An overseas firm - Natural gas’s substitute fuels in Vietnam: market research into the scope of supply for the industrial sector - 2017

Project Description:

The client wished to study the market of key substitute products of natural gas in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the big picture of fuel supplying markets in Vietnam. Therefore, the client commissioned a study on the goal of outlining a macro perspective of some fuel sources, how each market functions as well as profiles of the key suppliers. There were a number of fuels subjected to the study, including: Fuel Oil; LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas); Coal; Biomass (woodchip, rice husk and cashew oil).

State Government of Victoria (Australia) - International Education Opportunities in Vietnam - 2016

Project Description:

The South East Asia Victorian Government Business Office (SEA VGBO) seeked to commission a project to scope international education barriers and opportunities in Vietnam for Victoria State’s universities and education service providers. Vietnam was identified as a priority market for the Victorian international education sector. Vietnam was Victoria’s third largest source market for international students and Victorian education providers were keen to build on these links to secure offshore partnerships and projects with the Vietnamese government, education institutions and industry.

Because of Victoria’s early involvement in education in Vietnam, the State was well placed to build on initiatives such as the Vietnamese Government’s proposed investment in VET reform. To appropriately and effectively meet demand for education services in Vietnam, a renewed and targeted effort in-market was required. In particular, there was a need to better understand the policy and regulatory environment, barriers to market access, the scope of business and partnership opportunities, and options for a future in-market Victorian Government presence.

Carbon Trust - Scoping study for a low carbon energy security programme in Southeast Asia - 2016

Project Description:

This Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) funded project aimed at promoting low carbon economies by working with governments and organisations in the UK and internationally to reduce carbon emissions. It also aimed to promote the efficient and cost effective management of energy, water and resources, and enable the development of commercial low carbon technologies.

MKE carried out research activities and worked closely with stakeholders to collect and input data as identified in the Excel template sheet provided by the Carbon Trust. MKE carried out initial qualitative research covered by the main policies relevant to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and liquefied natural gas. MKE also conducted a stakeholder mapping exercise according to an influence-interest matrix. MKE’s team facilitated discussions with local stakeholders, including government representatives, parliamentarians and multilateral and bilateral donors and NGOs.

Mercy Corps - Baseline Survey of Linking Laputta to Markets(LLM)- LIFT Delta 3 - 2016

Project Description:

The aim of the Baseline survey of Linking Laputta to Markets (LLM) was ‘increased incomes for landless, vulnerable and smallholder households in Laputta Township’. Two higher-level outcomes (HLOs) will contribute to this goal: Total projected beneficiaries for the LLM project is 5,100 HHs from 276 villages.

MKE took responsibility to produce outcomes: HLO 1: Improved performance of smallholder farmers in the rice value chain; HLO 2: Landless and vulnerable women and men have stability of income from diverse off-farm employment and economic opportunities. Intermediate outcomes include

a) farmer producer enterprises (FPEs) operating as professional market actors

b) smallholder farmers adopting improved agricultural practices

c) landless women and men benefitting from improved employment opportunities.

Cardno (funded by EU) - Market Studies for EU Gateway | Business Avenues Programme - 2016

Countries Involved:

Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.

Project Description:

The purposes of the market studies were to provide selected EU companies for participation in the “EU Gateway | Business Avenues Programme” an introductory understanding of the selected market and help them in defining their strategy towards this market. Sectors studied included: Environment & Water Technologies, Green Energy Technologies, Construction & Building Technologies, Healthcare & Medical Technologies, Information & Communication Technologies, Contemporary European Design, and Food & Beverages.

An overseas private firm - Natural gas’s substitute fuels in Vietnam: market research into the scope of supply for the industrial sector - 2016

Project Description:

The Client wished to understand the market of key substitute products of natural gas in order to develop comprehensive understanding on the big picture of fuel supplying market in Vietnam. Therefore, the client commissioned a study on the goal of outlining macro perspective of some fuel sources, how each market function as well as profiles of the key suppliers.

There were a number of fuels subjected to the study, including: Fuel Oil, LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas), Coal and Biomass (woodchip, rice husk and cashew oil). MKE Team conducted the desk research to review the current situation of the Vietnam market in the field of fuel processing industry, and in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders of each sub-industry; and wrote the report.

OECD - Asian Roundtable on Corporate Governance - 2016

Countries Involved:

Myanmar and Laos.

Project Description:

Established in 1999, the OECD-Asian Roundtable on Corporate Governance serves as a regional forum for exchanging experiences and advancing the reform agenda on corporate governance while promoting awareness and use of the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance. It brings together policy makers, practitioners and experts on corporate governance from the Asian region, OECD countries and relevant international organisations.

MKE conducted a stock –taking of Myanmar’s public companies and presented the findings and also shared regional perspectives on capital market development at the OECD Corporate Governance workshop in Laos one the 1st and the 2nd of June 2016.

Irish Aid - Scoping study to explore cooperation in the agriculture & agribusiness sectors under Irish Development Experience Sharing Programme - 2014

Project Description:

Irish Aid’s Bilateral Programme with Vietnam commenced in 2005. Ireland’s 2007-2010 strategy for Vietnam and the subsequent 2011 – 2015 strategy contained a commitment to develop bilateral experience exchange links between Ireland and Vietnam with particular reference to economic and private sector development via an Irish Development Experience Sharing Programme (IDEAS).

As Ireland’s c­­urrent strategy for Vietnam 2011-2015 was coming to an end, Irish Aid wished to explore the potential of new areas for knowledge exchange that could be incorporated into a new phase of the IDEAS programme post 2015. In preparation for the new phase of the IDEAS programme, MKE drafted a paper to undertake preparatory work prior to the scoping study by Embassy, with a specific focus in the agriculture and agribusiness sectors.

The World Bank Group - Implementation of the EAP Enterprise Surveys (EAP ES 2014) - 2014

Countries Involved:

Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Project Description:

The EAP ENTERPRISE SURVEYS 2014 was a World Bank (WB) project aiming to study the business environment in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Laos and Vietnam. With the participation of 13 key professional staffs and sub-contractors, MKE led the following responsibilities:

·        Identifying sample frames in accordance with World Bank outlined strategy and approval;

·        Conducting the face-to-face interview with approximately 6,090 establishments of the sample frame;

·        Providing to client a set of a cleaned database of all completed interviews in the STATA electronic database

·        Preparing report, in English, on the data describing all codes, sampling biases introduced in the survey implementation and other pertinent information for researchers.

Trade Commission of an Embassy - Update the profiles of the three industries and Vietnam Market Overview - 2014

Project Description:

Mekong Economics updated these profiles for the Embassy’s Trade Commission.