PROJECT

Projects

Environmental & Social Review Summary

Project Number

33350

Company Name

THIEN MINH TRAVEL JOINT STOCK COMPANY

Date ESRS Disclosed

Nov 1, 2013

Country

Viet Nam

Region

East Asia and the Pacific

Last Updated Date

Dec 1, 2016

Environmental Category

B - Limited

Status

Active

Previous Events

Approved : Dec 17, 2013
Signed : Mar 12, 2014
Invested : Mar 28, 2014

Sector

Tour Operators (i.e., Arranging and Assembling Tours)

Industry

Tourism, Retail and Property

Department

Regional Industry - MAS Asia & Pac

Project Description

Established in 1994, TMG (english.thienminhtravel.com) is a leading travel service provider in Vietnam. Since 2004, the Company has been expanding the tour operations business as well as diversifying into other aspects of the travel business such as hotel operations and management. Today, the Company operates (i) three inbound tour businesses (ii) seven hotels with total of 547 rooms in various locations in Vietnam plus one hotel in Laos, (iii) an on-line travel bookings company and (iv) a hotel management company.

TMG is undertaking a long term strategic expansion of both the tour and hotel business via (i) developing a branded three star hotel chain across major cities in Vietnam (ii) scaling up the four-star Victoria hotel chain to major cities and tourism destinations in Vietnam (iii) diversifying tour product portfolio by offering high value added products.

As part of its long term plan, TMG is considering several projects, which potentially includes brownfield/greenfield development of the following properties and business (“the Project”):
Expansion of Company’s existing hotels / resorts in Mai Chau
Greenfield construction of a new 80 room hotel/resort in Cat Ba in Northern Vietnam
Greenfield construction of a new three-star 100 room hotel in Can Tho
Greenfield construction of a second four-star beachfront Victoria Hotel with 150 rooms in Hoi An near Da Nang
Purchase two 14-seater seaplanes to provide scenic flights / chartered flight services for tourists in Halong bay and Nha Trang.

To support these expansion plans, IFC is considering an equity investment in TMG.

Overview of IFC's Scope of Review

The proposed investment would be IFC’s second transaction with Thien Minh Group (“TMG” or “the Company”), one of the largest private sector integrated tour and hotel operator company in Vietnam, to expand its tourism business. The documents for the previous IFC investment (Project #29049 disclosed in May 2010) are available at: ifcext.ifc.org/ifcext/spiwebsite1.nsf/ProjectDisplay/SPI_DP29049.

The scope of this review included assessing TMG’s capacity to oversee and monitor compliance with IFC’s Performance Standards (PS) as well as national environmental and social (ES&), and occupational health and safety (OHS) regulatory requirements. The review relied on documents made available by TMG and interviews conducted by IFC staff during site visits to TMG’s operational assets in Vietnam as well as to some of the potential sites for new developments.

IFC’s review consisted of appraising technical, environmental, health and safety (EHS) related information of the TMG, including EHS policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs); regulatory permits; EHS monitoring data for its operational facilities, design specifications and drawings for the proposed tourism projects; HR policies, procedures and records; and procedures and documents related to land acquisition transactions in Vietnam.

Being an existing IFC client, TMG has been subject to IFC’s environmental and social (E&S) supervision for a number of years; and has been performing satisfactorily. TMG is proactive on its E&S reporting requirements to IFC and has made good progress in the past year on implementation of the agreed E&S action plan (ESAP). This review thus, builds upon the previously disclosed ESRS and ESAP , and the information collected during IFC’s engagement with TMG over the past years.

IFC’s appraisal considered E&S management plans for the Project and gaps if any between these plans and IFC requirements. Where necessary, corrective measures, intended to close these gaps within a reasonable period of time, are summarized in the paragraphs that follow and in the agreed ESAP disclosed in this review summary. Through implementation of these management plans and the ESAP the Project is expected to be designed and operated in accordance with PS objectives.

E & S Project Categorization and Applicable Standard

Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures

Stakeholder Engagement

Broad Community Support

Environmental & Social Action Plan

Client Documentation

File Name Actions
333350_ThienMinh2_ESAP2Column.xlsx