive chain reaction attracting both upstream and downstream industries into the region which will spur the employment and population growth in Iskandar Puteri.

“We are excited to have signed this SPA with Amorepacific as it bodes well with our aspirations to make SiLC one of the key catalysts within the masterplan of Iskandar Puteri,” he said.

SiLC is a 1,300-acre managed industrial park dedicated for pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, advanced technologies and integrated logistics industries. Phase 1 and Phase 2 covering 900 acres have been sold out, with 153 of the 228 completed factories already in operation.

The next development for SiLC is Phase 3, located on a net area of about 196.5 acres targeted for 86 industrial serviced lots. It is scheduled to be launched in October.

Hong Kong Disneyland came in second and Ocean Park, also in Hong Kong, is third.

Tokyo’s DisneySea was fourth on the list, followed by Universal Studios Japan.

Singapore’s Universal Studios, located on Sentosa island, was ranked 17th worldwide.

The ranking of the world’s top amusement parks was dominated by attractions in Orlando in Florida, with Universal’s Islands of Adventure topping the list.

Two other Singapore tourist spots that made it to this year’s Traveller’s Choice Awards were Adventure Cove Waterpark and the Marina Bay Sands Skypark.

Adventure Cove Waterpark is the sixth best water park in Asia, said Tripadvisor. Ranked ahead were Waterbom Bali, Black Mountain Water Park in Hua Hin, Carribean Bay in South Korea’s Yongin, Water Kingdom in Mumbai and Sunway Lagoon in Petaling Jaya, Kuala Lumpur.

The Marina Bay Sands Skypark was 16th among the top 25 landmarks in Asia. The top three landmarks are Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, India’sTaj Mahal and the Great Wall of China.

The awards and rankings are determined by millions of reviews by travellers on Tripadvisor over a 12-month period.

Award winners were determined using an algorithm that took into account the quantity and quality of reviews.

Participants in the Senior Economic Officials’ Meeting will also discuss the progress of negotiations in various economic sectors.

Director-general of the Foreign Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Dr Laohoua Cheuching, on Monday (June 27) chaired the initial meeting and the 3rd Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam (CLMV) Senior Economic Officials Meeting.

The series of meetings, which Laos is hosting in its capacity as chair of Asean for 2016, will continue until July 2.

CLMV officials took the opportunity to scrutinise the master plan for CLMV development.

Monday’s initial meeting was part of preparations for the 48th Asean Economic Ministerial Meeting to be hosted by Laos in August.

Asean economic officials are strongly committed to promoting closer cooperation in fields such as trade, investment and services among community members and trade partners.

Laos is also eyeing wider markets with the aim of bolstering its participation in trade, services and investment.

Asean officials will also hold a consultation and discussion session with the bloc’s dialogue partners from Japan, Canada, South Korea, and India.

The Ministry of Education’s (MOE) move was acting in coordination with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s “New Southward Policy,” said Chen.

The new government policy aims at reducing Taiwan’s economic reliance on mainland China, by encouraging closer ties with the member states of the Asean and six South Asian nations: India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan.

During an experience sharing session of students who had returned from abroad, Chen congratulated them on the opportunity.

“I am fortunate to have studied abroad on government funding myself. I believe students will discover contrasts between a different culture and their own after the experience, and that contrast will help to provoke and sharpen their perspectives.”

According to the MOE, the Xuehai Program has seen 18,386 local students go abroad for studies or internships since its launch in 2007. In recent years, more than 2,000 students are sent abroad each year, to more than 60 countries.

“The United States and Japan have been the most popular (destinations),” said ministry official Huang Jing-ya. “But because of the policy change, we expect to see a significant shift toward Aseancountries and India.”

Huang said not only would there be more opportunities per year, but the ministry would also more readily pass applications aimed at universities and organisations in such countries.

More overseas internships

Also, the ministry announced plans to place more importance on industry-academic cooperation in its Xuehai Program — most notably, it has increased the number of overseas internship opportunities.

Emily Huang, a college senior who interned at a Vietnam-based wooden furnishing firm last summer, said that although most of her classmates preferred to stay close to home, she would not rule out working in Vietnam when she graduates next year. “Job opportunities are limited in Taiwan.”

Though the environment may not be as clean in Vietnam, the people there are warm, and she recalled that Vietnam is ranked among the happiest countries in the world, said Huang.

“In the international front and community of nations, let me reiterate that the Republic of the Philippines will honor treaties and international obligations,” Duterte said during his first speech as 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines.

Duterte, who took his oath of office in Malacanang, added, “In the domestic front my administration is committed to implement all signed peace agreements and set institutional and legal reforms.”

“I am elated by the expression of unity among our Moro brothers and leaders and the response of everyone else to my call for peace,” he said. “I look forward to the participation of a lot of stakeholders, particularly our indigenous peoples to ensure inclusivity in the peace process.”

Duterte, the first President from Mindanao, has vowed to bring real peace in the South amid the proliferation of armed groups, some linked to international terrorists.

He also has close ties with the Communist Party of the Philippines, which is waging the longest-running communist insurgency in Asia.

Before he was sworn into office, his representatives already met with leaders of the National Democratic Front, CPP’s political arm, to discuss the prospects of peace.

“Let me remind in the end of this talk that I was elected to the presidency to serve the entire country. I was not elected to serve the interest of any person or any group or any one class,” Duterte told more than 600 guests at the President’s Hall in Malacanang.

“I serve everyone and not only one,” he said.

Meanwhile outgoing President Benigno Aquino III left Malaca๑ang for good on Thursday morning after a brief meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte.

Aquino arrived at around 10:25 a.m., followed shortly by Duterte, who will soon be sworn in as the 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines.

The two leaders then proceeded to the President’s Hall for a meeting that lasted around 30 minutes.

After the encounter, Duterte accompanied Aquino for the latter’s departure honors.

They walked on the red carpet together, from the staircase near the President’s Hall and out into the Palace grounds.

Aquino was given a 21-gun salute as part of the customary send-off. The two leaders stood side-by-side while saluting the Philippine flag.

They also engaged in small talk before Duterte walked Aquino to his vehicle.

Aquino, who left the Malaca๑ang compound shortly after 11 a.m., will be returning to his residence in Times St., Quezon City as a private citizen.

“Brexit has introduced financial and currency volatilities into the global economy, making the sailing a little rough for the Philippines. But the country, owing to its good macroeconomic fundamentals, is going to sail all right, Brexit headwinds notwithstanding,” Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran said in an economic bulletin.

However, Beltran said the higher end of the 6.8-7-8 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth target range earlier set by the outgoing Aquino administration might be difficult to attain because external volatilities would delay the recovery of merchandise exports.

Even ahead of the Brexit vote, a fragile global economy has been dragging the country’s merchandise exports.

Shipments of Philippine-made goods declined for the 13th consecutive month last April, bringing end-April exports down 7.3 percent year-on-year to $17.4 billion.

But National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) data nonetheless showed that merchandise exports and imports made up just 0.9 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, of total two-way trade between the Philippines and the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015.

Economic managers of the incoming Duterte administration, meanwhile, had said that economic growth this year might settle at 6.5 percent, below the outgoing administration’s target range.

As a whole, the Philippines would weather the jitters to be brought by Brexit’s aftermath, Beltran said.

“The longer-term horizon is of greater importance for the Philippines. The World Bank, for example, has stated early this year that the Philippine economy is among the most robust in the region despite weakening global trade and a slowing down Chinese economy. This assessment is still true in the face of Brexit because of the country’s good macroeconomic fundamentals supported by robust domestic consumption,” Beltran pointed out.

Also, Beltran noted that the country’s fiscal position remained healthy, citing that since the national government debt was largely peso-denominated, the adverse impact from exchange rate risks as a result of Brexit would be minimal.

“Fiscal discipline has also kept the deficit at low levels. The country is in a fiscal position for a more expansionary fiscal policy, not for stimulating consumption, however, as in the case of advanced economies in the aftermath of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, but for investment in both physical and human capital,” Beltran added.

“The country’s external position is also strong, with robust overseas Filipino workers’ remittances and business process outsourcing revenues, only a minimal portion of which originates from UK,” according to Beltran.

Cash sent home by Filipinos living or working in the UK accounted for just 5.3 percent on the average between 2010 and 2015 period, although inflows had been growing by 9.5 percent, Neda data showed.

The index is prepared by the United States’ AT Kearney Company.

The study is based on all relevant macroeconomic and retail-specific variables. It is unique in that it not only identifies the markets that are most attractive today, but also those that offer future potential.

According to the study, Vietnam has low market saturation and its GDP growth is highest among Southeast Asian countries in the GRDI.

Vietnam is at 11th spot in the GRDI ranking. Its GDP has grown 5.2 per cent annually since 2013, the highest among its Southeast Asian peers also ranked in the GRDI.

Export growth and a 17 per cent increase in foreign direct investment has spurred economic growth, underpinned by Vietnam’s geographic advantage and low labour costs. This foundation led to impressive growth in 2015 in the retail sales area (22 per cent) and in retail sales (9.5 per cent).

Convenience stores have become a phenomenon in Vietnam, according to the study, with estimated growth of more than 260 per cent in the number of stores since 2012. Also, consumers are willing to pay a premium for the convenience of having stores that open earlier and closed later in more locations, as in most cities, 80 per cent of people eat away from home.

Companies seeking to tap into these trends include domestic operator Vingroup, which opened 93 stores in 2015 and plans to open twice as many in 2016; Japan’s FamilyMart, which will open more than 100 stores in 2016; and 7-Eleven, which is entering the market through a franchise agreement with Seven System Vietnam.

Some global heavyweights have also entered the scene. Apple opened a subsidiary in Vietnam, which allows it to import and distribute cellphones directly to a market that now has more than 150 million mobile phone subscribers who increasingly desire smartphones.

South Korean hypermarket operator E-mart launched its first Vietnamese store in the Go Vap District of HCM City, before announcing further plans to expand its network to 52 stores by 2020. AEON also introduced Topvalu to Vietnam in late 2015, tapping into the popularity of Japanese culture to offer authentic Japanese ingredients and home cooking kits.

These prospects have spurred significant acquisition activities, particularly by local and regional players. Vietnam’s Vingroup purchased Maximark, a local retailer, rebranding it under the VinMart+ banner. Earlier this year, Thai companies TCC and Central Group acquired Metro’s cash-and-carry business and Casino’s Big C grocery chain, respectively.

E-commerce in Vietnam is expected to grow as the use of mobile phones spreads and online shopping becomes more common. E-commerce campaigns are ramping up, including Online Friday, held by onlinefriday.vn, which attracted 1.1 million visitors and close to 2,000 participating retailers.

From 2011 to 2015, Vietnam saw a continuous growth in retail turnover, worth VND2.47 trillion (US$111 trillion), accounting for 76.2 per cent of the total retail and consumption value, according to a workshop discussing challenges facing the domestic retail sector in international integration held in HCM City on June 28.

Many market research companies and experts forecast that the retail market of Vietnam has great prospects for high growth in the future, driven by a population of 91.7 million with high consumption demands.

President of the Vietnam Retailers Association Dinh Thi My Loan underlined the challenges facing domestic retailers in international integration.

Echoing Loan’s opinion on the increasing competition in the market, Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, director of the Centre for WTO and Integration of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), called for incentives to ensure the sector’s sustainable development.

For the first five months this year, Vietnam’s total retail sales and services revenue reached VND1,430 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 9.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, the purchasing power of goods retailers witnessed high growth of 9.5 per cent in the period, amounting to VND1,920 trillion, accounting for two-thirds of the total retail sales and services revenue.

The Lao Statistics Bureau released the report yesterday, titled: Where Are the Poor? Its findings make up the National 2015 Census-Based Poverty Map: Province and District Level Results.

An expert from the bureau, Vilaysouk Sisoulath, introduced the report at a seminar taking place in Vientiane from June 27-29 to mark National Statistics Day on June 30.

“Poverty is widespread in mountainous areas along the border that the country shares with Vietnam, while Savannakhet and Saravan provinces have more poor districts than other provinces,” he said.

Huaphan and Borikhamxay provinces also have many poor districts, but not as many as Savannakhet and Saravan, he added.

The report documents the construction of and presents the main results from a poverty map of Laos based on the 2012/13 Lao Expenditure and Consumption Survey (LECS-5) and the 2015 Population and Housing Census.

Vilaysouk noted the difference between the latest report and the LECS-5, saying the LECS analyses and indicates poverty at the provincial level, while the newly created report provides more detailed information.

He said the new survey focused on two main indicators: people’s expenditure on food (converting the calories they receive daily to money), and non-food expenditure, on which the poverty line was based.

According to the report, some of the 25 poorest districts in the country are found in Savannakhet and Saravan provinces. Saravan province’s Toumlan district is the poorest district in the country with 73 percent of its residents below the poverty line, and some people even living in extreme poverty.

Vientiane’s Chanthabouly district has the smallest number of poor people, who represent 5 percent of its residents. Xaysettha district in Attapeu province has the lowest rate of poverty among the southern provinces, with 12.9 percent of its population classified as poor.

Borikhamxay province’s Pakxan district has 8 percent of its population living below the poverty line, while the poverty rate in the province’s Xaychamphone district is 64 percent.

“There are deep differences within the country, and between provinces,” Vilaysouk said.

The map shows that Vientiane and the provinces of Savannakhet, Saravan and Champassak have the highest concentrations of poor families.

More than 300,000 of the 943,000 people in Savannakhet province and 188,000 people in Saravan provinces are poor. The poverty rate in Saravan province is higher than the national rate.

“There are more poor people in provinces that are more densely populated, and poverty is found even in urban areas,” Vilaysouk said.

But they are also the second least likely to leave their company even though they are unhappy.

This finding came from a new IDC study commissioned by US-based human resource software firm Workday.

According to Chano Fernandez, Workday’s president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and Japan, the finding highlights the need for employers to know what makes their staff tick.

It is also where technology can play a big part, to help companies suss out the tendencies and motivations of their employees that may not be apparent, he said.

“If companies don’t understand their employees, they can’t take action to engage them,” said Fernandez, who was speaking to The Straits Times during the Workday Elevate conference at the Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel two weeks ago.

The conference, which focused on tech innovations in finance and human resources, attracted about 200 attendees.

“But if I understand how well my employees’ goals and objectives are aligned to the company strategy, and how well they are performing towards those, it gives me a competitive advantage,” he added.

Headquartered in the United States, Workday provides cloud- based finance and human-resource software, which stores employee information such as salary and career progression in one platform.

Fernandez pointed to deep- analysis software as a recent development in the human resource software realm that can help employers gain better insight into their staff.

His company came up with such a tool last April, which can predict when an employee is at risk of quitting even before he does so.

This predictive analysis feature is also quickly becoming part and parcel of most human resource management software, with firms that develop such tools, such as Infor and Cornerstone OnDemand, adding it to their software.

Workday’s software taps past data to spot trends that have caused other employees to leave, and brings it to the manager’s attention. The software looks for a range of factors, such as how long an employee has worked in the company or when his last promotion was.

By comparing the data with other employees in similar shoes based on historical data, the software can predict if this puts the employee at risk of quitting.

It can also trawl through job listings around the employee’s area to see if there are potential job openings that fall into his scope which may be more attractive to him.

When the system notices something like this, Fernandez explained, it will flag it to the manager and suggest ways to retain the employee, such as an internal transfer or a new job scope.

About 325 companies in Singapore use Workday. They range from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with hundreds of employees to multinational companies with staff sizes in the thousands.

Netflix, Groupon and TripAdvisor are also among those which use Workday’s software. Singapore- based taxi-booking app company Grab is in the process of implementing Workday in their operations.

Ong Chin Yin, who overseas human resources at Grab, said the company currently uses the data to track the transfers and compensations of its employees, and will make use of Workday’s predictive analysis feature in the future.

She added: “Eventually, we want to make sure that we find a way to make use of predictive analytics. We want to know what the trends are and the reasons people may have for leaving. And we want to be able to help managers anticipate and take the right actions to be able to keep people and drive up the morale using predictive analytics.”