BACHELOR THESIS Major International Business Administration Topic ENHANCING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES OF INVESTMENT BANKING DEPARTMENT AT THIEN VIET SECURITIES COMPANY TABLE O.
BACHELOR THESIS Major: International Business Administration Topic: ENHANCING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF FINANCIAL ADVISORY SERVICES OF INVESTMENT BANKING DEPARTMENT AT THIEN VIET SECURITIES COMPANY TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS STATUTORY DECLARATION ABBREVIATION LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES INTRODUCTION TABLE OF CONTENT .3 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR COMPETITIVENESS OF SERVICES OF A COMPANY 1.1 General theory of competitiveness .3 1.1.1 The concept of competition 1.1.2 The concept of competitiveness .3 1.1.3 Levels of competitiveness 1.2 Factors affecting competitiveness of services of a company .6 1.2.1 External environment 1.2.2 Internal environment .10 1.3 Criteria for measuring the competitiveness of products/services .11 1.3.1 Quantitative criteria .11 1.3.2 Qualitative criteria 12 1.4 The importance of enhancing the competitiveness of services 14 1.4.1 Enhancing competitiveness to survive in a fiercely competitive environment 14 1.4.2 Enhancing competitiveness for sustainable development 15 1.5 Solutions to enhance competitiveness of service .16 1.5.1 General solutions to enhance the competitiveness of service 16 1.5.2 Solutions to enhance service competitiveness of a company .17 CHAPTER 2: ASSESSING REAL SITUATION OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF INVESTMENT BANKING SERVICES AT THIEN VIET SECURITIES FROM 2019 TO 2021 20 2.1 Overview of Thien Viet Securities and Investment Banking Services 20 2.1.1 Introduction of Thien Viet Securities 20 2.1.2 General information of Investment Banking Department 26 2.2 Factors affecting the competitiveness of Investment Banking Services at 27 Thien Viet Securities 27 2.2.1 External factors .27 2.2.2 Internal factors 34 2.3 The tools that Thien Viet Securities adopted to enhance the competitiveness of financial advisory services in the period of 2019 - 2021 37 2.3.1 Service & product strategy 37 2.3.2 Pricing strategy .39 2.3.3 Sales promotion strategy .39 2.4 The criteria measuring the competitiveness of Investment Banking Services 41 2.4.1 Qualitative criteria 41 2.4.2 Quantitative criteria .45 2.5 Assessment on the competitiveness of Investment Banking Services at Thien Viet Securities 51 2.5.1 Strengths 52 2.5.2 Limitations 52 2.5.3 Causes for limitations 54 CHAPTER 3: SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENHANCING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF INVESTMENT BANKING SERVICES OF THIEN VIET SECURITIES 56 3.1 The basis for determining direction and solutions 56 3.1.1 Opportunities 56 3.1.2 Challenges 56 3.2 Directions and goals to enhance the competitiveness of financial advisory services of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities .57 3.2.1 Development orientation .57 3.2.2 Goals for enhancing competitiveness of service 57 3.3 Solution for enhancing the competitiveness of financial advisory service of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities 58 3.3.1 Solution to increase service quality 59 3.3.2 Solutions to implement promotion activities 61 3.3.3 Solutions to standardize processes 62 3.3.4 Solutions to improve the quality of human resources .63 3.4 Recommendation 65 3.4.1 Recommendations to the Government 65 3.4.2 Recommendations to Thien Viet Securities Company 65 CONCLUSION 66 REFERENCES 67 ABBREVIATION B2B Business to Business ISO International Organization for Standardization TVS Thien Viet Securities USD United States Dollar WTO World Trade Organization LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Thien Viet Securities' portfolio companies .23 Table 2.2: Company’s income statements 23 Table 2.3: Company’s income statement analysis .24 Table 2.4: Company’s revenue breakdown 25 Table 2.5: Investment banking department’s organization structure 27 Table 2.6: Capital and asset norms of the company in the period of 2019 - 2021 .35 Table 2.7: Headcounts of Investment Banking Department by Professional title, 2022 35 Table 2.8: Headcounts of Investment Banking Department by Level of Qualification, 2022 36 Table 2.10: Company's employees’ turnover .37 Table 2.11: Thien Viet Securities’ network 38 Table 2.12: Thien Viet Securities’s Investment Banking track record .39 Table 2.13: Revenue and cost from financial advisory services of big firms .42 Table 2.14: Thien Viet Securities’ survey on service quality .46 Table 3.1: Thien Viet Securities’ business plan 58 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: M Porter's competitive forces model .8 Figure 2.1: Company’s organization structure 21 Figure 2.2: Investment banking department’s organization structure: .26 Figure 2.3: Accumulated FDI 29 Figure 2.4: World’s top 20 FDI inflow host economies .29 Figure 2.5: Vietnam FDI inflow 29 Figure 2.6: Competitors mapping of Financial Advisory Services 32 Figure 2.7: Thien Viet Securities’ network 38 Figure 2.8: Number of transactions by year (1996-2021) 43 Figure 2.9: Total transaction value and average deal size by year (1996-2021) 44 INTRODUCTION Research purpose In the context of Global economic integration, the economy of a country and the world has a lot of opportunities for development Global integration has created favorable conditions for businesses around the world to expand their business to other territories, develop many new business models, and promote the movement of capital and personnel from one country to another On the other hand, it also contributes to increasing the competition of each business in the economy More and more new businesses are established, which also means that the market share of each existing company is likely to decrease, threatening the company's competitive position in the economy To prevent that, companies must always pay attention to their services and capabilities to maintain and enhance competitive advantages Vietnam, a developing country, is receiving a lot of investment and attention from other countries in the world FDI inflows into Vietnam are increasing day by day, creating favorable conditions for investment in all aspects to boost the economy Businesses can take advantage of capital to invest in business expansion or attract these capital sources to develop a new business In the economic structure of Vietnam, the proportion of service companies is increasing and playing an important role in the economy In particular, financial consulting services are becoming increasingly essential, as an effective support arm to help companies raise capital, build financial and investment strategies Thien Viet Securities is a public securities company, providing many financial services, including financial advisory services, through the operation of the Investment Banking Department The financial consulting services Thien Viet Securities are providing to customers are M&A, fundraising service There are more and more companies providing financial advisory services in the Vietnamese market, therefore, improving competitiveness to strengthen and maintain their position in the market is important for them with the sustainable development of the company Therefore, deciding to choose the topic: "Enhancing the competition of Financial Advisory Services of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities Company" is necessary for the development of the company in the volatile period of the economy Not only that, in each different period, this is still an important topic that should be studied, serving the development of each company, and helping the company achieve its short-term and long-term goals Research objectives The specific objectives of the study are as follows: ● Establish factors affecting the competitiveness of Investment Banking Services Thien Viet Securities ● Assess strengths, limitations in the operation activities that affect the competitiveness of the company on the basis of researching and analyzing the current situation of Financial advisory services of Thien Viet Securities Company ● Propose solutions to enhance the competitiveness of financial advisory services of Investment Banking Department of Thien Viet Securities Company Object and scope of the research ● Factors affecting the competitiveness of Financial advisory service of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities Company ● Financial advisory service of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities Company in the period 2019 - 2021 Research structure The structure of the research, in addition to the introduction and conclusion, consists of three chapters: Chapter 1: Theoretical framework for competitiveness of services of a company Chapter 2: Assessing real situation of the competitiveness of financial advisory service of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities from 2019 to 2021 Chapter 3: Solutions and recommendations for enhancing the financial advisory service of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR COMPETITIVENESS OF SERVICES OF A COMPANY 1.1 General theory of competitiveness 1.1.1 The concept of competition The concept of "competition" in general and "competition" in business is understood in different ways The term "competition" in the economy originated with the production of goods, but it became more specific and clearer as the capitalist commodity economy emerged and developed According to C Marx (1978), "Competition is a fierce battle between capitalists in order to compete for favorable conditions in the production and consumption of goods to obtain excess profits" According to the British Business Dictionary (1992), competition is "a fierce, competitive battle between businessmen vying for the same kind of resources for the same kind of customers" According to the Vietnam Encyclopedia, "Competition in business is a competitive activity among manufacturers, traders and businessmen in a market economy governed by supply and demand relationships in order to win the best things." most profitable production, consumption and market conditions” The nature of competition is the driving force that forces businesses to try their best to survive in the market Enterprises must combine many measures to maintain and strengthen their position in the market The competitiveness of an enterprise is reflected in the criteria of its ability to survive and develop in the market In short, competition in the market is “a competitive activity between economic actors (manufacturers, traders, traders, etc.) to gain a competitive advantage in the production or consumption of goods goods and services that bring them the most benefits” The objective of competition is to create and provide more added value for customers than competitors, in order to influence customers to choose their own products and services over those of competitors This can also be called a rivalry 1.1.2 The concept of competitiveness The term "competitiveness" is derived from the Latin word "compete", which means to engage in business competition to win a market Competitiveness is defined to be the capacity of the sector, industry or branch design and sell its goods at prices, quality and other features that are more attractive than the parallel characteristics of the goods offered by the competitors according to Flejterski, 1984 According to the OECD (1992), competitiveness can be defined as “the degree to which, under favorable market conditions, a country can produce goods and services that meet international competition, and at the same time, the ability to produce goods and services that satisfy international competition create conditions for an increase in real income and living standards in the country” According to economist Michael Porter, the concept of competitiveness can be understood as the ability of a company to gain market share and generate profits above the current average profit At a deeper level of research, the UK Department of Trade and Industry (2001) defines competitiveness as “the ability to provide the right goods and services with the right quality, at the right price, and at the right time point" On the other hand, Song (2008) defines the competitiveness of enterprises as the ability to sustainably meet customer requirements and bring profits Complementing the concept, Reiljan (2000) used a conflict of interest approach to competition, which is the ability to passively adapt to the competitive environment without any significant changes or developments any To Adamkiewicz-Drwiłło, 2002, the competitiveness of a company means adapting its products to the market and competition requirements, particularly in terms of product range, quality, price as well as optimal sales channels and methods of promotion According to Barker Köhler, 1998, a country's competitiveness is the degree to which it can, under free and fair market conditions, produce goods or services meeting the test of international markets, while simultaneously maintaining and expanding the real incomes of its population over the longer term Piccoli (2005) argues that competitiveness is directly related to an organization's ability to respond quickly to sudden changes in the market and the ability to maintain their position in it According to Berger, Bristow (2009), it is the ability to sell and make money, the ability to adapt and to attract customers In strategic management, the competitiveness of an enterprise is the ability to achieve a profit rate higher than the average rate of the industry When a company receives an economic rate of return that is above the average of its peers, it has a CHAPTER 3: SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ENHANCING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF INVESTMENT BANKING SERVICES OF THIEN VIET SECURITIES 3.1 The basis for determining direction and solutions 3.1.1 Opportunities The recent outbreak of Covid-19 may halt economic growth temporarily but will not reverse progress in socio-political change in Vietnam, which will lay a solid foundation for the next 25 years With a burgeoning middle class, a young population with a high urbanization rate, and a stable political standing, Vietnam will continue to prosper With Covid-related restrictions loosened, Vietnam's economy is expected to recover strongly as the fastest-growing economy in ASEAN in 2022, with 6.6% growth, followed by the Philippines (6.3%) and Malaysia (6.0%) Since 2019, factory relocations from China and other parts of Southeast Asia have driven an influx of foreign capital; a trend expected to persist during the next 25 years as Vietnam cements its strategic importance as a regional manufacturing hub Liberalization of the economy will also remain a key component of Vietnam's economic recovery, with the government focusing on free trade agreements Vietnam continues to maintain a loose monetary policy and low interest rates to help businesses resume normal operations Inflation and exchange rates will be well controlled throughout 2022 More and more global and regional private equity firms have established a local presence in Vietnam, with dedicated investment teams and networks of advisors on the ground Experts have seen strong interest from investors looking for sizable transactions, as foreign investors interested in Vietnam have accumulated a lot of dry powder since 2020 and are ready to revive deals that were put on hold or canceled Meanwhile, strong demand for growth capital is existing and exits from both founderbacked and private equity-owned companies, as evidenced by current live deals and strong pipelines of opportunities for 2022 and beyond 3.1.2 Challenges Thien Viet Securities expects that 2022 will be a much more challenging year than 2021 due to micro and macro economic factors tightening, such as global monetary tightening policies to curb inflation Most worldwide central banks are 58 preparing to raise interest rates to fight inflation, putting pressure on the Vietnam central bank to hike interest rates This leads to a situation with high cost of capital The growth of the economy will continue but is forecasted to be moderated compared to that of 2021 Not all industries will thrive as in 2021 but only some specific industry will outperform the rest China has continued to follow the “Zero Covid” policy, affecting Vietnamese import-export enterprises and the overatching thread of new Covid variants 3.2 Directions and goals to enhance the competitiveness of financial advisory services of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities 3.2.1 Development orientation Going into 2022, as the economy is expected to recover a 6.5% GDP growth according to the Government’s estimate, TVS hopes for another strong year for investment banking business as well as financial advisory services As one of the company’s core businesses, the Investment team is determined to continually broaden and strengthen the team’s capabilities, structuring deals across multiple asset classes with a keen focus on the tech sector The orientation in the period of 2022-2025 of the Investment Banking Department of Thien Viet Securities company is to become a trusted partner of customers in the field of financial advisory services, expand and grow market share, improve service quality and efficiency company activities In the short term in 2022, the Department plans to develop the capacity and ability of employees through the implementation of small and medium-sized deals, building internship programs to develop talent, and creating opportunities for young people At the same time, the department continuously maintains good relationships with current customers and partners In the long term, the company aims to turn Thien Viet Securities into the top firm providing financial advisory services for businesses, creating a competitive advantage different from other companies in the market Thien Viet Securities also aims to deliver high returns on past and future investments, in addition to investments in Momo, Finhay, and MindX 3.2.2 Goals for enhancing competitiveness of service Revenue, market share and profit 59 Thien Viet Securities and Investment Banking Department has set a target that by 2025, the revenue of financial advisory service will increase at the rate of 30%/year, Specific goals are shown in the following table: Table 3.1: Thien Viet Securities’ business plan Year 2022 2023 2024 2025 Revenue 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 Profit margin 14,471 18,196 19.256 20,145 Source: Company’s internal documents In order to achieve those objectives, the investment banking department has set the goal to get more investment banking deals and bigger deals size Specifically, the department targets the average deal size at $7.5 million, total deal amount of USD 80 million with total deals Broaden industry network and strengthen industry expertise of employees The department target to meet 24 VC funds, IB firms, and experts, stay connected by inviting them to industry calls, meet 60 quality startups and convert 5% of them to successful VC deals and conduct industry call per quarter to gain in-depth industry insights Develop a team with high profile employees In 2022, Investment Banking Department plans to Recruit Associate Director and Director in 2022 Each team member will a Financial Model & Market research case study per quarter to improve skills Improve work process and standards The department plans to achieve the goal by transferring knowledge by organizing training sessions 3.3 Solution for enhancing the competitiveness of financial advisory service of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities There are many different approaches to provide solutions to improve the competitiveness of services: the business approach and the customer approach With the approach from the customer, the proposed implementation measures are based on the customer's demand for the service so that the enterprise can find satisfying measures, thereby improving the competitiveness of the enterprise With the 60 approach from enterprise capacity, the implementation measure is to improve the capacity of the enterprise to serve the needs of customers (such as improving the quality of human resources, improving technology, network , ) In this thesis, the author recommends solutions to improve the quality of financial advisory service of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities in the direction of business approach Accordingly, the author goes from the factors of assessing the competitiveness of enterprises, weaknesses, and good points to come up with solutions to improve the competitiveness of services Basically, Thien Viet Securities is an enterprise that has been established for a period, has a history of formation, and has had certain achievements Many of the company's strengths are sustainable competitive advantages that it can leverage over the long term However, it cannot be denied that there are still some weaknesses that need to be improved, and to improve competitiveness, the company needs to continue to promote the existing advantages, and at the same time overcome the remaining problems in Some specific solutions are as follows: 3.3.1 Solution to increase service quality 3.3.1.1 Implementating timely service delivery Providing financial advisory service in a timelier manner Currently, Thien Viet Securities has branches in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, and an online presence is a necessary condition to be able to provide services and serve customers quickly However, the Investment Banking Department needs to thoroughly implement several measures to be able to provide consulting services in a timelier manner: ● Disseminate and clearly agree with customers on the process, working timeline of both parties, confirm the agreement of the customer and the agreement, keep track so that the company and the customer both complete the work according to the project timeline ants ● Take advantage of Thien Viet Securities' network of experts, advisors and partners to seek support in many aspects, including information, experience, and industry insights, taking it as valuable input to give the most accurate advice Responding to customer exchanges in a timely manner 61 Use diverse and flexible communication channels, messaging, and email to communicate with customers Usually, when performing services, the company uses meetings to exchange, update progress and report to customers In urgent cases or to increase interaction and efficiency, it is necessary to flexibly communicate with customers via text messages, direct calls, ask for opinions and feedback from customers on progress The most important thing is to make sure both sides are on the same page, clearly informed, and supportive of each other: 3.3.1.2 Enhancing the network of partners and experts The company could consider enhancing the network of partners and experts in diverse fields to gain knowledge and experience from domestic and foreign markets, as an input source to help the consulting team give key advice more precisely To this, not only the leadership team, the director needs to join hands, but all the employees from the lower level also need to start building their own network, to increase diversity and initiative for all employees, members of Investment Banking Department Building a strong personal reputation in the industry Personal prestige must be accumulated over time, the most basic thing is to start from the fact that everyone must well and complete his or her professional work, build an attitude of curiosity, eager to learn with others When they have gained trust from people around such as colleagues and partners, they will introduce each other, thereby increasing the personal prestige of each employee Every employee also needs to know how to use tools to increase their reputation: for example, LinkedIn or Facebook Constantly learning, improving, and actively sharing knowledge with the community is also a way to enhance personal branding Increasing participation in networking activities Employees and leaders can actively expand their networks through networking events and activities with industry insiders and partners In the financial industry, these events are organized quite often by organizations such as associations, companies, investment funds, with the aim of connecting parties and finding cooperation opportunities Participating in these events, members will be able to connect with experts and industry partners, keep in touch and connect with them later to increase their knowledge and expertise in that field After the event, employees should maintain an extensive network of senior-level relationships with financial sponsors, publicly listed corporates and private companies within some focused sectors to deliver valuable, real-time transactional insights to the clients 62 3.3.1.3 Performing professional customer service The company should focus on recruiting personnel, building a professional customer services system for financial advisory service of the investment banking department The first step should be to conduct research on best practices on processes and secrets of managing relationships between the company and customers in large and successful companies around the world, thereby serving as a basis for building processes and secrets for Thien Viet Securities Once a specific process has been established, the company should combine the implementation stage with training, support, control, evaluation, and sanctions activities Moreover, the investment banking department should strengthen research, surveys on customers demand, collect opinions and feedback from customers on all aspects of services provided: service quality, staff response speed, service delivery process, etc From there, the company can evaluate, learn from experience and propose solutions to increase service quality Strengthening relationships between the company customers and partners should also be done, with the goal that 100% of customers and partners are connected, kept relationships, and cared for indirectly at least once a year, the ratio of customers and partners is gender, new customer referral from existing partners is 50% To achieve this, the company needs to have regular engagement, exchange and cooperation activities to create exchanges between partners, customers and the company: for example, a meeting to exchange information about the industry , catchup with customers about the current business situation, help customers even without a service contract, within the company's capacity, In addition, the classification of customers for more appropriate care is also a point the company can make Customers can be classified into loyal customers, VIP customers, regular customers, etc With each object, the Investment Banking Department can set up an optimal and appropriate care program to save resources and increase efficiency 3.3.2 Solutions to implement promotion activities The marketing mix activities play an important role in bringing the financial advisory service of Thien Viet Securities to customers These activities need to be focused and implemented more methodically to strengthen and enhance the brand image of financial advisory service in general and Investment Banking Department of Thien Viet Securities in particular 3.3.2.1 Implementing advertising, promotion activities 63 To be more specialization, the company should recruit more personnel working in communication and advertising to be in charge of marketing for Investment Banking Department and Thien Viet Securities After that, strengthening advertising and propaganda activities, developing public relations to provide the latest and most complete information to customers, influencing potential customers' needs, and expanding potential markets is a must activity to promote company’s reputation to the mass audience The company needs to diversify forms of advertising, advertising media while implementing synchronous and flexible advertising programs, building brands, and the image of Thien Viet Securities and Investment Banking Department in order to be professional and impressive represents the good service quality that Thien Viet Securities always wants to bring to customers 3.3.2.2 Implementing public relations activities Continue to promote community relations activities to bring the image of Advisory Service and Thien Viet Securities ingrained in customers' minds: participate in professional seminars, major industry events, Actively working in financial associations, M&A such as Vietnam Financial Advisors Association (VFCA), organizations and alliances for investors, to expand exchanges and cooperation between businesses, organized on the basis of mutual benefits and enlist the support of other organizations and businesses to enhance the role and reputation of Financial Advisory Service of Thien Viet Securities in the market The company may stablish and have good relationships with media agencies to publish news reports about businesses, contact investment finance programs to connect and share expertise, make presentations 3.3.3 Solutions to standardize processes 3.3.3.1 Building a standardized human resource process, working process, management process and technological process for the company Processes can be classified into many types: working process, management process, human resource process, technological process, each different process will help the company standardize the process, increase transparency in work Working process will help increase professionalism, management process helps to manage and update information more effectively, human resource process helps Thien Viet 64 Securities standardize the recruitment process, human resource management, and the technological process helps effectively in the management of internal information, document storage 65 3.3.3.2 Implementing technology to optimize processes, increase digital transformation and better engage with clients and deliver on their expectations: Based on the standardized process, Thien Viet Securities then optimizes the processes, minimizing human manual intervention by thoroughly applying technology to that process to increase working efficiency The firms can also utilize technology to interact with clients through digital channels, handle client queries through intelligent chatbots, leverage virtual meetings in their sales and relationship building processes, and provide customized reporting ● Testing and deploying more workflow management and information management software to meet the needs of the department, while ensuring absolute security in accordance with the characteristics of the job Management and communication software must ensure communication, use and exploitation of each other's data ● Requirements for appropriate software and information technology support solutions are: o Manage customer information, transactions better, allow centralization and control of customer databases securely, can classify information by fields, flexible in use o Statistical software, analyzing customer information and departmental activities to help increase work efficiency Besides, well control and keep up with the progress of the project o The software supports the company valuation, updates the latest information sources, and market insight This allows service delivery to be more efficient, accurate, and more professional o Make the most of the technical support from partners, technology and software suppliers, seek their advice to build an internal technology system, 3.3.4 Solutions to improve the quality of human resources 3.3.4.1 Improving the quality of human resources Currently, due to the high competition along with the rapid development in both the number and the extensive scale of companies providing financial advisory services, the market is lacking in human resources high-quality force for this industry, there is a wave of labor transfer among financial companies Therefore, Thien Viet Securities needs to clearly identify the risk of brain drain, plan measures to retain employees and gather as follows: 66 ● Develop training plans and training maps by title in order to continuously improve professional skills and qualifications for Thien Viet Securities employees Promote ● Sponsor employees to study courses and certificates related to business and finance to improve their capacity, which includes certificates: ACCA, CFA, CPA,… Well implementing policy on appointment and dismissal of employees Annually review the labor force to arrange and employ staff in accordance with qualifications and experience, periodically collect votes of confidence ● Quickly implement the salary payment according to the title and the labor market to enhance the remuneration of talents, stimulate the contribution of each individual employee Principles of salary payment and bonus according to title, ensuring: ● To be fair internally and compete with the outside to be able to attract and retain good people, effective and high-productivity workers ● Performance-oriented to build an effective work management system, linking salary with efficiency and productivity, encouraging and rewarding individuals according to initiative and leadership ● Focused on serving customers, putting customers' interests first along with business activities to ensure compensation strategies, supporting business goals and policies 3.3.4.2 Developing a recruitment plan in line with the company's human resource needs Due to the young human resource structure, Thien Viet Securities needs to rebuild a recruitment roadmap for the Investment Banking Department, balancing the number of young employees with the number of experienced people In the coming time, Thien Viet Securities needs to prioritize recruiting people with more than 3-5 years of experience That will reduce pressure on current employees, balance capacity and qualifications, and help young employees learn from people who are more experienced than themselves Organizing sharing training sessions for members to increase the speed of learning from each other The goal of training is to assess the professional qualifications and working style of employees, thereby helping organizations make the most effective use of existing human resources to carry out business activities Every weeks or month, Thien Viet Securities can organize training and sharing sessions from experienced people in the industry about their working methods, the experiences they have 67 experienced and accumulated in the past, to increase their chances of success in association with learning and gathering experiences of Thien Viet Securities employees In addition, the Director can regularly organize internal sharing sessions, reflect on mistakes made, and share personal experiences Those are a few initiatives to enhance learning opportunities and improve the experience of the Investment Bank team Ensuring employee welfare Welfare for employees at Thien Viet Securities is understood as types of insurance, policies related to health, safety, and remuneration In addition to the benefits employees are entitled to according to the provisions of the Law, Thien Viet Securities can develop their own welfare and remuneration policies in accordance with the capabilities and characteristics of the business Welfare will ensure the life of employees, from which they will focus more on work and be motivated to contribute more to the business 3.4 Recommendation 3.4.1 Recommendations to the Government The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment should consider to reform laws to create favorable conditions for capital mobility, foreign investment in Vietnamese companies and investment from Vietnam to foreign companies Currently, the legal procedures for investment are still complicated, with many limitations leading to difficulties in investment implementation, hindering businesses from raising capital and the participation of investors in Vietnamese companies male Besides, the government should also review and loosen policies on Initial Public Funding through the Stock Exchange for startups Startup companies are considered to be the driving force of economic development in the coming years, so having a priority and favorable policy to mobilize capital is extremely necessary for the sustainable development of the company as well as the economy Vietnam economy 3.4.2 Recommendations to Thien Viet Securities Company Thien Viet Securities Company should strengthen the direction and management of coordination and cooperation between departments in the company to make full use of the resources of experience, network and human resources for the 68 development sustainability of the financial advisory service of investment banking department 69 CONCLUSION Financial advisory service is a basic service and brings a significant source of revenue for financial companies in the world as well as in Vietnam In the past years, especially since joining the WTO, with the implementation of commitments on opening up the financial market, the financial service market has grown stronger and the competition in the market has become increasingly fierce acrimonious In this condition, competitiveness plays a decisive role in the success or failure of enterprises Thien Viet Securities needs to identify its strengths and weaknesses in order to take advantage of opportunities to proactively deal with challenges brought about by the competitive environment For that reason, the author has chosen the topic: "Enhancing the competition of financial advisory service of Investment Banking Service at Thien Viet Securities" to help Thien Viet Securities compete successfully in the market of providing financial advisory services The topic raised the current situation of activities to improve the competitiveness of the financial advisory service of Thien Viet Securities and analyzed the criteria to be able to evaluate in the most detail the existing competitiveness of the company in the current period 2019 – 2021 During this period, the company has achieved certain successes in creating competitive advantages, demonstrating its superiority in many factors compared to competitors However, there are still limitations and problems that negatively affect the competitiveness of services The topic is the result of an internship at Thien Viet Securities, in which it analyzes, evaluates and makes recommendations for the company so that the company can advantageously promote its strengths and overcome its remaining weaknesses exist, thereby improving the competitiveness of services in the coming period Besides, in order for Thien Viet Securities as well as other enterprises in the industry to compete more effectively, the State's participation is indispensable The topic has made a number of recommendations to the State on policies and legal frameworks for business activities as well as the desire to solve negative social issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby creating a favorable environment fair and favorable business, 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https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/financialadvisory-and-consulting-services-sourcing-and-procurement-report-by-topspending-regions-and-market-price-trends-spendedge-301494097.html 72 ... affecting the competitiveness of Financial advisory service of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities Company ● Financial advisory service of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet. .. choose the topic: "Enhancing the competition of Financial Advisory Services of Investment Banking Department at Thien Viet Securities Company" is necessary for the development of the company in the. .. limitations in the operation activities that affect the competitiveness of the company on the basis of researching and analyzing the current situation of Financial advisory services of Thien Viet Securities