PricewaterhouseCoopers Vietnam advises on sustainable business in Vietnam

Hanoi, 17 September 2009 - According to Mr. Ian S. Lydall, PricewaterhouseCoopers Vietnam (PwC) General Director, a lot of tax and incentive policies have been tried and are being tried to support environment and sustainable business, so-called “Green Business”, around the world and there is no “silver bullet” a single set of best policies that would be most easily applicable for the consideration of regulatory changes in Vietnam.

Mr Lydall was speaking on the first day of “GREEN-BIZ 2009”, an event organised by the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) in partnership with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on 17 and 18 September 2009 in Hanoi. This event is Vietnam’s premier event showcasing European solutions to Vietnam’s development and sustainability challenges with particular focus on the energy, water, transport and construction sectors, and effective ways of leveraging the financing available for “Green” projects. The event combines a conference and an exhibition attracting hundreds of participants. Green-Biz 2009 was shaped with a comprehensive and unique structure to bring together key figures from the European and Vietnamese business communities, government, academia, consultancies and financing institutions to present possible options and develop common solutions for Vietnam. PricewaterhouseCoopers Vietnam is very pleased to have been invited to contribute to the success of this event.

At a panel session on financing green business in Vietnam, chaired by Mr. Ashok Sud, Vice Chairman of the EuroCham as well as Chief Executive, Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia of Standard Chartered Bank and Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia, Director of Legal Department, Ministry of Finance, panellists included Mrs.Victoria Kwakwa, Country Director of World Bank, Mr. Ayumi Konishi, Country Director of Asia Development Bank (ADB), Mr. Jerry Ngo, Head of Origination & Client Coverage of Standard Chartered Bank, Dr. Le Thi Kim Nga, Member of the Board of Directors, Vietcombank, Mr. Lukas Heer, Regional Manager SEA of First Climate, Mr. Nicolas Renard, Specialist of Veolia Water Municipal Development Division and Mr Ian S. Lydall General Director of PricewaterhouseCoopers Vietnam.

Mr Lydall shared with the audience insights of fiscal incentives, subsidies and industrial promotion policies for promoting the “Green Business” which were applied in many countries not only in developed ones like Australia, US, UK but also emerging ones which has similarities with Vietnam like China, India or Chile.

In the Q&A section concluding the panel discussion, Mr Lydall also highlighted “In order to support the sustainable employee engagement policy, corporate responsibility (CR) should be considered as a key. According to a recent PwC global survey of graduates, 88% of millennials would deliberately seek employers whose CR behaviours reflect their own values”. These findings came from a series of PwC publications named “Managing tomorrow’s people” the latest of which was published today.

 

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Recent “Green Business” related PricewaterhouseCoopers Publications

China Greentech Report 2009

Through the China Greentech Initiative, PricewaterhouseCoopers, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and other organizations have come together to define greentech market opportunities and solutions which will contribute to a sustainable China and world. The China Greentech Report, the first deliverable of the Initiative, provides cross-sector analysis of the market and environmental issues facing China, the country’s regulatory response, and addresses key development challenges and opportunities to accelerate greentech market growth. This 400-page report covers seven sectors within the area of Greentech.

Available to download at The China Greentech Initiative website

Tax and the Environment: A world of possibilities

This book highlights the opportunity to save taxes and the environment. It provides a thorough overview of both environmental taxes and tax incentives related to environmentally friendly investments and activities.

It starts with a general introduction into the principles of environmental taxation and then, by looking at a set of 13 countries, the book provides an analysis of tax measures in the field of direct and indirect taxation with regard to the environment. It concludes with a comparative overview of the tax measures in the countries discussed.

This 508-page publication was published by International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) in cooperation with the Renewable Energy Group of PwC

For more information: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/tax/publications/environment-taxation-incentives.jhtml
    
“Managing tomorrow’s people” series” 

  • Millennials at work – perspectives from a new generation December 2008 
  • How the downturn will change the future of work September 2009


These reports outline expectations from the way companies should operate in the future, in light of a survey of the values of over 4,000 new graduates from 44 countries. In addition to analysing the research results, various scenarios are presented for the future.

Amongst the key findings, the survey highlights that ‘88% of millennials would deliberately seek employers whose Corporate Responsibility behaviours reflect their own values. ‘What is more, All regions surveyed scored at least 81%.

Please contact PwC for copies of these publications.


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About PricewaterhouseCoopers Vietnam
PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pwc.com) provides industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to build public trust and enhance value for its clients and their stakeholders. More than 155,000 people in 153 countries across our network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice.

PricewaterhouseCoopers established offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 1994. Our team of almost 500 local and expatriate staff has a thorough understanding of the transitional local economy and a wide knowledge of policies and procedures covering investment, tax, legal, accounting and consulting throughout Vietnam. PwC has built strong relationships with key ministries, financial institutions, SOEs, SMEs, the ODA community and commercial organisations.

PwC also has two legal branches licensed by the Ministry of Justice in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. The firm is uniquely placed in the Vietnamese market, being able to provide clients with comprehensive legal advisory services alongside the Assurance, Advisory and Tax services.

In January 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers Vietnam (www.pwc.com/vn) received the Golden Dragon Award. The Awards are co-organised annually by Vietnam Economic Times and the ForeignInvestment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment to acknowledge and honour the success of foreign invested enterprises (FIEs) in Vietnam and their contribution to the economy.

"PricewaterhouseCoopers" refers to the network of member firms ofPricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity.