Journal of Asia-Pacific Business

Published By: Routledge

Volume Number: 12

Frequency: 4 issues per year

Print ISSN: 1059-9231

Online ISSN: 1528-6940

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Aims & Scope

Present circumstances underscore the need to improve the understanding of conducting business with and within the Asia-Pacific countries. The Journal of Asia-Pacific Business™ provides a blend of cutting-edge knowledge and practical applications on business management and marketing strategy.

In the Journal of Asia-Pacific Business™, you will find articles and feature sections that provide a pragmatic view of the business environment in this dynamic region. This essential resource offers readers a good blend of descriptive, conceptual, and theoretical articles dealing with current topics. The journal will interest academic professionals and corporate managers who wish to broaden their understanding of international business and the Asia-Pacific region.

The Journal of Asia-Pacific Business™ critically assesses various business practices and outcomes in areas such as:

• management
• marketing
• information services
• business law
• finance
• accounting
• services
• and much more!

Special features of the journal include book reviews and interviews with persons who've advanced the field of international business in the Asia-Pacific region. In a time of intense global interest in the economy of this region, this journal will help you gain vital business knowledge to stay ahead in international marketing and commerce.

 

Peer Review Policy: All articles in Journal of Asia-Pacific Business have undergone editorial screening and anonymous double-blind peer review.

 

Publication office: Taylor & Francis, Inc., 325 Chestnut Street, Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106.

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NEW BUSINESS PARADIGM

The current business paradigm can be summed up in its four flawed principles, which include “The business of business is business,” and “A business exists to maximize value for its shareholders.”

To understand how the business community can move beyond these fallacies and provide the will and “can do” spirit to face the enormous challenges that society faces, read “From Current Business Paradigm to Second Renaissance,” by Sam Yau, Chairman of the Board of the Esalen Institute and Rinaldo Brutoco, Founding President of the World Business Academy. 

Ipad kindle demand boosts tablet shipping forecast.

thanks to  strong demand for apple's and competing device such as amazon's kindle fire, wordwide shimpmeans of tablet computes are likely to grow faster than expected  this year, according to a newly revised forecast from a market research group.
        IDC said  shimpments in the last three months of 2011 were highre than expected . as a result , the research group now projects shipments of 106 million in 2012, up from its previous forecat of nearly 88million . the new figure , out thesday represents a 54 percent increase from 69 million device shipped on 2011.
        since the ipad's debut in 2010 millions of people have flocked to these easy -to-use, easy-to-carry device to watch movies , pla games and catch up on the latest news and books. the rise of tablet computers comes at a time when  sales of traditional personal computers are slowing , particularly among consumers in the US and other industrialized countries . another research group , gartner , has forecast that PC shipments will grow at a relatively weak 4 percent this year as products fail to excite consumer the way tablets have. bit traditional pc makers   have sparked much of  their growth by turning to emerging markets.
           in industrialized markets, there's evidence that people are delaying replacement for their years-old PCs and bying tablets instead. "frankly,most are just waiting for a compelling reason to upgrade," said tom mainelli . IDC's research director for mobile connected devices.
           apple sold more than 40 million ipads last year , including 15 million in the holiday quarter , high demand is expected when a third version with a sharper screen ad a faster processing chip, goes sale  friday. although some researchers estimate that apple has more than 60 percent of the market for tablets, rivals have done well . the kindle fire came out on November with a lower price tag of $499 and up for the ipad at the time. the fire has a smaller screen and fewer features, but it's good enough for many consumers. IDC estimates that amazon.com inc shipped 4.7 million kindle fires y year's end.
                Mainelli said he initially expected the fire, which runs on a modified version of google's android system , to take sale away from other android tablets. instead , the fire's  success may have helped other android products, too, including samsung electronics co's galaxy device and barnes and noble inc's nook tablet. "it seems all the attention that the fire launch garnered raised awareness of media tablets in general, and a great number of vendors benefited  from this increased awareness ," he said.
           The 68.7 million tablets shipped in 2011 represents a 9 percent increase from IDC's forecast of 6303million and is about 305 times the 19.4million  shipped in 2010. IDC says 2802 million tablet computers were shipped on the final three months of 2011, about 2.5 about 2.5 time more than a year earlier.

international trade fair start April 5

The federation of nepalese chambers of comerce and industry. (FNCCI) is schedule to hold nepal intenational trade fair 2012 at Exhibition Hall, kathmandu . the expo will last from April 5-9. According to the FNCCI the trade fair is being organize as per the budget announcement which stated that an international level fairwould be held by mobilising diplomatic agencies and the private sector . the FNCCI said that the fair would not just be a place for trading goods and services , but more of a "showcase" of the entire country.
           the federation has planned to have displays on the basis of "one district one product " id addition to showcashing micro hydroelectricity , handicraft , hand made carpet. information technology , cottage and micro enterprises, green energy and urban development at separate pavilion.
          nepal telecom and shikhar shows are the main co-sponsore  of the event respectively. the sponsors are FINCCI believer the fair will give a boost to nepal investment year 2012-13. it is also expected to initiate bulding necessary infrastructure to conduct similar fairs in the future. around 200,000 people are expected to visit the fair whare will be 320 stalls . according to the  FNCCI , about 90 percent of the stalls have been booked. 

citi's exit from nepal opens door for other banks.

The us -based citi  bank's decision to discontinue all banking relations with Nepal has opened door for other international banks to expand their business in Nepal in corresponding banking.
           as soon as Citi notified of its plan to exit, nepal banks have started shifting their business to other banks involved in corresponding banking. Nepal investment bankd limited (NIBL) which has 26-year long relations with the Citi, has started making payment of the letter of credit (lc) through other international banks such as mashreq of UAE standard chartered and JP morgan chase.
           "since citi official visited us and also wrote about discontinuing all service giving certain deadline , we have started shifting our businesses to other banks." said raajan amatya deputy general manager of NIBL. citi sought to cut off link with nepal.stating that its business in nepal  remaind insignificant even as its cost grew while documenting information about nepal banking to company with the us rules and regulations.
             it has informed the nepal banks that it will completely  stop doing business with nepal after end of april . as citi cover a big share of nepal corresponding bankind business , other banks involved in the same business will banefit fron the citi's decision .
          nepal rastra bank wich has asked the citi to continue its corresponding banking with nepal after city informed it about its exit plan is also considering shifting its business to other banks.
                     we have to opt for standard chartered mashreq or other banks to further business if citi  is determained to close ots business relation with nepal. However the central bank official say that they are hope ful that the international bank reconsiders its decision. bankers however believe it will not have big impact on their business . " if citi gose, other steps in ." said anil gnawali , chief executive officer of nepal bank . city it just discountinuing its relations with reason dueto business reasons according to their letters.

              citi.s exit has given an opportunity to other international banks to expand their correspoinding banking business with nepal accourding to a source at the mashreq bank LC business to come to then after the latest development.

swiss watchmakers eye record 2012

swiss watchmakers said wednesday that they are expecting demand id 2012 to beat that of 22011, when exports growth would be less pronounced than last year. if exports reach between 20 and 25 billion francs in 2012 we would be satisfied, said francois thiebaud, who heads the swiss exhibitors committee at baselworld. the world's biggest watch fair . swiss exports, a barometer of the world watch industry. reached a record 1902percent from a year earlier. thiebaud said that the pace of growth was likely to  be slower than in 2011, adding that "if growth approacher two digits, that would be good. "
          demand in january was encouraging and february  " looks good" thanks to chinese new year he said, edding new year he said adding that even if the global economic outlook looks difficult. " the potentiol of swess watchmaking is still there." there are still good markets, notably in Asia and emerging countries." he added. these markets have helped the sector resist consecutive economic crisis, which have hit developped markets hardest. swiss export to Asia alone exceeded 10 billion france in 2011. just over half of the year's revenues.
          some 1,815 exhibitions. including leading brands rolex chopard and omega, from 41 countris are showcashing their latest creations at the baselworld fair. a highlight of the show would be swiss brand hublot's $5 million watch the world's most expensive and encrusted with 1,282 diamonds.
       About 100,000 visitors are expected at the show which open to the public Thursday.
        

hyundai

such  as for example : hyundai car compani. described as the most economical car from korean auto maker hyundai the eon is set to launch in the nepal the entry  level compact car according to laxmi international hyundai's sole authorised distributor in nepal, will be the most economical hyundai car available in nepal and will be imported from its plant on india.
   according to laxmi intercontinental four models the hyundai eon D-lite plus, era plus and sportz-will be rolled out. while the D-lite is the  base variant the sportz is the top-end model. as this is the cheapest vehicle from hyundai, we are sire that it will be successful in attracting domestic customers, said senior manager business planing and development at laxmi intercontinental. Likewise the vehicle encompasses a perfact combination of style, power and fule efficiency. as per the certification of the automotive  research association of india (ARAI) the car delivers a mileage of 21.1km per liter. the new car from hyundai is equipped with an 814cc three-cylinder iRDE petrol engine. the auto has a five -speed manual transmission system, and it can deliber a maximum power output of 56ps at 5,500 rpm and a maximum torque of 76.5nm at 4,000rpm. the eon comes with mcpherson strut with coil spring front suspension and anti-roll barrear and torison beam axle with coil spring rear suspension systems. the car has a ground clearance of 170mm. according to the manager the car will compete with the maruti alto and the perodua viva of its category. the eon has class-leading features such as a two-tone beige and brown interior,meta finish inside door handles, body colour   outside rare view mirror and door handles, micro foof amtenna, integrated 2-din mp3 audio, aux-in and usb port, tild function on electric power steering and five cup/bottle holders, " single air bag , keyless entry system, air conditioners its features compared to is competitors, manager said.
       

business

business is a main way earn money. that's why i would like business. nowadays  so many pipul doing business in the world. lot's of country become rich. without business didn't increase economic. & country is getting low. no body like to poor country.

Vietnam - a case study
NaFoods: Vietnam SMEs Pushing to Expand in 2012

Picture above: The author and the staff of Nghe An Foodstuffs Jointstock Corporation  outside their factory offices Two-Thousand and Eleven (2011) was not an easy year for SMEs in Vietnam.  In addition to major slowdowns in the economies of the U.S., Europe and Japan, all companies in Vietnam were burdened with a devalued currency, high inflation, higher bank interest rates and rising raw material costs as despite the global slowdown energy and other raw materials continued to be relatively high in cost in 2011.  Further, many of the commodities that Vietnamese companies process for export and for local sales also saw erratic and in some cases highly hard to predict price increases.   Picture: Chairman and CEO Nguyen Manh Hung One of the good companies that had to weather these challenging conditions was Nafoods (Nghe An Foodstuffs Jointstock Corporation - websitewww.nafoods.com) headed by Chairman and CEO Nguyen Manh Hung.  I had heard of Mr. Hung from Vietnamese associates in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City because of his work in the Provinces Young Entrepreneur program where he was recognized as a leader and as a person with vision.  Our meeting fully convinced me that this reputation was in fact well deserved and that although Mr. Hung has not had a large exposure internationally that he read widely and thought critically about both what he saw and heard.   Pictures: (top left) Nghe An province's capital, Vinh.  (top right and lower) Nghe An Foodstuffs Jointstock Corporation, or NaFoods, office and factory. Nghe An province is one of the two or three poorest provinces in Vietnam.  Its’ capital Vinh, sits in upper central Vietnam and is about a 6 hour drive South of Hanoi.  Nghe An has a population of nearly 3.5 million people with about 500,000 people living in the province capital of Vinh which was recently upgraded to a Class 1 City (the country’s fourth after Haiphong, Danang and Hue).  The service sector comprises the largest part of Vinh’s economy, with around 55% of the working population being employed in this area. The industrial sector comprises around 30% and the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors is around 15%. Vinh is an important transportation hub, having a key position on the route between the north and south of the country, and it also maintains a large port that serves the region.     Pictures: (top left)  Sweet Corn in the company's test garden.    (Top right and lower) Gac fruit (Momordica Cochinchinensis) - sometimes called Spiny Bittergourd - Gac fruit  contains the highest content of beta-carotene(Vitamin A) of any known fruit or vegetable.  The oil also includes high levels of Vitamin E and high levels of Lycopene, 70 times the amount of Lycopene as compared to the level found in tomatoes and 10 times the amount of beta-carotene as found in carrots or sweet potatoes.  The seeds of Gac Fruit are dried, husked and ground and used in Chinese and Vietnamese traditional medicine. Nafoods specializes in growing and processing fruit like pineapple, passion fruit, other tropical fruits like Lichee, etc. and most recently Gac fruit into concentrate which is then sold to juice processing companies internationally.  Nafoods has done this for 10 years and in 2010 reached sales of over US12 million dollars.     Pictures: (top left) Processed juice extract awaiting shipment; (top right and lower) Nafoods modern and sanitary fruit processing machinery is made by well known German and Italian food processing equipment companies As Tet 2012 approached, I visited Nghe An to meet with Nafoods and to learn more of their story.  Chairman and General Director Nguyen Manh Hung met me at Vinh airport and took me to their Vinh office.  Over tea he discussed business and the Nafoods story.  According to Mr. Hung, NgheAn FoodStuff Joint Stock Company (Nafoods) was officially established on December 5th, 2000 and has been in business for over 11 years. It was granted the ownership of export pineapple processing factory with an initial capital of VND74 billions by Nghe An People’s Committee in the same year.  The factory was decided to be located close to the company owned growing fields in the factory site in Quynh Chau Village, Quynh Luu District, Nghe An Province and the factory became operational on June 10th, 2003, with a production capacity of  5,000 tons of concentrated pineapple juice.  By importing technology from Bertuzzi and Flottwegh – two of the biggest, most well-known juice machine producers in Italy and Germany – Nafoods’ attained and quickly mastered the highest level of processing equipment to produce in a sanitary closed process which maintains the natural flavor and high nutritional content of the juice. Nafoods maintains the highest level of quality control procedures based on US, European and Japanese Standards.  Nafoods was among the very first Vietnamese companies to become an official member of SGF, one of the leading juice quality control and food sanitation organizations. Nafoods’ experts and according to Mr. Hung SGF’s international specialists routinely visit to carefully test input factors such as seeds, ground samples, reaping time, water resources as well as manufacturing, packaging and preserving phases.  Mr. Hung showed me the certificates certifying that Nafoods has met ISO, Halal, Kosher and other food control standards and he and the company pride themselves on all aspects of the food control and processing procedures followed. That night we had dinner that included provincial officials that pointed out to me that Nghe An is one of the poorest provinces in Vietnam and highly dependent on agriculture.  As Vietnam has progressed over the last ten years in terms of its industrialization millions of Vietnamese have raised their living standards and millions are no longer classified as poor by international standards.  Despite this, the officials noted that Vietnam and Nghe An both have a long way to go in terms of development.  Also that many rural areas and particularly those containing minorities which are often based in the mountainous areas, still have very low family incomes below the poverty level.  The officials stated that in terms of agriculture, Nghe An is one of the few provinces where agro-food businesses can still acquire relatively large plots of land for mechanized processing and that they hoped to utilize this advantage to further attract new business and expand existing companies like Mr. Hungs’ Also at the dinner, Mr. Hung introduced me to his Ho Chi Minh City and Vinh team which includes a mix of Vietnamese and foreign educated talent.  All of the group is young and seemed highly motivated.  Most speak English and several have MBAs or business degrees from major international institutions.  The next morning we took the nearly two hour drive to the processing factory.  Here I met most of the over 110 employees that work for the company and toured the facility.  As Mr. Hung had told me, the equipment is indeed state-of-the-art and from Italy and Germany.  Most of it is stainless steel and cleanliness was very high.  The facility was getting ready to process a run of Gac Fruit which I believe is found in very few places other than Vietnam.  Gac Fruit looks like a melon and grows on trellises similar to passion fruit.  The melon is opened exposing a bright red soft flesh in the center which is processed to remove the seeds.  The red soft flesh is then turned into a concentrate which has been tested and is high in Vitamin C, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin E, Lycopene and a variety of nutrients, including vitamins, trace minerals, and dietary fiber, and many other classes of biologically active compounds.  The seeds which are flat and large are dried and used to produce traditional medicine used for improving joint pain and flexibility according to Nguyen Van Be who is considered a national treasure in Vietnam for his work in preserving traditional medicine and in protecting scarce trees and plants and protecting the environment. (Please see our article: Traditional Medicine With a More Scientific Basis Continues To Prosper in Vietnam)     Pictures: (top left) Pineapple in one of Nafoods growing fields.  (top right and lower) Modern processing equipment is a hallmark of Nafoods operations which are expanding. Mr. Hung was very proud to show me the company’s fields of pineapple that surrounded the production facility and to make sure I saw the water treatment facilities that allow his company to claim that water leaving the facility is fully processed and leaves cleaner than it enters.  A large lake and test facilities for corn and other potential future crops and the site for the new IQF frozen food facility was also a part of our tour including a test pineapple grow facility that his company is running with the largest company in the world in terms of pineapple raising.  Mr. Hung also noted his company’s micro-credit projects which are helping farmers in the area who lease their own fields to buy higher quality seed and fertilizer at lower costs and expand their profits.  We met with a young Vietnamese woman and her young son who has taken advantage of these efforts and moved from a very primitive condition into relative prosperity with a highly diverse and sustainable mix of pineapple, fruit trees, chicken and pig raising plus vegetable growing all with help of the company.       Pictures above: Mr. Hung and Nafoods staff celebrate the approach of Lunar New Year by a traditional menu and song and dance.  At top, workers and staff are honored for their performance duing the year. That afternoon Mr. Hung was kind enough to invite me to observe the yearly recognition and awards ceremony where many of the company’s young and enthusiastic staff received monetary awards and certificates for suggestions, innovations and their hard work throughout the year.  That night was the annual company Tet celebration and as the sales and marketing staff served as MCs in both Vietnamese and English, Vietnamese staff entertained us all with traditional dances, popular songs and other entertainment.  Even Mr. Hung who I hadn’t realized had such a good singing voice gave us a rendition of several popular Vietnamese songs. Nafoods faces 2012 with a sense of anticipation and an energy that you can see on the faces of its young and hard working staff.  In talking with them, I know they see many challenges but I also came away with a sense of optimism that the better SMEs in Vietnam will have their challenges but also have big plans for improvements in 2012 and that the best companies aren’t resting on their laurels but are rapidly now improving operations further so that they can better compete with other SE Asian companies in the run up to 2015 when the Asia Economic Community (AEC) will come into full force.

An Interview with David Carter, President of Odyssey Resrouces Limited - An Accounting Company in Vietnam

                                                                 - by Christopher Runckel, President of Runckel & Associates (www.Business-in-Asia.com)

1. The last year has been a difficult one for most countries in the world, how has Vietnam fared, what is you sense of how foreign invested businesses in Vietnam have done and how has the world financial crisis affected you and your company? By virtue of the history of the country, Vietnam has been more isolated from the world events than other countries. Although Vietnam has been open since the early 90’s, there are many fiscal, tax and monetary controls that the government has available to deal with difficult situations.  The government in this country has the ability to react very quickly as it has demonstrated in this situation. In early 2009 the Vietnamese authorities stepped in quite quickly to remove Personal income taxes for the first 6 months of 2009, restore a number of benefits for expatriates working in Vietnam, delay and reduce corporate income taxes, offer 4 % interest subsidies to Vietnamese firms, and speedier Value Added Tax returns for export oriented companies.  At the same time, there have been further reductions in trade barriers under the WTO agreements, and a number of new trade agreements (such as the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand trade agreement). This is not to say that foreign invested companies have not failed or endured difficulties during this period, nor have things been easy.  Tourism, property and funds have experienced significant problems inherent with the slowdown in Vietnam. The world financial crisis hasn’t really affected our company. We’re in a growth phase at the moment and have experienced a year-on-year growth of 40% and we expect this to continue into 2010. 2. I believe your company is roughly about 60 people now.  How have you grown and what services do you provide and what part of that business has grown most quickly and are there any new areas you plan to focus on in 2010?     That is correct, we have around 60 accounting staff. Our services to Vietnam include:  company incorporation services, accounting & tax work, payroll outsourcing, business valuation and due diligence work.  Our Australian accounting services include accounting and tax compliance work for all types of Australian entities.  Over the last year we’ve seen our company be more widely recognized as a leader in the mid-tier market and as a firm with several years of experience we’re continuing to receive a significant number of referrals. With the expansion in staff numbers we’ve been able to secure more types of one-off type work such as embassy aid programs, due diligences and valuations. With the WTO agreement opening up a number of new segments to foreign owned corporations, we’ve also seen a growth in our work in new areas such as education and trading. 3. Can you tell us a little about yourself and your experience and also about some of the key people in your company and their qualifications?  Also, what brought you to Vietnam and what keeps you here? I have a Big 8 accounting background prior to moving to Asia and hold both my American and Australian CPA qualifications.  I’ve been living in Asia for the last 16 years with the exception of 2 years in the US where I was fortunate to meet my Vietnamese wife.  Prior to focusing my attention on Odyssey I held various CFO positions in the region so I have both professional and real world background which I find ideal in advising clients. We’ve found that overseas educated and experienced accountants play an integral role in the quality of service we are able to offer our clients.   Odyssey has many overseas educated and qualified accountants including Australian CA and CPA’s. In supporting our clients operating in Vietnam, we employ  a number of Vietnamese qualified accountants. We also employ and develop Vietnamese accounting graduates for a variety of positions in our firm. 4. You have lived and worked in Australia, the U.S., Thailand, Indonesia and now in Vietnam.  How do you compare and contrast these locations and how stressful and/or rewarding do you find your work in Vietnam?    Vietnam is very much one of the last developing countries in the world, and while they still suffer from many well published issues facing developing countries (such as infrastructure development), the country has an energy and ‘get the job done’ approach that is refreshing.  Vietnam is still developing and opening up, and is attracting a significant amount of foreign investment in many new areas. Although I have worked in many countries, Vietnam offers some amazing opportunities as a developing country that continues to open up. Whilst the working hours are long, I enjoy advising clients and being involved in ensuring their business is successful. Also, as a professional services firm, it’s refreshing to offer our staff the opportunity and challenge to work on a wide variety of clients and jobs. With the advances in technology, it’s difficult to leave the work at the office, and I find it a challenge to put the work down at the end of the day and ensure that I spend quality time with my family. 5. Vietnam tax and accounting regulations have been changing quickly as the government moves to alter laws and to improve procedures?  What new changes has the government enacted over the last year that have helped to attract new companies to come to Vietnam and in what areas do you think the government still has much to do? In point one above I mentioned a lot of the recent general initiatives and changes that have occurred this year. There are many laws specific to various industries and locations that it would take too long to note them here. One example is the recent circular from the Ministry of Finance indicating that enterprises that have carried out environmentally friendly projects will have to pay 10 percent corporate tax, as opposed to the usual tax rate of 25%. The government continues to express a desire to attract foreign investment and more recently has allowed various remote provinces to adjust both the corporate and personal income tax rates for companies setting up in these locations. Vietnam should see an ongoing improvement in developing the systems to cope with the laws that it has recently enacted. It seems it will take some time for the government to implement systems and training to cope with the new laws. There is still a significant amount of paperwork, red tape and delays in most processes, but this has been communicated to the government and they have indicated it is a priority to reduce this reporting burden to attract new and retain new foreign investment. 6. As I understand it, new companies in Vietnam often have a more difficult time finding well qualified company accountants.  How can your company help in this area and does working with your company cost more or less than working with the major accounting firms and does it offer a better range of safeguards and checks and balances than trying to go it alone? New companies are faced with many issues operating in Vietnam that will take their focus away from core business activities.  The Vietnamese have their own Vietnamese Accounting Standards, which are unlike anything most foreigners would understand. There is a large amount of paperwork and systems involved in setting up a company, and we recommend that professional help be sought in the early stages. The risk is that if the systems are not properly set up and documented, then the expenses or loans are disallowed by the authorities. As a mid-tier accounting firm with many levels of experience amongst our accounting staff, we have worked with many foreign companies outsourcing their accounting work to Odyssey. We find that our new clients appreciate the packaged compliance service in their early entry into Vietnam. We work with our clients to provide a solution that not only meets their needs, but allows them room to grow until such times as they can take on the accounting requirements on their own if they prefer. However, there is usually a high turnover of Vietnamese Chief Accountants around the year end time and we offer the security of knowing that your work will be completed correctly on time, and the reports lodged with the authorities as required. 7. In many countries, new companies need to hire a lawyer to review their business start-up forms and government licenses.  Does your firm do this kind of work and what services do you offer to foreign companies starting up in Vietnam? We have the professional accounting and legal resources to take on this work and we prefer to be advising clients as soon as they enter the market. We have found issues with lawyers executing their client’s instructions perfectly, but creating problems later that are expensive to correct. Our preference is to offer a one-stop shop for their legal, accounting and HR issues. Odyssey wants to create long term relationships with our clients, and so you will find our advice and assistance is for your long term success in the market. In addition, we also offer due diligence,  business valuation services, and joint venture discussions/negotiations. 8. For the new investor into Vietnam, what is the area within accounting and taxation that you believe new investors don't adequately focus their attention or misunderstand the workload, risk or rewards?   It is critical that the systems and procedures are set up correctly in the first instance, and reported to the government authorities. Without proper advice, we have seen loans not being recognized, or expenses disallowed by the tax authorities. There is a significant amount of paperwork involved in the daily operations of a business, even a startup business, and failing to lodge the appropriate forms on time can result in penalties. Having a good accountant at your side allows you to seek and receive advice on the ever changing myriad of accounting and tax laws, and ensure you are continually compliant with the various regulations. 9. What pending changes in tax and accounting rules do you see for 2010 and how do you see these playing out?  Will Vietnam be a cheaper less costly place to work in terms of tax and accounting going forward or do you see it otherwise? The government will continue its push to implement the tax initiatives they announced pre 2009 once the Global Financial Situation has settled down and Vietnam sees a return of foreign investment to previous levels. This means the implementation of a tax system applicable to all residents of Vietnam regardless of whether they are an expat or not, and we expect many of the expat benefits to be gradually phased out. The government has given an undertaking to ensure all individuals have an individual tax file number and in the next few years their will be an increase in the large numbers of individual tax returns lodged with the government. You should see at the same time more systems in place to allow the government to track transactions and the taxes applicable on these. This would include taxes on share sales and  land/property transfers. The reporting to Vietnamese authorities still continues to be largely paper based, and there is a large volume of documentation that is required to be lodged. I can’t see this reporting burden being reduced in the near term. The Vietnamese authorities will implement tax initiatives to continue to attract foreign investment, so I would expect that while the Global Financial Situation is delicate there will be a continuation of the current tax and accounting laws. The one exception is that the government has announced the gradual increase of the costs associated with employees for their social, health, unemployment and union insurances. We believe these will steadily increase in line with the government announcements. 10. Could you tell us more about your company, staff and services? Odyssey Resources Limited  Odyssey Resources offer professional Accounting & Business Services. Odyssey’s unique position as leader amongst the mid-tier accounting firms in Vietnam has come through providing an international quality service at genuine mid-tier rates. We have assisted many International Companies to establish and maintain a successful presence in Vietnam. Odyssey is proudly an Australian Owned Company led by our CEO David Carter. David is an Australian ex-Big 8 CA/CPA and has been involved in Tax and International Business for around two decades, his first involvement in Vietnam began in 1994 with one of the first foreign Due Diligences.