Generating new business leads

The Ministry of Finance has submitted a proposal to the Government seeking approval to create a decree expanding the timeframe for tax and land lease payments.

The move is expected to ease difficulties faced by enterprises amid the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those in tourism and transportation.

Under the proposal, payments of value added tax are to be extended by five months, during which revenue to the State budget will fall by nearly 68.8 trillion VND (2.99 billion USD).

Regarding corporate income tax, around 40.5 trillion VND in payments during the first and second quarters will be delayed by three months.

Meanwhile, the payment of some 1.3 trillion VND in value added tax and personal income tax from business households and individuals will also enjoy a delay.

The ministry suggested extending the deadline for land lease payments in the first installment, valued at about 4.4 trillion VND.

The total value of delayed taxes and land lease will amount to 115 trillion VND.

Tax agencies allowed delays in tax and land lease payments worth some 87.3 trillion VND last year, for 184,900 taxpayers./.

Vietnam to overcome difficulties in 2021 through solidarity: MoIT leader

Challenges remain ahead in 2021, but Vietnam will overcome all with solidarity between the political system, businesses, and the people, Politburo member, head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, and Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Tran Tuan Anh has said.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Anh said that this year, amid the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the major target defined by the Party, State, and Government continues to be effectively containing the pandemic to protect people’s lives and public health.

The country will coordinate with the international community to fight COVID-19 while continuing to recover its economy and return to true normal, ensuring people’s living conditions and building a foundation for the country’s sustainable development over the next five and 10 years, he said.

All economic recovery and normalisation activities will be conducted on the basis of ensuring the prevention of COVID-19, he added.

He underlined that the new integration frameworks Vietnam is engaging in, especially free trade agreements (FTA) and new-generation FTAs, bring unprecedented opportunities for the country in all fields, helping to fuel economic growth.

Anh stressed the need for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to further speed up the restructuring of economic sectors towards reforming the growth model, and improving added value.

At a ceremony to ship the first coffee batch to Europe (Photo: VNA)

He highlighted the necessity for Vietnam to further expand markets, especially within the FTAs, while engaging more deeply in supply chains to promote supporting industries as well as the manufacturing and processing sector and agriculture. This is a vital factor for the successful international integration by agriculture and farmers under the country’s general strategy.

In particular, it is crucial to immediately implement Politburo Resolution No 55 on sustainable energy development and Resolution No 23 on national industrial policies, he said, describing those documents as the cornerstones for the building and development of essential infrastructure of vital significance for the economy, serving sustainable development in the future.

He noted that Vietnam signed three FTAs in 2020: with the EU and the UK as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Thanks to its integration process, Vietnam has made fundamental changes in its macro-economy, thus securing economic and socio-political stability and paving the way for continuous sustainable development in the years ahead, he said./.

Investment booms as Soc Trang improves business climate

Soc Trang province’s efforts to improve its business climate is paying off with more and more investors, both domestic and foreign, coming since 2016.

The Mekong Delta province has worked with hundreds of potential investors seeking to invest in areas where the province has strengths like hi-tech agriculture, tourism and wind and solar power.

It approved 116 projects with a total investment of 27.3 trillion VND (1.18 billion USD) in 2016-20, 5.5 times the amount in the previous five years.

Nine of them are FDI projects.

Soc Trang authorities have been making efforts to improve the investment climate and provincial competitiveness by focusing on infrastructure and providing lands for projects.

They are keen on projects that are sustainable and environment-friendly.

Nguyen Thi Thuy Nhi, deputy director of the province’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, said her department had been reforming administrative procedures, boosting the province’s competitiveness in terms of attracting investment and business climate.

One key infrastructure project is the upgrade of Tran De deep-water port, which will reduce logistics costs for exports from the Mekong Delta.

The recently approved Chau Doc – Can Tho – Soc Trang highway will connect to the port, aiding goods transportation and improving links with the rest of the country.

The province is also creating a start-up eco-system with development assistance, incubation programmes and sponsorship for creative small and medium-sized businesses.

In the last five years 1,900 new businesses were set up, a 47.2 percent increase from 2011 – 15. Many companies have invested in manufacturing in the An Nghiep Industrial Park, creating tens of thousands of jobs.

In 2021 – 25 Soc Trang seeks to further improve its business climate and competitiveness, focusing on business assistance services, labour training and helping investors start projects smoothly.

There are 3,300 registered businesses in the province with a total charter capital of 33 trillion VND.

Soc Trang’s economy grew by 6.75 percent in 2020./.

Ministry takes action on market stability in new circumstances

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has called for concerted solutions to maintain market stability, remove difficulties facing domestic firms, and increase the total retail sales of goods and services.

Such solutions rolled out in line with the Government’s Resolution No 01/NQ-CP dated January 1, 2021, are expected to contribute to the country’s socio-economic stability.

The ministry will continue to improve the socialist-oriented market economy mechanism to facilitate economic recovery, and spur growth in the industry and trade sector in a rapid and sustainable manner.

It has also focused on improving the sector’s adaptability and resilience against external shocks to stabilise production and consolidate the domestic and foreign market so as to flexibly and effectively realise the dual goals of containing COVID-19 and recovering and developing the sector in the “new normal”.

Notably, the sector has stepped up restructuring in tandem with growth model reform, and paid more attention to the processing and manufacturing industry in combination with smart technologies and digital transformation to raise productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness.

More attention will be paid to developing the domestic market, promoting the consumption of Vietnamese goods, enhancing trade promotions, and boosting e-commerce.

Given the impact of COVID-19, the ministry has asked businesses to increase the supply of goods, especially necessities, and requested local Departments of Industry and Trade to take measures to ensure market stability.

To remove difficulties in the consumption of agricultural products, the ministry has adopted solutions to boost consumption links domestically and negotiated with major buyers to facilitate exports./.

HCM City: Work begins to supply power for Metro Line No 1

The Management Authority for Urban Railways of Ho Chi Minh City (MAUR) and contractors kicked off work on power supply for the southern economic hub’s first metro line project on February 19, which has now seen 82 percent of works completed.

Consultation and construction are now underway to link power sources from the 110kV Binh Thai and Tan Cang electricity stations to supply all power stations along the metro line.

According to the MAUR, if COVID-19 can be controlled, the work of cable pulling will be completed in the second quarter of this year, which would allow for trial runs and commercial operations taking place earlier.

MAUR deputy head Huynh Hong Thanh vowed to work with contractors on speeding up construction progress, with quality put first and pandemic control and prevention measures implemented effectively.

The 2.05 billion USD metro line, which runs between Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9, is the first of at least six to be built in the city and aims to ease traffic congestion in its north-eastern gateway.

It is designed to have 14 stations, three of them underground. There will be 17 three-carriage trains plying the route, running at a maximum speed of 110 km/h above ground and 80 km/h below ground./.

Fight with e-commerce fraud to be increasingly fierce

The General Department for Market Surveillance has shown determination in the war against counterfeit goods and trade fraud products in e-commerce channels.

Last year saw e-commerce flourish and it is forecast that this will continue in the coming years. Therefore, the fight will be increasingly fierce this year, especially as “the border gate is at the door of each citizen”, according to one official.

Tran Huu Linh, director-general of the General Department for Market Surveillance, said that in the past, large warehouses were often located in big cities such as Ha Noi and HCM City, but now, the largest warehouse is located in the northern mountainous province, just a few kilometres from the border.

Along with that, modern logistics, delivery and payment services help bring the “border gate” to the front of houses, he added.

By just packing the goods and delivering them to shipping companies, the goods could be taken anywhere domestically without any difficulty, said Linh.

This created more challenges for authorities as transactions through e-commerce become more and more popular with all people, he noted.

“We have determined that there must be a more professional and methodical plan in this fight. In the immediate future, it is necessary to propose units in the Ministry of Industry and Trade to soon submit to the Government a decree replacing Decree 52/2013 on e-commerce,” Linh told online newspaper phapluatplus.vn.

One reason the decree is needed is the speed of e-commerce development, meaning it’s time to consider and treat goods in the e-commerce environment as in the traditional environment, he noted.

Linh said that the decree was issued to promote the development of e-commerce, so it has not strictly regulated goods traded via e-commerce.

Besides, the decree has not specified the responsibilities of e-commerce trading floor managers. This loophole has caused the floors not to strictly control the origin of the goods displayed for sale.

Therefore, it was necessary to hold e-commerce floor owners responsible so that when having trade fraud problems, they are also subject to inspection and post-inspection sanctions. Important services including payment and transportation would also be included in the new decree, he said.

In addition, the General Department for Market Surveillance will focus on e-commerce for two to three years because as it was forecasted that the ratio of trade fraud in e-commerce would be about 50-60 per cent in that period compared to overall types of fraud in general, said Linh.

That is why the General Department for Market Surveillance has built a relatively comprehensive plan to mobilise strength for this tough war.

It is proposed to set up an official division of the market surveillance force specialised in preventing fraud in e-commerce, at the same time, improving the post-inspection capacity of the market surveillance force and regularly reviewing and inspecting e-commerce trading floor owners and social networking platforms.

Public investment disbursement must be sped up: minister

Speeding up the disbursement of public investment from the start of this year was an important solution to accelerate economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung has said.

The global economy was expected to embark on the recovery process after a deep downturn in 2020 due to the pandemic. However, the recovery would be different from country to country, depending on the developments of the pandemic and efforts to contain the virus.

“It is necessary to drastically implement measures to accelerate the disbursement of public investment in 2021, right from the first months of the year to create the impetus for economic growth to meet and even exceed targets,” Dung said.

Accountability must be enhanced, he stressed.

To make public investment a pillar for economic growth, the finance ministry is developing a programme with a focus on removing legal bottlenecks to disbursement of public investment.

Inspections would also be enhanced to ensure the allocation and use of public investment to follow National Assembly and Government plans while close watch would be kept on the process to tackle problems.

Regarding the disbursement of public investment from foreign loans, Dung said the progress remained stagnant, partly due to the pandemic.

There were also subjective reasons for the stagnation, including slow site clearance, a lack of accountability and poor preparation which required adjustments and slowed disbursement, he said.

Dung said that to fulfil the public investment plan for 2021-25, it was important to enhance the accountability of all parties relevant to the use of public investment in all stages, from preparation to implementation and settlement.

Projects which failed to meet planned progress should have their capital revoked, he stressed.

Statistics of the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed the disbursement of public investment was estimated at VND398 trillion (US$17.3 billion) as of the end of December, meeting 82.8 per cent of the Government’s plan – the highest rate in the 2016-20, thanks to the Government’s determination to speed up the disbursement of public investment as a major driver for economic growth.

According to the General Statistics Office, every increase by 1 per cent in public investment disbursement would push GDP by 0.06 percentage points.

The Vietnamese economy expanded at 2.91 per cent in 2020, the lowest rate in the past decade but this was considered a big success in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 14,000 tonnes of dragon fruit exported to China via Lao Cai border gates

More than 14,000 tonnes of dragon fruit were exported to China from February 10-17 through border gates in the northern province of Lao Cai, according to the provincial Border Gate Customs Sub-Department.

Lao Cai authorities, including customs, border guards, and medical quarantine officials, maintained operations in the opening days of the Lunar New Year to ensure the quick and safe customs clearance of goods.

During the period, total import-export revenue through border gates in Lao Cai topped US$11 million, including $2.4 million worth of imports, mainly fertilisers and farm produce, and $8.8 million worth of exports, mostly agricultural products.

According to the Border Gate Customs Sub-Department under the Lao Cai Department of Customs, in 2020, despite the impact of COVID-19, the sub-department completed its ‘twin targets’ by processing customs clearance declarations for 516 businesses with an import-export value of more than $1 billion and ensuring safety from the pandemic.

In 2021, it will work with other sectors to speed up administrative reform while exhibiting better performance in e-customs clearance activities to save time and costs, ensuring economic development and COVID-19 prevention and control at the same time, the department said.

Bac Ninh eyes $123 million IP

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved investment intention in a project on infrastructure development at the Thuan Thanh I Industrial Park in northern Bac Ninh Province.

The project covers a total area of some 250ha in Ninh Xa, Tram Lo and Nghia Dao communes of Thuan Thanh District, with total investment of VND2.84 trillion (over US$123 million), of which VND859.73 billion comes from its investor – Viglacera Corporation.

The construction is scheduled to last for 36 months from the land hand-over, and the project is set to operate for 50 years from February 17, 2021.

The PM required the provincial People’s Committee to ensure the accuracy of information and data reported, and carry out land reclamation, site clearance, compensation and land lease in line with approved documents.

The construction must comply with the detailed planning scheme that has been approved, he said, stressing that the committee needs to instruct the management board of industrial parks in Bac Ninh and relevant agencies to supervise and assess the implementation of the project.

The PM also highlighted the building of houses, and social, cultural and sport facilities for labourers in the industrial park, as well as employment and vocational training support to local residents who have to relocate to make way for the project.

Hybrid model, the new rising trend in office market

A hybrid working model comprising both remote and office-based work is a trend that many companies will embrace since working methods have changed globally after the pandemic broke out, including in Viet Nam, experts have predicted.

In a note on trends in the property market this year, property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) said a year of lockdowns that forced people to work from home showed many tasks could be done remotely, spurring companies to adopt new, hybrid working models.

The shift was already underway at many businesses, but was accelerated by COVID-19 like many other things, it said.

“In 2020 a work from home experiment took place globally and showed that businesses can continue to operate effectively by leveraging technology” Paul Fisher, country head of JLL Vietnam, said.

“But for many, the lack of face-to-face interaction has put pressure on teams and whilst a number of our clients expect to adopt flexible working practices in the future, for the majority this will include the office remaining the central point for business activities.”

But many aspects of work would not change, the note said. People would still need to collaborate, innovate and liaise with managers on projects and their careers, a reason why people missed the office, and it was why for many offices would retain a central role in corporate life.

The office still existed as the best and most convenient place for team building and connecting with management.

WeWork predicted at an ongoing roundtable on office trends in the region that beyond economic pressures and realities that enterprises face, tapping new workspace strategies is crucial for future-proofing themselves in a volatile climate.

Amidst the changing face of its enterprises, Southeast Asia is seeing a shift towards flexible workspaces bridging enterprises’ challenges and opportunities, it said.

Talking about the future of the workplace after the pandemic, Elizabeth Fuller, the company’s head of growth, SEA, said after a year of pandemic working from home might be an alternative option for many companies.

But this is not sustainable for businesses in the long term, she claimed.

In the workplace, innovation, creativity and organisational health hinges on successful collaboration, and a loss of these would hinder sustained business performance, employee engagement and organisational health in the long run, she said.

The new work order would thus be a hybrid of flexible workplace arrangements, she said.

She cited the example of two Fortune 500 companies that have expanded their presence with WeWork across several buildings by establishing a headquarter presence in one location and supporting functions and business units in the others.

“They have leveraged our CBD presence, with locations in close proximity to each other. This allows them to scale accordingly without having to renegotiate existing real estate commitment, implement distributed workforce as a safety measure and also enjoy engagement.”

Property consultancy CBRE said the pandemic has changed the structure of office demand.

Due to COVID-19, technology and online shopping utilisation have increased significantly, which led to the expansion of e-commerce companies last year, it reported.

The pandemic has also changed the real estate strategies of occupiers. Previously employees were heavily relying on being in office, but are now more willing to work in different spaces.

Pham Ngoc Thien Thanh, associate director, CBRE Vietnam, said: “COVID-19 has reshaped the market’s dynamics, and unaffected sectors will drive market demand in 2021.

“Besides, tenants will start paying more attention to all factors including saving rental costs, ensuring employees’ wellness and maintaining business performance.

“To do that, occupiers tend to adopt a hybrid workplace model, designing offices with lower density and also diversifying the workplace into different sites such as decentralised options and co-working spaces.

“The market will be intensely competitive in the next two years with a wave of new supply. To stay ahead of the competition, landlords should consider applying workplace strategy tools to evaluate current strengths and deficiencies of their buildings to come up with an optimal solution to increase their assets’ values.”

The HCM City office market remained in a deep slump last year due to COVID, which badly affected many enterprises. It witnessed negative net absorption of – 20,544sq.m of leasing area.

Three new office buildings came into the market, Friendship Tower (grade B), UOA Tower (decentralised grade A) and Opal Tower (grade B), with a combined 65,372sq.m of net leasing area, but it represented a fall of 31 per cent in area compared to the previous three years.

Switching to HNX can help reduce overload on HoSE: VNDirect CEO

Market regulators should consider policies to encourage companies listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) to temporarily switch to the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), said CEO of VNDirect Securities Co Do Ngoc Quynh.

He said such a move aimed to help mitigate the overload of the transaction system at HoSE while awaiting the completion of a new technology system for the whole market, he said.

Since the end of 2020, Viet Nam’s stock market has witnessed a booming trading period with multi-session liquidity of more than VND15 trillion (US$653.2 million).

The wave of new investors entering the stock market has helped set new liquidity records, which is a positive signal for the market, he said.

As interest rates are still at low levels and people’s understanding of the financial market is improving, this can be considered a very favourable period for attracting investors and developing Viet Nam’s stock market.

However, skyrocketing liquidity has far exceeded market forecasts, leading to frequent congestion in many sessions, causing a lot of trouble for investors and affecting the quality of the market.

“The sudden increase in liquidity recently is unpredictable, causing undesired interruptions in trading,” said Le Hai Tra, Chairman of the Board of Members of HoSE.

“To tackle this issue, the State Securities Commission said it was speeding up the implementation of a new information technology system for the entire stock market, known as KRX.

“However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of the new system is delayed and if the disease progresses more complexly, it will be difficult to continue the plan,” he said.

In the short term, one of the solutions applied by the State Securities Commission (SSC) is to increase the minimum trading volume for a transaction on HoSE from 10 to 100 shares to help reduce the burden on the transaction system.

Although officially in place at the beginning of 2021, congestion still occurs when investors flock into the market and push the liquidity to new heights, sometimes reaching $1 billion per session.

The SSC has also instructed the HoSE to request securities companies to review, limit errors arising from the companies’ processes, limiting automatic transactions to avoid negative impacts on the system, to check internal control, control risks, limit errors that may occur in the trading system and arrange staff on shift duty at peak transaction times.

In the short term, as the KRX system is not immediately available while trading demand is huge, a temporary solution is to transfer some companies from HoSE to HNX, said Quynh.

This can be considered as an appropriate step because the Prime Minister issued Decision 37/2020/QD-TTg to establish the Vietnam Stock Exchange (Vietnam Exchange), based on the merger between HoSE and HNX.

“This is the quickest and least costly solution at the time being. This will not only help to reduce the overload on the HoSE system but also ensure the smooth transaction of the Vietnamese stock market, meeting the legitimate trading needs of investors, ensuring credit of the stock market in the eyes of domestic and foreign investors, maintain an effective capital mobilisation channel for enterprises in the economy,” he said.

If the SSC approves and facilitates administrative procedures for companies to switch from the HoSE to HNX, VNDirect will volunteer to help them with the transferring procedures, Quynh added.

Wood exports enjoy sharp increase during January

Vietnam’s timber and wood exports in January witnessed a surge of 48.4% to US$1.25 billion in comparison to the same period from last year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The United States, Japan, and China remain the three largest importers of Vietnamese timber and wooden products last year, making up 78.1% of the country’s total export value.

Most notably, strong export growth has been seen in markets such as the US, Thailand, and Canada with the export value rising by 33.8%, 20.4%, and 14.1%, respectively, while wood exports to the UK endured a downward trajectory of 26.5%.

Furthermore, the import value of wood and wooden products in January recorded an annual rise of 64.8% to US$280 million.

Last year saw the total import value of wood and wood products increase by 0.6% to US$2.56 billion compared to 2019, of which imports from China, the US, and Thailand made up 33.7%, 12.2%, and 5.1%, respectively.

In line with these figures, local imports of timber and wooden products from China and Thailand saw a boost of 31.1% and 14.7%, respectively, while imports from the US suffered a decrease of 8%.

The MARD stated that 2020 proved to be a successful year for the wood industry despite facing an adverse range of impacts caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The resilience of the Vietnamese wood industry in recent times can largely be attributed to the openness of the local legal system, coupled with the enforcement of various free trade agreements (FTAs).

Moreover, the MARD have revealed that there remains plenty of room for wood exports to grow in the near future as the global furniture market has a commercial value of approximately US$450 billion per year, of which wooden furniture makes up roughly US$150 billion annually. Meanwhile, Vietnamese wooden furniture exports account for only 6% of the global market share.

Moving forward, the local forestry sector aims to export US$14.5 billion this year, a rise of 12% compared to 2020, with timber and wooden products set to reach a figure of US$13 billion.

China increases imports of cassava chips and starch from Vietnam

Vietnam exported 400,000 tonnes of cassava and cassava-based products worth US$144 million in January, with the market share of Vietnamese cassava chips and starch as part of China’s total imports last year increasing sharply compared to 2019’s figures.

These statistics show a rise of 88.1% in volume and 97.1% in value compared to the same period from last year, while the average export price recorded an increase of 4.8% to US$360 per tonne, according to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to figures compiled by China Customs, Chinese import of cassava chips increased by 22% last year to US$782.85 million compared to 2019, with the country joining Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos as the four largest suppliers of cassava chips to China.

Most notably, the nation was the second largest provider of cassava chips to China last year with US$95.91 million, an increase of 90.8% compared to 2019.

Last year saw the neighbour import 2.75 million tonnes of cassava starch worth US$1.13 billion, a rise of 16.1% in volume and 9.7% in value compared to 2019, with the majority being imported from Vietnam Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Most notably, the nation  was the second largest provider of starch to China last year with 982,480 tonnes worth US$ 388.76 million, up 30.4% in volume and 24.9 % in value in comparison to a year earlier.

Thai group purchases 70% stake in Vietnamese plastics manufacturer

It is expected that SCGP’s acquisition will be completed in the first half of 2021. Duy Tan manufactures household plastic containers with a capacity of 116,000 tonnes per year.

The company’s increased investment in Vietnam is in line with its strategic plan, which foresees an increase in the diversity of products, including plastic and paper packaging, as well as the development of domestic design teams, according to Wichan Jitpukdee, CEO of SCGP.

“We are prepared to work with all partners to share experience and knowledge in the development of integrated packaging solutions and support the growing demand for diverse types of packaging among customers in ASEAN,” Jitpukdee added.

During the past decade, the Thai company has continuously increased investment in Vietnam, which has yielded a revenue growth of more than 10% annually.

All three projects of the company in Vietnam including Vina Kraft Paper Co., Ltd. in the southern province of Binh Duong, the packaging producer Tin Thanh Packing JSC and Bien Hoa Packaging JSC are expected to contribute to its increased sales of about 8.5 billion baht (US$283.1 million) per year.

The Thai company is also looking into expanding its paper production capacity in the north of Vietnam. “This is to satisfy domestic demands and expansion of export markets, which will be a boon to Vietnam’s economic growth as well,” Jitpukdee said.

Imports and exports of FDI sector enjoy sharp increase in January

The total import and export value of foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises in January saw a surge of 60.1% to US$39.16 billion, equivalent to an increase of US$14.69 billion, according to figures compiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The country’s import and export value throughout January soared by 48.2% to US$55 billion, equal to an annual rise of US$17.88 billion.

In relation to the figure, total Vietnamese exports increased sharply to US$28.55 billion, while imports also soared by 41.3% to US$26.46 billion against the same period from last year, with the country recording a trade surplus of US$2.09 billion.

Most notably, the total import and export value of the local FDI sector rose by 60.1% to US$39.16 billion, while the domestic sector’s imports and exports increased by 25.2% to US$15.85 billion on-year.

The export value of FDI enterprises also skyrocketed by 70% to US$21.57 billion compared to the previous year, therefore accounting for 75.5% of the country’s total export value. In addition, its import value rose by 49.4% to US$17.59 billion, making up 66.5% of the country’s total import value.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews/SGT/VIR

During the period, total import-export revenue through border gates in Lao Cai reached over 11 million USD, including 2.4 million USD worth of imports, mainly fertilisers and farm produce, and 8.8 million USD worth of exports, mostly agricultural products.

In 2020, despite the impact of COVID-19, the Border Gate Customs Sub-Department under the Lao Cai Department of Customs completed its “twin targets” by processing customs clearance declarations for 516 businesses with import-export value of over 1 billion USD and ensuring safety from the pandemic.

In 2021, it will closely coordinate with other sectors to speed up administrative reform while exhibiting better performance in e-customs clearance activities to save time and cost, ensuring economic development and COVID-19 prevention and control at the same time./.

Local automobile group exports over 200 units, parts

Automobile producer THACO recently shipped more than 200 Kia vehicles and auto parts to Thailand, Myanmar, Japan, and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

The conglomerate’s largest export consignment to date, made on February 17, comprised of cars, buses and semi-trailers manufactured at its factories at the THACO-Chu Lai Industrial Park in central Quang Nam province.

The exports included 80 Grand Carnival cars to Thailand, the company’s seventh consignment to its partner, Yontrakit, since December 2019.

One hundred and twenty Kia Soluto cars were shipped to Myanmar, the sixth batch to this market.

Kia cars manufactured by THACO are increasingly appreciated by customers in ASEAN countries since their quality is equivalent to those made in the RoK and meets global Kia standards, while their prices are very competitive.

In 2021, THACO plans to export 1,480 automobiles to Thailand and Myanmar, expand exports to other markets, and gradually achieve its goal of becoming a production and export base for Kia Motors cars and spare parts in the ASEAN region.

This is THACO’s first export of semi-trailers to Japan, one of the most challenging markets in the world with stringent quality requirements.

It exported through its Nippon Trex, a leading manufacturer and exporter of semi-trailers in Japan.

Nippon Trex carried out extensive research on and technical discussions about semi-trailer product development in the Japan before appreciating THACO’s capacity and collaborating with it to manufacture and export semi-trailers to the market.

This time THACO also exported buses to Thailand via VOLVO Group’s VOLVO Buses Corporation, one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of large buses.

THACO buses were selected by VOLVO Buses for shipping and distributing in Thailand since they met all requirements in terms of technology, quality, safety, and competitive prices and Thailand’s standards and certification requirements (with respect to design, size, ECE certificates, and others). The company uses over 60 per cent locally made parts.

The shipment kicked off THACO’s plans to export 66 buses to Thailand and South Korea this year.

In addition to cars and semi-trailers, auto parts too were exported to the RoK, including seat covers, gearshift covers, air-conditioning radiators, and specialised vehicle components for Hyundai Santafe. The consignment was worth 200,000 USD.

With the import tax on CBU cars within the ASEAN bloc scrapped since the beginning of 2018, many car assemblers in Vietnam have switched to importing and distributing cars, whereas THACO has been expanding production and increasing the use of local parts to serve its strategy of exporting to Southeast Asia.

This year THACO will continue to export to existing markets Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, the US, and Japan and expand to other ASEAN countries, with a total of 2,500 vehicles. It expects to earn 30 million USD from exports of auto parts and other mechanical products.

Exports of large numbers of cars since last year have attested to the fact that cars made in Vietnam can compete in foreign markets, which is gradually helping raise the country’s profile in the global market.

THACO plans to increase exports to ASEAN and enter new markets in Africa, West Asia, South Asia, Australia, and elsewhere./.

Dinh An Economic Zone – driving force for Mekong Delta region

The Dinh An Economic Zone in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh is one of eight coastal key economic zones in Vietnam. With an orientation to develop a multi-sector economic zone associated with sustainable marine economic development, Dinh An has focused on investment to become an economic driving force of the province and the Delta.

Dinh An has attracted nearly 50 projects to date with total investment capital of about 6.7 million USD. It is expected that by 2030 it will contribute up to 80 percent of the provincial budget.

Dinh An also has a strategic position in economic development associated with security and defence. Despite its huge potential, however, investment attraction in the zone is still lower than its potential.

Existing bottlenecks are hindering the Dinh An Economic Zone from becoming a driving force for economic development in Tra Vinh and the Mekong Delta as a whole./.

Conference discusses role of Vietnam in Asia-Europe partnership

A conference has been held in Moscow to discuss the outlook of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the role of Vietnam and Belarus in the expansion of the Asia-Europe development space.

Addressing the event, President of the “Asia-Europe House” Association Alexander Makhlaev highlighted the role of Vietnam’s traditional values in the country’s development.

He held that the political stability has paved the way for Vietnam’s economic development.

Meanwhile, Natalya Ivanova, an expert from AV Group, underlined the significance of international business environment in the integration process of each country.

She asserted that the EAEU is creating a new motivation, especially for the strengthening of cooperation among member countries as well as with partners, including Vietnam.

According to Chairman of the Council of Experts of the Eurasian Research Fund Grigory Trofimchuk, Vietnam, a dynamic developing country and a member of many integration mechanisms and international organisations, is working hard to speed up integration process.

Vietnam is the first partner to sign a free trade agreement with the EAEU in 2015, he noted, adding that the union should focus more on partnership with Vietnam as the country is a door to the world.

The official highlighted the dynamism of Vietnamese firms in Russia as well as other countries in the world. However, he said that Vietnam and the EAEU have yet to optimise each other’s advantages and potential, while a number of trade barriers between the two sides are still existing.

He held that both sides should discuss the maintaining of trade defence measures to increase trade in the future, adding the EAEU should show its advantage in the current period when the COVID-19 pandemic is developing complicatedly in the world.

Within the conference’s framework, Trofimchuk introduced his book entitled “Vietnam wings up”, expressing his hope that the book will help Vietnam and Russia become closer together in economy, trade and humanity./.

Investment booms as Soc Trang improves business climate

Soc Trang province’s efforts to improve its business climate is paying off with more and more investors, both domestic and foreign, coming since 2016.

The Mekong Delta province has worked with hundreds of potential investors seeking to invest in areas where the province has strengths like hi-tech agriculture, tourism and wind and solar power.

It approved 116 projects with a total investment of 27.3 trillion VND (1.18 billion USD) in 2016-20, 5.5 times the amount in the previous five years.

Nine of them are FDI projects.

Soc Trang authorities have been making efforts to improve the investment climate and provincial competitiveness by focusing on infrastructure and providing lands for projects.

They are keen on projects that are sustainable and environment-friendly.

Nguyen Thi Thuy Nhi, deputy director of the province’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, said her department had been reforming administrative procedures, boosting the province’s competitiveness in terms of attracting investment and business climate.

One key infrastructure project is the upgrade of Tran De deep-water port, which will reduce logistics costs for exports from the Mekong Delta.

The recently approved Chau Doc – Can Tho – Soc Trang highway will connect to the port, aiding goods transportation and improving links with the rest of the country.

The province is also creating a start-up eco-system with development assistance, incubation programmes and sponsorship for creative small and medium-sized businesses.

In the last five years 1,900 new businesses were set up, a 47.2 percent increase from 2011 – 15. Many companies have invested in manufacturing in the An Nghiep Industrial Park, creating tens of thousands of jobs.

In 2021 – 25 Soc Trang seeks to further improve its business climate and competitiveness, focusing on business assistance services, labour training and helping investors start projects smoothly.

There are 3,300 registered businesses in the province with a total charter capital of 33 trillion VND.

Soc Trang’s economy grew by 6.75 percent in 2020./.

Legal move supports realty market development in 2021

According to Ha Quang Hung, deputy head of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department under the Ministry of Construction, many policies regulating housing and real estate market growth have been improved and aligned with the current regulatory system on investment, construction, and doing business.

Significantly, the Law on Construction 2020 has been united with the Law on Housing, Law on Real Estate Business, and the Law on Environmental Protection regarding investment proposal approval, investor approval, or developer recognition, creating a healthier and more transparent investment environment while mitigating speculation and price manipulation activities.

“In 2020, despite the impacts of COVID-19, the real estate market still managed fair growth of about 8-11%, if indirect factors like capital, land, and building materials were taken into account,” said Hung.

Le Hoang Chau, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Real Estate Association opined that several revised laws (Law on Investment, Law on Securities Business, and Law on Enterprises) coming into force from January 2021 have bolstered market growth.

“The realty market has undergone the most difficult period and will gradually rebound. Positive legal changes would motivate firms to join the affordable housing and mid-level segments more robustly,” he said.

From another angle, Su Ngoc Khuong, senior director at Savills Vietnam, a leading real estate consultancy firm, noted that the success of the 13th National Party Congress would bring vitality to the whole economy, particularly the real estate, especially in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi – Vietnam’s two growth engines.

The new “city in city” urban form of in Ho Chi Minh City is deemed an inspiring breakthrough, whereas in Hanoi transport infrastructure has witnessed noteworthy improvements.

In addition, experts assumed that fiscal and monetary policies in the past decade have proven successful, with well-controlled interest rates.

Nguyen Van Dinh, deputy general secretary of the Vietnam Real Estate Association (VNREA), outlined two scenarios for market development in 2021.

In the first scenario, with the mindset “cash is king” lingering in the first and second quarter of 2021, the market will be full of challenges due to low transaction volumes. COVID-19 will only be contained by the middle or the end of the first quarter with no new infections reported, allowing the market to gradually rebound.

In the second scenario, the pandemic would drag on to be contained no sooner than June. In this scenario difficulties would continue mounting. Accordingly, housing prices in the primary market are expected to shed an average 5% compared to last year, with sales volumes taking a plunge.

For commercial real estate, the lingering pandemic would lower operation efficiency as well as occupancy rates, while resort real estate would remain in “hibernation” the way it was in early 2021.

The latest report by Colliers International Vietnam forecast that more than 4,000 shop houses would be released in the Ho Chi Minh City market in 2021. The birth of Thu Duc City would fuel the development in the city’s northeast. Colliers data also show that products from six projects in Thu Duc, Binh Chanh, and Nha Be districts will enrich supply in the upcoming time.

Businesses urged to capitalise on opportunities to increase exports

Local businesses have been advised to diversify their markets to intensify import and export activities this year, alongside maximising the benefits of free trade agreements (FTAs), restructuring export products, developing stronger brands, whilst grasping market information and changes in the policies of importers, according to insiders.

With an impressive trade surplus of over US$19 billion last year, the industry and trade sector aims to increase the total export turnover for this year by between 4% and 5%, with the country’s trade surplus anticipated to maintain its momentum.

Despite this, Vietnamese exports this year are largely dependent on the prospects of the global economy, particularly if the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can be brought under control.

With regard to the export situation in the year ahead, Vu Duc Giang, chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), said textile and garment exports this year will continue to face numerous difficulties ahead in the post-pandemic period. In line with this, Vietnam is likely to export goods worth between US$37 billion and US$38 billion providing that the pandemic is brought under control globally.

Giang pointed out that over the long-run, the Vietnamese garment and textile sector will continue to encounter challenges over the subsequent three years, noting that exports to major markets gradually return to a normal state once the pandemic is successfully curbed by the end of the third quarter of 2023.

He emphasised that new-generation FTAs, especially the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) can be expected to boost exports moving forward.

Experts have therefore attributed these difficulties to the current low level of market diversification among some agricultural and aquatic products, pointing out that although several products enjoy a tariff reduction of 0%, a number of domestic agricultural products have been not been allowed to gain entry into some markets.

Furthermore, despite the proportion of the FDI sector’s export value decreasing in recent years, it accounts for over 64% of the country’s total export value. This is due to the sector’s production and export activities being largely dependent on regional and global supply chains.

Moreover, the impact of the rising trend of protectionism, trade conflicts, and complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic globally have changed the structure of global supply chains, with several countries, especially the United States and western nations, strengthening trade protectionism measures.

Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, vice president and General Secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association, revealed that the leather and footwear sector has made the best use of the EVFTA, adding that the industry’s exports are poised to grow by between 15% and 20% this year if the COVID-19 epidemic is successfully contained.

Xuan underlined the need to devise stronger policies aimed at accelerating the development of the local supporting industry so it can independently produce raw materials and avoid a heavy reliance on imports.

In an effort to maintain the export growth in the year ahead, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is expected to help businesses take full advantage of opportunities from FTAs by removing barriers for market expansion and keeping a close watch on the developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to take timely response measures.

She pointed out that new generation FTAs ​​such as the CPTPP and the EVFTA are expected to provide fresh impetus to export growth over the coming year thanks to tariff incentives, adding that the shift in FDI investment flow from regional countries to the nation, along with the restructuring of supply chains, will also contribute to boosting exports this year.

Key solutions that can promote import and export activities moving forward will largely focus on diversifying markets, maximising the benefits from relevant FTAs​, restructuring export products, developing brands, whilst grasping market information and changes in policies of importers, Xuan noted.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung also underscored the importance of opportunities brought about by FTAs while urging the local ecnonomy to improve its autonomy to prepare for any worse-case scenarios and utilising the system of commercial counselors to perform tasks in line with these changes.

Minister of Industry and Trade and deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh, said there will be a positive outlook for the country in the years ahead thanks to favourable conditions from integration strategies and the enforcement of FTAs.

In addition, the Government’s schemes on economic restructuring, social security, reforms, open-door policies, and efforts to fine tune the legal system will also be beneficial.

Domestic food and beverage industry has development potential

The domestic food and beverage market has great potential for development despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to experts.

Hanoi – The domestic food and beverage market has great potential for development despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to experts.

Food and beverages are in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category. For many years, this has always been one of the important economic sectors with great potential for development, according to the Vietnam Report 2020.

The food and beverage market’s growth rate is forecasted to reach from 5-6 percent annually in 2020-2025.

Despite suffering negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, the food and beverage industry in Vietnam also has many strong growth opportunities. At present, more and more consumers pay attention to nutritional foods of plant origin, organic foods or food with healthy ingredients.

A survey conducted by Vietnam Report at the end of 2020 showed due to COVID-19, half of customers have spent more on foods boosting their immune system and clean foods. Meanwhile, 63.7 percent of customers have cut spending on alcohol and beer. Therefore, businesses in this industry must adjust their production to suit demand.

Food businesses have to increase their production capacity by about 30 percent, while beverage businesses must reduce their production to lower than 80 percent compared to before the pandemic.

Besides that, Vu Dang Vinh, general director of the Vietnam Assessment Report Joint Stock Company, said COVID-19 has forced nearly 70 percent of food and beverage businesses to focus on the digital transformation for survival and development, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

Many businesses have built modern technology processes in production and management. Food and beverage companies have also sped up investment activities to renovate the distribution system and adjust the proportion between traditional and modern trading channels. They develop applications to enhance the customer experience when shopping and innovate packaging design, eco-branding and product line development.

Nguyen Dang Quang, chairman of Masan Group, said the COVID-19 pandemic is a good opportunity to promote e-commerce.

The group is building plans to attract more and more people to online shopping, he said.

Vinh said food and beverage businesses need to focus on strategies such as revenue growth, market development, promotion of research and improving product quality. They should also diversify supply sources with priority for domestic suppliers and develop online distribution channels on e-commerce platforms.

According to experts in the food and beverage industry, the stable macroeconomy and commitments in free trade agreements signed between Vietnam and its partners such as the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) would bring export opportunities and more foreign investment. They would promote the transfer of technology and technological advancement in the industry.

Along with that, the food and beverage companies need to improve their competitiveness and increase investment in infrastructure systems and modernisation of production processes and corporate governance.

Foreign investors divest Ninh Van Bay due to bleak performance

Two foreign investors, namely Recapital Investments Pte., Ltd and Belton Investments Ltd., decided to divest Ninh Van Bay Travel Real Estate JSC, the developer of Six Senses Ninh Van Bay Resort in Nha Trang.

Notably, Recapital Investments Pte., Ltd. issued an announcement to sell 10.7 million shares at Ninh Van Bay Travel Real Estate to decrease its ownership from 11.9 per cent to zero. Recapital Investments is an investment fund owned by Rosan P. Roeslani, the former president of Inter Milan football club.

Besides, Belton Investments Ltd. has also registered to sell its entire 6.4 million shares, equaling 7.07 per cent of the stake, in this company. The sale is expected to be completed between February 5 and March 1.

Previously, in 2013 Recapital Investments bought 30 million shares at the price of VND7,500 (32.61 US cents) apiece. Belton Investments has been a large shareholder since 2012. However, since 2019, both investors started to decrease their ownership in Ninh Van Bay Travel Real Estate.

The reason for the divestment may be the bleak business results of Ninh Van Bay.

Notably, the company listed its stake on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange in 2010 with the initial price of VND30,000 ($1.30) apiece, however, the stocks plunged to VND1,000 (4.35 US cents) apiece in 2017. Besides, the company suffered a loss of VND479 billion ($20.83 million).

After two years of restructuring, the company reported a profit of VND27 billion ($1.17 million) in 2019, more than 13 times the figure of VND2 billion ($86,960) in 2018. In 2020, the company acquired VND211 billion ($9.17 million) in net revenue, down 24 per cent on-year. The main reason for this bleak business result came from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

At present, Ninh Van Bay stocks are traded at VND5,680 (24.70 US cents), rising 22 per cent over the past three months.

Upbeat export-import picture in early 2021

Many of Vietnam’s growth engines have posted impressive export-import performance, with Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Ninh, and Binh Duong being the top performers.

The latest statistics from the Vietnam General Department of Customs show that the country raked in $55 billion in total export-import turnover in the first month of 2021, a 48 per cent jump on-year.

Many localities have posted fairly impressive growth in their export import value compared to the corresponding period in 2020 despite the impacts of the recent COVID-19 reemergence.

Leading the list is Ho Chi Minh City which counted $8.9 billion in total export-import value, followed by Bac Ninh with $7.7 billion, Binh Duong with $5 billion, Thai Nguyen with $4.4 billion, and Hanoi with $3.8 billion.

Many localities have posted fairly impressive growth in their export import value compared to the corresponding period in 2020 despite the impacts of the recent COVID-19 reemergence.

This is an impressive performance as Hai Duong needs to ramp up efforts to carry out the dual target of preventing and curing COVID-19, while still ensuring socio-economic development.

Last year, the province attracted nearly $7.76 billion in total export value and more than $6 billion in total import value, and carved out a place among the localities with biggest export-import value in the northern region.

Quang Ninh, Lao Cai, and Lang Son (the major export players) have increased business even during the Lunar New Year holiday. For instance, on the first three days of the new year, the Lao Cai International Border Gate’s Customs Bureau had completed customs clearance for 4,000 tonnes of export-import goods valued at more than $2 million.

In Ho Chi Minh City, right on the eve of the Lunar New Year, Saigon New Port Corporation conducted a ceremony to receive goods marking the New Year of the Ox.

In 2020, the cargo volume calling on Ho Chi Minh City’s Cat Lai port rose 8.2 per cent, making it one of the top performers worldwide in cargo throughput volume. This year, the cargo volume through Cat Lai port is expected to surge 5 per cent.

More than 7,000 tonnes of goods passed through each day Mong Cai International Border Gate Customs Bureau under Quang Ninh Customs Department during the Lunar New Year holiday.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade forecast that export business would maintain its growth momentum in February, especially in localities hosting the manufacturing complexes of South Korean tech giant Samsung Group, leveraging the proliferation from January 2021. The exports of handsets and accessories could lift up, capitalising on Samsung’s fresh roll-out of new items such as Samsung Galaxy S21, Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus, and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Larger frame of mind for logistics

Throughout more than three decades of economic reform, Vietnamese companies from many sectors have been venturing abroad and become role models. Yet, the logistics sector remains too focused on the domestic market. Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade, emphasised that local players should follow regional examples and take their business to international arena.

In this context, logistics activities were affected significantly, with railways, roads, and air transport being the most heavily affected, while waterways and warehouses remained largely unscathed and even saw growing business due to rising inventory.

Different from five years ago, logistics have been given due attention by all state levels, as shown in the directive documents of the government, ministries, and branches, that all considered logistics a crucial aspect of the economy. From there, policy changes and significant investments in infrastructure could be accomplished, along with the easing of administrative procedures for businesses in this sector.

However, one of the current challenges is the lack of large-scale Vietnamese enterprises with influence in the logistics industry, while large foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL from the United States and Europe dominating the country’s logistics sector.

In Vietnam, telecom, real estate, and manufacturing enterprises have built outstanding businesses that drive their respective industries. Within the logistics sphere, however, there is no such role model.

Companies like Saigon Newport, Gemadept JSC, Transimex JSC, and Sotrans Co., Ltd. are contributing their share but can hardly be called outstanding yet. The general picture of today’s businesses is stiffening, with competing FIEs operating in Vietnam, while those from other countries are integrating into global markets.

Additionally, the domestic logistics sector remains rather small with limited international operations, while this industry is really about going global and partaking in imports and exports. So far, the number of Vietnamese enterprises operating in foreign markets is also small, with even the bigger names not providing services to foreign markets. In the era of global integration, we must go to the world to develop, and thus this remains the Achilles heel of the domestic industry. Moreover, weak links with other service providers elsewhere have not been established and utilised sufficiently. Although Vietnamese manufacturers have been able to export goods to Europe in large volumes, there is no logistical presence of local companies.

As such, logistics groups stop all operations at Vietnam’s gates, after selling and delivering goods to customers, resulting in low added value and a lack of competitiveness against foreign counterparts.

Against this backdrop, the largest difficulties relate not to capital but to the awareness of Vietnamese entrepreneurs, who are typically shy in new environments, especially when confronting foreigners. Many businesses dare to run their operations but mostly focus on the domestic market as they feel that doing business in their own country is easier. Problems here can be handled the familiar Vietnamese way, while they would have to follow foreign rules outside and establish new personal networks and relations. Within the current logistics community, FIEs and state-owned enterprises are relatively stable, but the private sector consists mainly of small-scale businesses, with some newly established or separated from others.

In Vietnam, the number of FIEs is increasing constantly, with nearly 40 multinational corporations and many smaller ones present in the market. However, companies from Japan and South Korea are very ethnocentric and prefer to use the services of their country’s enterprises, which support and protect each other. Meanwhile, European and American businesses are somewhat more open-minded. They use traditional services but do not pay much attention to their partners’ country of origin. Multinationals have financial advantages, so it is easier for them to establish a foundation and attract high-quality human resources than it is for domestic ones. They also make great use of experienced CEOs.

The great advantage of FIEs is their cooperative relationship with partners worldwide. From these relationships, they provide most of the services requested by manufacturers at competitive prices. The service quality of these enterprises is often at a higher level than that of domestic ones, reflected in their professionalism, the assurance of standardised service quality, and strict rules and norms, which provide credibility for these businesses.

Those businesses also pay special attention to customer care and focus on the long-term benefits, instead of immediate returns. Therefore, at some stages, they even accept losses to win customers’ sympathy and build a reputation. Meanwhile, some Vietnamese businesses follow a fast-paced approach that aims for quick profits rather than long-term relationships and market presence. Such a mentality will also not pay attention to quality.

Models to follow

With a growth rate of 12-14 per cent per year, Vietnam’s logistics sector is growing, albeit merely gradually. It may take another 5-10 years to see strong differences today. As this speed remains slow, Vietnam’s logistics needs to go faster to avoid lagging behind other countries.

Up to now, Vietnam’s logistics growth has mainly relied on the scale of commodity production, consumption, and import-export, which are natural factors for growth advantages. However, these are not intrinsic factors of the logistics sector, they are just objective ones.

If one of these factors changes – such as COVID-19, natural disasters, and the declining domestic demand – the sector’s growth will suffer if it is not well established in foreign markets.

Thus, Vietnamese groups need to step out of their comfort zone, adapt quickly, and avoid thinking of themselves as small and inferior. Small does not mean weak.

At present, Vietnamese enterprises focus only on the domestic market, and give little thought to venturing abroad. Meanwhile, I am confident that Vietnam’s logistics can provide decent services to the regional market, such as Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand – all of which are close by and of similar development levels. Vietnam already has top enterprises in leather, footwear, steel, and automobiles. Thus, the logistics sector can build on their experience and develop leading groups from those sectors.

Singapore can also be a good example for Vietnam. Its government was determined to put all its advantages into developing the logistics sector and to turn Singapore into the largest transshipment port in the world. To do that, Singapore has largely sacrificed marine tourism. Nowadays, the island nation is housing some of the leading enterprises in logistics fields. It boasts PSA Co., Ltd., the world’s largest port operator, which also has a joint venture in Vietnam’s Cai Mep port complex in the south.

In the aviation industry, it has Singapore Airlines – a 5-star airline which for many years maintained its position as the world’s leading airline. Before the pandemic hit, Changi Airport was consistently one of the busiest airports in the world.

Another model is Taiwan, which has strong logistics development. Of course, there are also more developed economies like Japan or Germany whose level of development is already at a much higher level. The country needs it, the government needs it, and the businesses that want to grow strong also need to be bold and venture abroad with an outward-looking spirit. Vietnam opened its doors to global integration 35 years ago, but it is now up to businesses to step out or not. The government alone cannot do this.

Vietnam’s mobile devices reached the export value of $51 billion last year

Mobile devices and components produced in Vietnam last year were exported to 50 markets and reached the export value of more than $51.18 billion, according to the latest data published by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

In comparison with 2019, export value was slightly down 0.4 per cent. Nevertheless, it is still one of the Vietnamese economy’s main sectors by occupying nearly one-fifth (18 per cent) of the export value.

China remained the largest consumption market for the goods category with $12.34 billion, making up 24 per cent of Vietnam’s export turnover from mobile phones, and up 48.8 per cent on-year. Europe was the second-largest export market with a turnover of $9.9 billion, up 18.9 per cent on-year.

The runners-up were the US, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates with $8.79 billion, $4.58 billion, and $2.53 billion. In addition to China, other markets like Hong Kong, Canada, and Japan last year increased their purchasing of mobile devices and components from Vietnam by 44.14 per cent to $1.73 billion, 34.3 per cent to $826.23 million, and 16.5 per cent to $937.75 million, respectively.

2020 is the first year Vietnam has seen a plunge in the export turnover of mobile devices and components. Over the previous 10 years, the sector has been going from record to record, even recording triple-digit growth in a few years like in 2011 when it hit 178.3 per cent.

Thanks to that, mobile devices and components exceeded garment and footwear production to become the sector with the largest export value for Vietnam, mainly driven by foreign-invested enterprises, lead by Samsung. To date, about 60 per cent of the South Korean giant’s items are produced in Vietnam.

Impetus for rubber suppliers to bounce back even higher

Although expectations for an increase in rubber prices remain low, the recent spikes have left rubber growers in Vietnam less worried. Nevertheless, to cash in on the recovering carmakers and other industries after the pandemic, as well as compete with regional rivals, local latex gatherers may need to step up their game and apply for official certificates.

More than an hour’s drive from Pleiku, the capital of the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, small roads are running through immense rubber forests. The town of Ia Kha is crowded with more than 8,000 people, but unlike in the past, these people are less occupied with farming than before.

Ro Mah Kiu, a worker in the 15 Corporation at 74 Company, often wakes up at 3am to scrape latex. When he was still farming, he lacked the necessary skills, often left behind a wasteland, and struggled all year round. As his life remained difficult, Kiu became worried about his future.

Eventually, he joined 74 Company’s local farmer support group to focus on latex extraction. But it was not easy to become a latex farmer. Proper care for mature rubber trees is tricky and learning the right technique for extracting the latex from the tree even more so.

The pandemic caused a scarcity in labourers and made it difficult to gather and process latex. Colonel Hoang Van Sy, commander of the 15 Corporation, told VIR, “The recruitment of new workers is cumbersome. Workers lost their jobs in other industries and returned to their localities in huge numbers, but after being recruited for latex exploitation, it always takes a lot of time training for them to become skilled enough for the job.”

In addition, between 2018 and 2019, the corps saw nearly 3,000 workers reaching retirement age, leaving a hole in the corps’ workforce that has yet to be filled.

Unlike in many other sectors, workers in the rubber industry are not just dependent on markets but also the weather, which sometimes leads to heavy impacts on price calculation.

“We are forced to cut input costs to a minimum, from over VND50 million ($2,175) per tonne of latex to VND32 million ($1,400) to reduce the pressure on prices,” Sy said.

The long chain of declining prices in the rubber sector had lasted for nearly 10 years, with few people thinking they would ever bounce back. However, in the last months of 2020, rubber prices at the Osaka exchange – the reference for the natural rubber market in Europe and Asia – experienced nine consecutive gains. On October 28, the most-traded April 2020 futures contract increased by ¥20 (19 US cents, equalling 7.9 per cent) to ¥274.3 ($2.65) per kilogramme, the highest closing price since March 2017. The increase in this session was also the highest since the end of 2008.

Reversing prices for rubber can be easily envisioned in a period of economic development, but with 2020, a year of stagnation and economic decline amid the pandemic, market interference from the Chinese market becomes more apparent. Statistics of the Chinese Customs Department said that in the first 11 months of 2020, China’s rubber imports reached $9.76 billion, up 4.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.

The staggering market recovery can also be explained by the fact that rubber production in China last year dropped by 30 per cent on-year, due to massive storms on Hainan Island and droughts in Yunnan province.

China has seen a significant increase in imports with only a gradual decrease in consumption. The 11-month data of Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade shows that China spent $4.34 billion, up 35.2 per cent over the same period in 2019, for the import of a popular mixture of natural and synthetic rubber.

Meanwhile, the Chinese auto industry – one of the key sectors for rubber consumption – remained on a downturn due to the global health crisis. Although the situation is slowly improving, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers estimates that sales in 2020 dropped by 10 per cent, much lower than forecast.

The ability for rubber prices to recover globally stands in stark contrast to the decrease in supply. The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries (ANRPC) predicts that in 2021, global rubber production could recover to around 13.7 million tonnes, an increase of 8.6 per cent compared to last year. However, even with this increase, 2021’s production would still be lower than that of 2019 and 2018, with about 13.8 million tonnes.

Rubber production across Southeast Asia, which accounts for two-thirds of global natural rubber supply, has been severely affected by labour shortages due to the pandemic, natural disasters, and other disadvantages. The demand-supply gap is widening, while rubber traders fear the supply shortage will be further exacerbated by the continuing political instability in Thailand and the uncontrolled pandemic.

According to the ANRPC, 2020’s production decreased by about 6.8 per cent compared to 2019, to 12.9 million tonnes, mainly due to the decline in Thailand and India, of which Thailand’s output decreased by about 332,000 tonnes. This corresponds to the forecast of the Rubber Authority of Thailand on last year’s production, which was already estimated to be about 10 per cent lower due to the constant rains in the south of the country.

In Vietnam, the trend of decreasing latex plantation areas is also apparent at some large suppliers.

Dong Nai Rubber Co., Ltd., which had specialised in natural rubber supply, has started its plan to reduce 40-50 per cent of its exploitation and preliminary processing by 2025 to switch into fields with higher margins. According to Do Minh Tuan, general director of Dong Nai Rubber, latex exploitation so far contributed around 70-75 per cent of the company’s revenue. Last year, the firm even recruited 250 more locals as workers but remained unable to make up for the shortage to meet production goals.

Less worried farmers

Although some multilateral deals like the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement have opened a door for exports to grow, Vietnam’s rubber sector has yet to make real use of these opportunities. The EU market has a large demand for high-end rubber, for which Vietnamese producers could provide the input materials. According to statistics from the General Department of Customs, the European market accounted for merely 5.1 per cent of the total export volume of 1.1 million tonnes of rubber within the first nine months of 2020.

Meanwhile, Huynh Tan Sieu, head of technology and environment at the Vietnam Rubber Industry Group, pointed out that local businesses also miss out on the opportunity to further the competitiveness of Vietnamese rubber in the global market by not applying for the FSC forest management certification, which confirms social and environmental characteristics of a company’s operations.

John Heath, commercial director at London-based natural rubber company Corrie MacColl Ltd., said in January that the European market is currently paying much attention to FSC-certified rubber. His company is distributing about 500 tonnes of certified latex to the European market each month, “a very small fraction of the growing demand for FSC-certified rubber in this market,” Heath explained.

In response to growing pressure from civil organisations and consumers, companies take more responsibility for supply chains, and Heath said that Corrie MacColl aims to “do the right thing, so it will not buy rubber from customers who cut primary tropical forests to plant rubber.”

Good products and official forest certifications have enabled 15 Corporation to access markets outside of China, led by the desire to reduce the focus on a single export market. As such, customers from Russia, Sweden, India, and Japan are considering buying the company’s latex and rubber.

However, since costs are currently higher for sourcing from the Central Highlands, “sustainable solutions with mutual benefits have to be agreed on,” said Sy of the 15 Corporation.

He hopes that the output of the 40,000ha will suffice this year to reach the targeted 10-15 per cent increase in revenue and secure the jobs of more than 10,000 workers. In 2020, the corporation banked a gross revenue of over VND1.5 billion ($65.2 million).

Vietnam leading car dealers struggle with Covid-19 impacts

While car prices in 2020 were significantly lower compared to the pre-Covid-19 period, customers had become more cautious in spending, leading to an 8% year-on-year drop in car sales to 296,634 units.

Major car dealers in Vietnam, including Savico, Haxaco and City Auto, posted modest return on sales (ROS) of 1-2% in 2020, mainly due to customers tightening their belt amid a difficult Covid-19 year.

“The pandemic had led to fierce competition in car prices, causing a downturn in the company’s business performance,” stated Savico in its financial statement.

Savico, a distributor of major car brands of Toyota, Volvo, Honda, Mitsubishi, recorded the highest revenue among the three with VND16.13 trillion (US$700.2 million), down 12% year-on-year, and profit of VND224 billion (US$9.72 million), or ROS of 1.38%.

While car prices in 2020 were significantly lower compared to pre-Covid-19 period, customers had become more cautious in spending, leading to an 8% year-on-year drop in car sales to 296,634 units, data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) noted.

City Auto, a major distributor of Ford and Huyndai, suffered a same fate with a decline of 11% year-on-year in revenue to VND5.67 trillion (US$246.1 million) and net loss of over VND4 billion (US$173,800).

Last year, City Auto predicted a challenging year of 2021 for the automobile industry following a sharp drop in market demand.

In a letter to the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, City Auto attributed its negative business performance to lower car sales volume.

In contrast, Haxaco, a leading Mercedes-Benz car dealer in Vietnam, recorded a rise of 8% year-on-year in revenue to VND5.57 trillion (US$241.8 million) and after-tax profit of VND125 billion (US$5.42 million), up 150% year-on-year.

A senior official at Haxaco said the firm took advantage of the government’s policy of reducing 50% of the registration fee for domestically-produced cars to boost sales revenue. However, Haxaco’s ROS remained at a modest rate of 2.24%.

A study from SSI Securities Corporation suggested 2021 could start the upward trend of Vietnam’s automobile industry with a 16.3% year-on-year growth rate in terms of car sales number, citing high demand from the domestic market for cars.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes

The Ho Chi Minh City tourism sector this year plans to focus on digitalisation of the industry and promotion of domestic tourism amid a downturn in tourism because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The sector will continue its efforts to boost domestic tourism as the main factor driving the recovery of the tourism industry.

The tourism communication and stimulus campaign, ‘Hello Ho Chi Minh City,’ has been implemented to promote the city as a safe, vibrant and friendly destination.

Tourism cooperation and linkages between HCM City and the Northeast, Northwest and the Central regions will also serve to boost domestic travel.

The city aims to receive 33.5 million domestic visitors this year if COVID-19 remains under control in the country./.

Tet sales increase sharply on low prices

With a week to go for Tet (the Lunar New Year) sales of goods bought to celebrate the Lunar New Year have increased by 30-40 percent from normal times, according to market observers.

They attribute it to prices remaining steady and people’s increasing income at the end of the year.

Saigon Co.op’s supermarket chains have managed to meet market demand thanks to early preparation of goods, accurate forecast of demand and discounts, Nguyen Anh Duc, its permanent deputy general director, said.

In January sales increased by 37 percent compared to the same period in the previous month, with growth of fresh and processed foods, cosmetics, kitchen appliances, and garments being high, he said.

There have been no shortages of goods, especially pork, and no price hikes, he said.

Dinh Quang Khoi, head of marketing and customer care at MM Mega Market Vietnam, said customers have bought Tet goods earlier than usual, and retail sales increased by more than 10 percent compare with same periods of last year, while the increase is 5 -6 percent if the wholesale segment is included.

Shopping malls in Ho Chi Minh City like Vincom Central Dong Khoi, Takashimaya and Aeon Celadon Tan Phu are crowded, especially at weekends.

Sales of processed foods are expected to go up by more than 20 percent.

People are switching more and more to poultry meat and eggs instead of pork because the pork price is rising to the delight of companies like San Ha, Ba Huan and Vinh Thanh Dat.

According to experts, the prices of many items have never been so stable as this year as the Covid-19 pandemic caused global demand to shrink.

Many products could not be exported, and so producers and distributors switched their focus to the domestic market, increasing supply.

To sustain demand in this scenario enterprises have had to improve quality and keep prices competitive./.

HCM City in top six most preferred markets for investment: CBRE

There was an increase in interest in Ho Chi Minh City which ranked sixth among Asia Pacific investors’ most preferred property markets for investors, according to a survey by market research firm CBRE polling more than 490 Asia Pacific-based investors in November and December 2020.

With the diversification of supply chains encouraging more manufacturing investment in the city, industrial and logistics assets are keenly sought after, said the CBRE’s 2021 Asia Pacific Investor Intentions Survey.

“HCM City has already been on the radar of investors in recent years, especially those who are looking to invest in Southeast Asia, as the city is viewed as having the potential for greater appreciation in property values and higher yields,” said Dang Phuong Hang, CBRE Vietnam Managing Director.

The survey outlines top 10 Preferred cities for cross-border investment, with Tokyo (Japan) in the first place, followed by Singapore, Seoul (the Republic of Korea), Shanghai and Beijing (China), HCM City, Shenzhen (China), Sydney (Australia), Osaka (Japan) and Melbourne (Australia).

Investors who expressed interest in investing in Southeast Asia indicated that they are willing to pay more for real estate purchase. 39.4 percent of these investors are comfortable to pay more than 10 percent higher this year than what they are willing to pay in 2020, while 19.7 percent are willing to paying up to 10 percent higher.

In the search for returns, investors looking at Southeast Asia are turning to value-added and core assets, even though there are some who are starting to look at distressed assets. Industrial/logistics and office remain their preferred sectors, while the hospitality sector is gaining favour.

Henry Chin, CBRE’s Global Head of Investor Thought Leadership and Head of Research, Asia Pacific, said: “stronger interest in core investment reflects investors’ greater emphasis on tenant credit and stable cash flows.”

“Assets with a solid rent roll of three years or longer typically attract far more bidders than those lacking this type of security,” he added.

Logistics was the most popular sector for investment as the pandemic-driven acceleration of e-commerce consumption boosted demand for this asset class. While interest in the office sector weakened, investors retain an optimistic view towards this sector, expecting a contraction in office purchasing activity of no more than 10 percent over the next three years./.

January sees largest capital injection into stock market since early 2020: SSI

January saw the largest amount of investment capital poured into Vietnam’s stock market since the beginning of 2020 on the back of strong exchange traded fund (ETF) inflows, according to a report by SSI Securities Corporation.

Vietnam is Asia’s only stock market with non-stop capital injection over the last four week as it attracted more than 100 million USD last month thanks to massive ETF inflows, outweighing the net capital withdrawal of around 23.5 million USD, said SSI’s February strategic stock market report entitled “Co hoi trong bien dong” (Opportunity in volatility).

ETFs have also raked in about 129 million USD, or two third of the total inflows in 2020, mostly into VFM Diamond ETF (1.31 trillion VND or 57.15 million USD) and VFM VN30 ETF (860 billion VND).

The market also experienced strong foreign buying in the last three days of the month, raising foreign players’ net purchases of shares in January to about 127 billion VND.

SSI stated that Vietnam has become a quite attractive market largely owing to the country’s successful containment of COVID-19, positive economic growth and the fact that it remains a destination of the ongoing global production shift.

Though the pandemic has been a key contributor to the market volatility during this period of time, capital injection from ETFs into Vietnam remains a positive driver of the stock market, SSI said, adding that this also means increasing level of volatility.

According to the report, more than 81 billion USD was poured into stocks in both developed and emerging markets across the worrld last month, also with the domination of the ETFs./.

Vietnam increases pork imports to cool off rising domestic prices

Vietnam imported more than 141,000 tonnes of pork worth 334.4 million USD in 2020, representing a rise of 382 percent and 500 percent over the previous year, respectively, customs statistics showed.

The increase in imports was to make up for the shortage in pork supply caused by African swine fever which pushed up domestic prices in the first months of 2020.

The pork was mainly imported from Brazil, Russia, Poland, the US and Canada. Brazil was the largest exporter of pork to Vietnam last year, accounting for 24.5 percent of the import volume.

The average pork import price was 2.2 USD per kilo.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam approved 25 countries to export livestock and poultry meat to Vietnam, including more than 800 enterprises from 19 countries allowed to export pork to Vietnam.

Vietnam imported more than 43,300 pigs for breeding, mainly from Thailand, Canada, the US, Denmark and Taiwan (China).

Live hog prices tended to increase in many provinces across the country from early January due to increases in consumption demand ahead of Tet (Lunar New Year) to around 80,000 – 84,000 VND (4 USD) per kilo, around 5,000 VND higher than the end of December.

However, in recent days, pork prices decreased by around 1,000-5,000 VND per kilo.

Nguyen Van Trong, Deputy Director of the ministry’s Department of Livestock Production, said pork prices dropped in recent days because processing companies reduced their purchases as they had enough goods for consumption during Tet.

The enhanced prevention against smuggling of pork to China together with the increase in supply also helped lower pork prices.

Now Vietnam had 27.3 million pigs, an increase of 21 percent over a year ago and equivalent to 88.7 percent of the time before the disease occurred.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade said that early preparations were made to ensure enough supply of pork for Tet with many enterprises launching price stabilisation programmes./.

Australian expert highlights Southeast Asia’s trade prospects

Richard Maude, Senior Fellow at Australia’s Asia Society Policy Institute, has spoken highly of trade prospects of Southeast Asian nations against the backdrop of COVID-19.

In an article, he said that global trends in trade, foreign investment and production offer a mix of peril and opportunity for the Southeast Asian governments as they try to steer their damaged economies towards recovery.

“Beset by lockdowns, disrupted supply chains and travel restrictions, world trade volumes fell by historically steep levels in the first half of 2020. Southeast Asia was no exception – the region’s economies rely heavily on external demand and many play increasingly significant roles in East Asian supply chains,” he continued.

In the second quarter of 2020, for example, the value of goods exported from the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) fell by 15 percent on a year-on-year basis and imports fell by 27 percent.

Foreign direct investment flows to Southeast Asia also declined sharply early in 2020.

The vertiginous plunge in world goods trade, at least, may now be bottoming out, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) remains decidedly gloomy about prospects for a trade-led recovery in Asia.

Even so, amid all the uncertainty and downside risk, Southeast Asia may yet find itself better placed than other regions to trade itself out of trouble, the expert said, citing that East Asian economic regionalism will strengthen as one of the reasons.

Most major East Asian economies – China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Taiwan – have managed to re-open their economies. China’s giant economy in particular is once again growing and helping keep Southeast Asian trade afloat.

Domestic consumption in Southeast Asia could double to 4 trillion USD over the next ten years.

Within the region, there are also signs the deep economic slump of the first half of 2020 is easing, at least in those parts of the region where the pandemic has been tamed. The decline in ASEAN global goods exports and imports, for example, slowed in the third quarter of 2020 on a quarter-on-quarter basis.

Vietnam, one of the best performing ASEAN economies, managed to eke out a small increase in economic growth in 2020, he cited.

Once it enters into force, the newly signed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal will give intra-Asian trading another boost. It is an incentive for large corporations to locate as much of their supply chains as possible within the bloc.

“ASEAN is also well placed to benefit from supply chain diversification within East Asia. Some manufacturing was already shifting to Southeast Asia before the pandemic.”

The pandemic has now reinforced interest from companies from around the world in regionalisation and supply chain diversification. Some governments, Japan, for example, is offering financial incentives to some of its companies to build production sites in Southeast Asia.

Like the rest of the world, the region faces headwinds and uncertainties, Maude noted, putting forth some suggestions for regional countries to use trade to help drive economic recovery./.

Tet sales increase sharply on low prices

With a week to go for Tet (the Lunar New Year) sales of goods bought to celebrate the Lunar New Year have increased by 30-40 per from normal times, according to market observers.

They attribute it to prices remaining steady and people’s increasing income at the end of the year.

Saigon Co.op’s supermarket chains have managed to meet market demand thanks to early preparation of goods, accurate forecast of demand and discounts, Nguyen Anh Duc, its permanent deputy general director, said.

In January sales increased by 37 per cent compared to the same period in the previous month, with growth of fresh and processed foods, cosmetics, kitchen appliances, and garments being high, he said.

There has been no shortages of goods, especially pork, and no price hikes, he said.

Dinh Quang Khoi, head of marketing and customer care at MM Mega Market Viet Nam, said customers have bought Tet goods earlier than usual, and retail sales increased by more than 10 per cent compare with same periods of last year, while the increase is 5 -6 per cent if the wholesale segment is included.

Shopping malls in HCM City like Vincom Central Dong Khoi, Takashimaya and Aeon Celadon Tan Phu are crowded, especially at weekends.

Sales of processed foods are expected to go up by more than 20 per cent.

People are switching more and more to poultry meat and eggs instead of pork because the pork price is rising to the delight of companies like San Ha, Ba Huan and Vinh Thanh Dat.

According to experts, the prices of many items have never been so stable as this year as the Covid-19 pandemic caused global demand to shrink.

Many products could not be exported, and so producers and distributors switched their focus to the domestic market, increasing supply.

To sustain demand in this scenario enterprises have had to improve quality and keep prices competitive.

One Commune One Product attracts Tet shoppers

Many products made under a programme called ‘One Commune One Product’ have become a big hit with consumers seeking to buy gift hampers for Tet (Lunar New Year).

Sticky rice grown by the Khau Nua Lech Thuong Quan Rice Cooperative in Bac Kan Province’s Ngan Son District is one such.

The co-operative has had to mobilise a lot of manpower to fulfil the mountain of orders it got.

Its rice is renowned for its plasticity and aroma, and is well known to consumers across the country.

According to a co-operative spokesperson, 100 additional workers were hired for packaging and delivery but demand still not be met.

In the last month or so it supplied more than 10 tonnes of rice to markets such as HCM City and Ha Noi.

Phan Thanh Hieu, director of the Phuong Nam Food Joint Stock Company, said this year, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, businesses had prepared for low demand, but two high-end products, organic ST 25 and ST 25 rice varieties, grown together with shrimp in Soc Trang Province, are out of stock.

“We have had to turn down many orders or deliver less than the ordered quantity though the rice prices are four to five times higher than that of other rice. ST 25 grown together with shrimp has a price of VND285,000(US$12.4) for 5kg, VND15,000 higher than ST 25.”

Le Kieu Phuong, director of Phuc Thinh Production and Commerce Co. Ltd, said her company recently got a One Commune One Product (OCOP) certificate for its three prawn cracker production lines in Ca Mau Province.

It is now working on selling the products to major supermarket chains before Lunar New Year with the aid of the certificate, she said.

In Dong Nai Province, where more and more people are becoming interested in regional specialties, seven OCOP producers have signed contracts with Central Retail Viet Nam to sell 21 items.

Nguyen Thi Bich Van, media director of Central, said the two supermarkets would design their display shelves to ensure OCOP products easily catch the eye of shoppers as part of a commitment to support them.

MM Mega Market is also selling 56 OCOP confectionery and jam products for Tet at discounts of up to 50 per cent to introduce them to customers.

Do Quoc Huy, marketing director of Saigon Co.op, said the company is helping develop OCOP goods, but their limited production means they could only be sold locally and not across its retail chains.

The two-year-old OCOP programme has helped a number of localities develop a wide variety of agricultural and non-agricultural products, providing steady incomes to many locals.

COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage travel industry

A resurgence of Covid-19 just before the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday has hugely impacted travelling, again demonstrating its impact on the tourism industry.

“There has been an immediate impact on the hospitality business with several cancellations across the country, not only in the affected destinations but anywhere with access via an airport,” Mauro Gasparotti, director of Savills Hotels Asia Pacific, said.

“Prior to these local transmissions, the industry was anticipating increased travel demand during and after the Tet holiday, which would have been a good start to the year,” Gasparotti said.

Travel interest is diminishing amid a mist of uncertainty with air travel demand dropping 15 per cent immediately after the news release.

Online flight search demand to Da Nang and HCM City during this peak period of the year dropped 35 per cent and 34 per cent week-on-week respectively, according to OTA Insight.

Some companies immediately enforced travel restrictions, with requests to limit attending events and large gatherings.

This has directly affected MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) business in city hotels, where several conferences have been put on hold or delayed.

Drive-to destinations have also been affected by weekend cancellations.

Last year international arrivals to the country numbered just 3.8 million, a 78 per cent decline from 2019.

Domestic traveller numbers fell 34 per cent to 56 million.

Hotels and resorts suffered badly, with many being forced into temporary closure.

Last year occupancy and average daily rates (ADR) both dropped, while revenues fell 70 per cent.

In Ha Noi, the average occupancy was 32 per cent compared to 80 per cent in 2019 while it dropped to 23 percent in HCM City from 72 per cent.

The national average of 62 per cent in 2019 plummeted to just 24 per cent last year.

January started on a positive note, with hotels in key destinations seeing increased MICE and event bookings while at some resorts corporate bookings started to return, Gasparotti said.

“The market in 2021 is expected to be broadly similar to most of 2020, at least until borders reopen to leisure and business trade. Hotels have adapted by considerably reducing operating costs to establish lower breakeven points.

“The good news is that several destinations are still performing at acceptable levels.”

The performance in December and January was positive for destinations like Phu Quoc and Vung Tau, which appeal to both local leisure travellers and year-end company trips.

Some hotels have used promotions, such as ‘staycation’ packages and F&B deals to nurture local demand, which have propped up their numbers.

Fruit and vegetable exports decline by 7.6% in January

Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports in January endured a drop of 7.6% to US$260 million compared to the same period from last year, largely due to unpredictable developments relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The MARD’s Agro-Processing and Market Development Authority stated that China was the leading importer of local fruit and vegetables last year, making up 56.3% of the total market share, although fruit and vegetable exports to this market fell by 25.7% to US$1.84 billion compared to 2019.

Elsewhere, the United States market ranked second with US$168.8 million, followed by Thailand with US$157.2 million, the Republic of Korea with US$143 million, and Japan with US$127.7 million.

Furthermore, January saw the country’s import value of fruit and vegetables enjoy an annual increase of 22.3% to US$140 million, with China, the US, and Australia representing the three largest suppliers to the Vietnamese market.

Moreover, the import value of fruit and vegetables from China in 2020 decreased by 21% compared to 2019’s figures, while imports from the US and Australia witnessed respective increases of 2.3% and 1%.

Due to complicated developments relating to COVID-19, the nation’s fruit and vegetable export activities have been significantly impacted as consumers have changed their shopping habits with several countries also moving to tighten import procedures as a way of securing their borders.

Experts have therefore advised local firms to strive to strengthen their supervision over product quality to avoid violating quarantine regulations, and ensure that food and safety rules are followed as a means of facilitating relevant customs clearance processes.

Acceleration opportunity for Vietnamese AI startups

The AI Accelerator Challenge 2021, organised by VSV Foundation under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology and funded by the Australian Embassy, is officially open for registration.

The AI Accelerator Challenge 2021(AAC 2021) is an acceleration programme specifically designed for Vietnamese AI startups with innovative ideas and products that address the practical needs of the market.

AAC 2021, themed “AI in pandemic – Adapting to the new normal”, has been organised with the goal of identifying, incubating, promoting, and developing potential AI-powered applications in numerous fields such as finance, commerce, electronics, telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, education, transportation, and smart city development. Participants will have the opportunity to undertake a 4-week online training course, after which the top five teams will be awarded prizes including a service support package worth VND500 million($21,740), a business promotion and mentoring course worth VND200 million ($8,700) and up to VND200 million in seed investment with no equity required.

The programme will assist Vietnam’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as help to foster the development of a vibrant AI startup environment. “Vietnam should be very proud of its successes in tackling COVID-19,” said Andrew Barnes, Australian Chargé d’Affaires to Vietnam. “Through sponsoring programmes to promote innovative applications using AI, Australia is demonstrating its strong commitment to assisting Vietnam in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting economic recovery, and strengthening its innovation system.”

“The government is trying to implement many activities to cope with disruptions caused by COVID-19, in which innovation and the application of advanced science and technology have been defined as the key to increase the resilience of businesses and the recovery of the economy. AI is one of the core technologies that promise to revolutionise many of Vietnam’s key socioeconomic sectors such as health, education, business, commerce, finance, and agriculture,” Deputy Minister Bui The Duy from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) added.

“We are proud to be a part of this programme,” said Thach Le Anh, founder of VSV Foundation. “AAC 2021 will not only allow Vietnamese AI startups to receive mentoring from top AI technology experts but also support them with business development and fund-raising, including by raising capital from angel investors and leading domestic and foreign venture capital funds. The startups will be able to raise up to VND2 billion ($86,960) after the programme ends.”

This programme is funded by Australia’s flagship Aus4Innovation programme which will disburse AUD11 million ($8.44 million) over four years (2018-2022) to strengthen the Vietnamese innovation system and prepare for Vietnam’s economic and digital future. It is funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and managed by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in strategic collaboration with the MoST.

Investors give EVN Genco 2 cold shoulder at IPO

Despite Power Generation Corporation 2 (EVN Genco 2) owning substantial interests in several thermal and hydropower plants, 99.97 per cent of the stake it offered at its initial public offering (IPO) was unmarketable.

The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX) has published the results of the auction registration for the stake of EVN Genco 2.

The company offered 580 million shares or 48.9 per cent of its charter capital to investors with the initial price of VND24,520 ($1.06) per share and expected to acquire VND14.225 trillion ($618.5 million) from the sale.

However, only 14 investors registered to join the auction, registering 262,500 shares, including 200,000 shares from a single foreign investor, 10,500 shares by five Vietnamese people, and 52,000 shares by eight domestic investors.

At present, EVN Genco 2 owns a 100 per cent stake in Trung Son Hydropower One Member LLC, which operates Trung Son hydropower plant with the designed capacity of 1 billion kWh per year.

It also owns a series of thermal power companies including Pha Lai, Haiphong, and Thac Mo, among others.

According to its financial statement, the company generated 17.8 million kWh, equaling 97 per cent of its plan for the whole year and 7 per cent of the power coursing through the whole national power grid.

The unmarketable IPOs of EVN Genco had precedent because they own too many member companies and subsidiaries. Buying stakes in the plants one by one will help investors limit risks.

Previously, EVN Genco 3 failed in its IPO in February 2018 when only 2.8 per cent of the offered shares was sold.

Vietnam targets 60 – 62 bln USD from agro-forestry-fisheries export by 2030

Vietnam has set a goal of earning around 60-62 billion USD from agro-forestry-fisheries export by 2030 under a project recently approved by the Prime Minister.

The project looks to fully and sustainably join the global supply chain of agro-forestry-fisheries, improve the quality and value of their export to meet regulations of importers, and develop their trademarks in international markets.

Of the figure, 25 billion USD will be from major farm produce, 16-17 billion USD from forestry products, 15 billion USD from aquatic products, 3-4 billion USD from animal husbandry products, and nearly 2 billion USD from others.

Agro-forestry-fisheries export is expected to grow by some 6-8 percent annually. About 40 percent of export will be national brands, 70 percent have their origins traced, and around 60 percent of exports are processed and deeply processed ones.

To such end, the project targets fine-tuning mechanisms and policies to ensure food safety and develop support industry, assisting firms in protecting intellectual property right in export markets, popularising trademarks on domestic and foreign media./.

Central localities seek new development routes amid COVID-19

Central provinces must adjust their socio-economic development goals and strategies to minimise the adverse effects brought by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters in 2020, officials have said.

Nguyen Tan Tuan, Chairman of the People Committee of Khanh Hoa province, said while the province’s tourism industry was hit especially hard, growth in the industrial sector managed to stay positive.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have made it our highest priority to keep the virus in check. Our effort has allowed us to attract a number of foreign investors as they moved from regions hard-hit by COVID-19,” Tuan said.

He said the province has been making use of the downtime to upgrade and invest in its tourism infrastructure, waiting for international tourists to return. In the meantime, Khanh Hoa has started several promotion campaigns to attract domestic travellers.

Meanwhile, Quang Nam made significant gains in developing modern agriculture in 2020 despite being one of the central provinces severely hit by natural disasters last year.

“Agriculture has always been a key priority in our province’s development scheme. During the pandemic, it has become Quang Nam’s economic driver,” said Le Van Dung, Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee.

Dung said with tourism and commerce disrupted because of the pandemic and natural disasters Quang Nam chose to make large investments in industrial projects to mitigate the economic damage to the province in the long run.

Quang Ngai, a traditionally strong economic performer in the region thanks to being home to the country’s largest oil complex the Dung Quat Refinery, has been looking for ways to become less reliant on the oil industry.

Dang Van Minh, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the province has been working with its partners to set up numerous large-scale industrial parks.

“We want to become one of the country’s best destinations for investments and industrial development. The province aims to build a transparent and healthy business environment to win over potential investors,” said Minh.

Meanwhile, Da Nang, the central region’s main economic hub and the city most affected by the pandemic with nearly 200,000 jobs lost during 2020, said it has set a new course to push for greater digitalisation of commerce, smart city technologies and star ups culture.

“The city aims to diversify its economy. While we still identify tourism and services as major industries we want to see strong development on the fronts of information technology and digitalisation in the near future,” said Nguyen Dinh Vinh, head of the municiapal Party Committee’s Board for Information and Education./.

Cambodia to resume farmed fish import from Vietnam

The Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on February 8 issued a press release on the resumption of the import of aquatic products, including farmed fish, from neighbouring countries, including Vietnam.

The import suspension was announced by the Cambodian side one month ago.

On January 19, Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh sent a letter to Cambodian Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak, saying Vietnam’s shipments of farmed fish failed to pass through customs and were returned.

The import ban showed signs of running counter to the trade liberalisation spirit of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the ASEAN Economic Community, of which both countries are members, he said.

In the press release, the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it will continue to collect feedback from the Cambodian Aquaculture Association, importers and exporters, and concerned agencies that are Cambodia’s trade partners to build and recognise technical standards.

Le Bien Cuong, head of the Vietnamese trade affairs office in Cambodia, told the Vietnam News Agency on February 8 that the Cambodian side has shown its goodwill and active response.

Cambodia would consider imposing additional non-tariff technical measures in farmed fish import, including certificates of product origin and quality, he said.

According to the Vietnamese ministry, in recent years, Vietnam has exported about 60 million USD worth of aquatic products to Cambodia annually. Although Cambodia is not a major market of Vietnamese aquatic products, its stable import demand has contributed significantly to cross-border trade development, as well as job creation and income generation for local residents./.

VinFast acquires licence to test self-driving electric vehicles in California

VinFast has just become the 57th automaker to receive a licence to test self-driving electric vehicles in California, the US.

The company said its three SUV models VF31, VF32 and VF33 met the highest global safety standards including five-star ratings from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the European New Car Assessment Programme.

VinFast has just become the 57th automaker to receive a licence to test self-driving electric vehicles in California, the US.

Automakers, including big names such as Apple, Tesla, BMW, and Volkswagen according to California’s Department of Motor Vehicles website, have also secured their licences to test run their vehicles in the Golden State, the world’s largest technology and innovation hub.

All three of the company’s models are to be equipped with level 2-3 autonomous features, which include 30 smart features divided into seven groups: intelligent steering assist system, lane control system, active journey control system, multi-point collision warning system, comprehensive collision mitigation system, intelligent automated parking system and driver monitoring system.

Models VF32 and VF33 will be sold in the US, Canada and Europe markets from 2022. The launch of high-tech electric vehicles, including electric scooters, electric buses and personal electric cars, is part of VinFast’s pre-defined roadmap since entering the automotive market three years ago.

Customers can start ordering the cars in May this year in Vietnam and in November in the US, Canada and the EU.

In Vietnam, Vietnamese automakers also started to install electric vehicle charging stations at commercial centres at Vinhomes Ocean Park, Vincom Long Bien in Hanoi to serve the first electric cars produced, expected to be available this year.

VinFast sold 31,500 cars in Vietnam last year, with its VinFast sedan and SUV models among the bestsellers in their respective segments./.

Agricultural, forestry, fisheries exports up sharply in January

Vietnam’s exports of agricultural, forestry, and fisheries products grew 27.1 percent year-on-year to 3.49 billion USD in January.

Rubber was the best performer in the opening month of the year, following on from its uptrend last year and totalling 200,000 tonnes worth 321 million USD, increases of 2.2-fold and 2.4-fold, respectively, year-on-year.

Shipments of key forestry products totalled 1.33 billion USD, up 47.8 percent year-on-year. Exports of wood and timber products alone reached 1.25 billion USD, up 48.4 percent.

Fisheries exports rose 19.6 percent to about 600 million USD, following repeated declines last year, especially after the outset of COVID-19.

Prawn exports experienced the highest growth last year among all fisheries items, up 11 percent to 3.7 billion USD.

Several major export earners, meanwhile, declined in January, including rice, fruit and vegetables, coffee, and pepper.

The country exported around 280,000 tonnes of rice for 154 million USD in the month, down 29.5 percent and 20.2 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.

A similar trend was seen in fruit and vegetables, with shipments reaching just 260 million USD, a year-on-year decline of 7.6 percent./.

Da Nang developing supporting industries

The central city of Da Nang has set a goal of developing supporting industries in tandem with high-tech industry to create products with high added value for export.

Under action programme No 01-Ctr/TU issued by the municipal Party Committee on December 10, 2020, the industry-construction sector is to grow by 11-11.5 percent annually between 2020 and 2025.

The municipal Department of Industry and Trade has reported that several large-scale projects in supporting industries have gradually joined the global supply chain.

Since 2016, Da Nang has attracted 24 new supporting industry projects worth over 9 trillion VND, two of which are foreign-invested, with 240 million USD, specialising in manufacturing aviation and automobile spare parts.

Da Nang is now home to around 110 supporting industry firms, accounting for 6.3 percent of all industrial enterprises in the city.

However, the number of domestic companies in the field remains limited, and most are of small scale with average technological capabilities. Meanwhile, foreign firms mostly process and assemble imported materials because the rate of domestically-made items remains low. Links between foreign and domestic businesses, meanwhile, are still less than needed.

General Director of the Long Hau Company, Tran Hong Son, said a number of local companies have yet to meet requirements for being recognised as supporting industry enterprises or manufacturers under Vietnam’s regulations.

He suggested quickly completing planning for an area devoted to supporting industry enterprises inside the Da Nang Hi-tech Park (DHTP) and putting it into operation to attract capable investors.

Head of the management board of the DHTP and industrial parks in Da Nang, Pham Truong Son, said the municipal People’s Committee has completed the planning for a supporting industrial park in the DHTP, which has been submitted to the Prime Minister for approval.

Once approved, Da Nang will outline a list of sectors in need of investment and then set up the park, the first of its kind in supporting industries in the city. Investors in the park would work with those at DHTP to create an industrial ecosystem.

If Da Nang develops supporting industries, investment will also pour into nearby localities, he said.

Under Politburo Resolution No 43/NQ-TW, Da Nang is to be a nucleus of the central key economic region and will develop hi-tech industries and information technology. To this end, Son suggested making the best use of its geographical location, infrastructure, human resources, and supporting industry.

Under the pending plan, the supporting industrial park is to cover an area of over 102 ha in Hoa Vang district, adjacent to the DHTP and the city’s information technology park.

In line with Resolution No 01-NQ/TU from the standing board of the municipal Party Committee, supporting industry enterprises will increase in number by 2030 and be capable of producing highly-competitive products, focusing on spare parts, software, and key services in support of priority industries. The city will also attract multi-national groups to guide and facilitate technology transfer.

By 2025, the city expects to have over 150 supporting enterprises, with at least 10 percent of domestic supporting enterprises being able to supply products to manufacturers. The value of the supporting industry will make up around 30 percent of added valued in the manufacturing and processing sector. At least one multi-national group or company is to invest in manufacturing end products.

Of the more than 300 supporting enterprises to be in business by 2030, at least 15 percent are to be able to directly supply products to manufacturers and assemblers. The value of the supporting industry will account for nearly 40 percent of added value in the manufacturing and processing sector and at least one multi-national group or company will invest in manufacturing end products./.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews/SGT/VIR

Logistics, considered a backbone of Vietnam’s economy, is among eight sectors prioritised by the national programme for digital transformation until 2025.

According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), the sector has grown 14-16 percent annually over recent years. It now gathers together some 3,000 domestic firms and 30 others offering transnational services.  Of those, 89 percent are domestic businesses and 10 percent are joint ventures while the number of foreign-funded companies represents just 1 percent of the total.

The VLA said the cost of logistics in Vietnam as a proportion of GDP is 18 percent, compared to 9-14 percent in developed countries. The high cost is attributable to limited sea port infrastructure and weak cost reduction efforts. Together with fierce competition, the digital economic boom, and pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic, these have made digitisation in the sector a must.

Vietnamese logistics companies offer between 2 and 17 services, mostly in transport, warehousing, and fast delivery. About half apply technology in their operations.

Nguyen Tuong, VLA Deputy General Secretary, said investment shortages from the very beginning, difficulties in choosing suitable technological applications, a sense of distrust in technology, and a fear of change are hindering the sector from pressing ahead with digital transformation.

Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Agency of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said transformation in this core sector would trigger a similar process in other parts of the supply chain.

Experts have said that smart logistics involve master plans and strategies with the involvement of cloud computing technology, adding that it will be conducive to improving customer services, information flows, and automation.

To reduce logistics costs, Nguyen Hoang Long, Deputy General Director of the Viettel Post Joint Stock Corporation, said the engagement of both the Government and enterprises is needed. While the Government should offer planning and assistance for the building of national logistics centres, as well as preferential land and port taxes, enterprises need to invest in better management and boosting connectivity within the sector, he said.

Administration reform and capital support are also necessary for logistics firms undertaking digital transformation, insiders have said./.

US removes anti-dumping duty on Minh Phu frozen shrimp

The Minh Phu Seafood Joint Stock Company announced on February 17 that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has cancelled a decision issued on October 13, 2020 on the imposition of anti-dumping tariffs on the company’s frozen shrimp products exported to the US.

Its CEO Le Van Quang said the latest CBP decision allows Minh Phu to continue exporting frozen shrimp to the US without being subject to an anti-dumping duty imposed on shrimp from India or any other anti-dumping duties.

Minh Phu has also been refunded anti-dumping duties it temporarily paid under the October 13 decision, Quang added.

The CBP had applied the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA) to conclude that frozen shrimp products exported by Minh Phu to the US should be subject to duties in accordance with the anti-dumping order imposed on shrimp from India. It said the company did not provide sufficient evidence as requested by the CBP to prove that it was not using shrimp originating from India for export to the US.

Minh Phu decided to send an administrative complaint to the CBP’s senior agency, because the decision ignored key evidence that it had an effective traceability system and was not using raw shrimp from India for exports to the US.

In fact, Minh Phu clearly demonstrated its separation and traceability method approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the US Department of Commerce, based on its requirements for the Seafood Import Monitoring Programme.

Minh Phu successfully applied and effectively operated a high-tech shrimp farming model at its two farming areas of Minh Phu Kien Giang on 600 ha and Minh Phu Loc An on 300 ha. It has also been establishing a network of shrimp suppliers across the Mekong Delta and Vietnam’s south that use diverse models of sustainable shrimp farming./.

HCM City sees sharp fall in number of tourists

Ho Chi Minh City recorded 1,800 visitors booking hotel rooms during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday from February 9 to 17, the municipal Department of Tourism reported after summarising figures from 22 of the 124 local 3 to 5-star hotels.

Tourists numbers were down sharply compared to Tet last year, primarily due to the COVID-19 outbreak right before the holiday.

Recognising that many people had decided not to return to their homeland because of the pandemic, many travel companies offered various short tours to nearby safe destinations.

Department Director Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said it coordinated with accommodation providers to manage those coming from pandemic-hit regions while strictly implementing safety standards for COVID-19 prevention and control.

Providers were also asked to ensure guest safety by applying the Ministry of Health’s message featuring 5K (in Vietnamese) Khau trang (facemask)- (Khu khuan) disinfection- (Khoang cach) distance- (Khong tu tap) no gathering – (Khai bao y te) health declaration.

Analysts have forecast that fluctuations will be seen in the number of visitors to local accommodation providers this year, which are posting occupancy of less than 10 percent./.

Hapaco eyes investment in 4-trillion-VND wind power project

The Hapaco Group JSC is planning to invest 4 trillion VND (174.1 million USD) in a wind power project in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

The project is among those to be submitted for approval at the group’s annual shareholders’ meeting, which is slated for March 14.

The meeting will also discuss an investment in building a 23-ha care centre for the elderly in the northern city of Hai Phong’s Thuy Nguyen district as well as Hapaco’s new development orientations in social housing and guest worker services.

Hapaco (stock code HAP) was one of the first listed on Vietnam’s stock market. As of December 31 last year, its total asset exceeded more than 808 billion VND.

Last year, the group reeled in 335 billion VND in revenue, an annual decrease of 11 percent. Its after-tax profit, meanwhile, hit 34.3 billion VND, up 69 percent on-year./.

HCM City: Consumer prices see slight rise after Tet holiday

Consumer prices in Ho Chi Minh City showed slight fluctuations on February 16, or the fifth day of the new lunar year and the last day of the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, with most traders in wet markets resuming business.

It is noteworthy that prices of fresh vegetables and fruit increased remarkably compared to before Tet, as consumers tend to buy more of those goods after feasting during the holiday.

Reports of the Thu Duc wholesale market said supplies of vegetable, fruits and flower are abundant at stable prices.

Besides wet markets, most supermarkets, convenience stores and shopping centres in the city are scheduled to re-open on February 17, ensuring supplies of goods when residents return to the city after the holiday.

In the context of unpredictable developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city and the country, businesses in HCM City have stocked 57.5 million facemasks and 3.39 million bottles of hand sanitizer to meet epidemic prevention demands./.

Brand building – key to add value to business

Vietnam enterprises need greater efforts to build their brand names so as to better competitive edge amidst rapid integration, according to experts.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Trade Promotion Agency, although the number of businesses honoured with the Vietnam National Brand increased throughout years (from 30 in 2008 to 124 in 2020), it lagged behind expectations.

Deputy head of the agency Hoang Minh Chien said the Vietnam National Brand (Vietnam Value) Programme has raised awareness of many local firms and corporations of the important roles of brand name in improving value of their products and the businesses themselves.

It is difficult to develop Vietnam brand for specific products, he said, adding despite being the world’s leading agro-forestry-fisheries exporter, Vietnam lacks in branded products in its shipments.

Up to 80 percent of Vietnamese agricultural exports are yet to have brand name. Many exports in the nation’s “one-billion USD” club such as timber, rubber, pepper and cashew nuts have not their own brand names yet, according to agricultural specialist Hoang Trong Thuy.

Chairwoman of the Ngan Ha Science and Technoloy Company Limited Pham Thi Kim Loan said a good brand is developed from good-quality products as well as fine customer service and marketing strategies.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Advice Council to the Institute for Brand and Competitiveness Strategy Nguyen Quoc Thinh stressed that besides financial resources, businesses need dogged determination and in-depth knowledge of brand building.

Chien said the Ministry of Industry and Trade will accompany enterprises to develop and popularise their brand names, adding focus will be sharpened on raising public awareness of brand development, helping businesses to satisfy criteria of the Vietnam National Brand Programme, and introducing the brands to domestic consumers and international partners.

According to the Brand Finance, value of the Vietnam Nation Brand skyrocketed 175 percent from 141 billion USD in 2016 to 319 billion USD in 2020. The country also jumped 17 places from 2016 to 33rd in the list of the world’s 100 most valuable brands compiled by the UK consultancy./.

Ninh Binh strives to host 7 million visitors in 2021

Ninh Binh  has launched promotion activities on social networks, among other activities.It is also working with the provincial tourism association to mobilise travel agencies’ engagement in demand stimulus activities and increase service quality.

Ensuring related security and order, environmental sanitation, and COVID-19 prevention and control are also key tasks, noted the official.

According to statistics from the department, during the recent three-day New Year holiday, the province received more than 32,000 visitors. Most of them went to local renowned destinations like Trang An Landscape Complex – a world cultural and natural heritage site, Cuc Phuong national park, and Van Long submerged natural reserve.

In 2020 the province hosted 2.8 million tourists, equaling to just 37 percent of the 2019 figure. The reduction was largely due to the impact of the pandemic./.

Kien Giang promotes border trade infrastructure connectivity with Cambodia

The southern border province of Kien Giang has facilitated the implementation of a memorandum of understanding on border trade infrastructure development and connectivity between Vietnam and Cambodia.

Ha Tien city and Giang Thanh district have been asked to build a list of border trade infrastructure items, with priority given to connectivity with Cambodian localities, according to the Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chin.

Kien Giang has also supported trade promotion and the attraction of investments in border trade infrastructure construction.

Local competent agencies have taken measures to simplify administrative procedures in order to make it easier for traders and border residents in customs clearance.

The province has effectively implemented cooperation agreements with Cambodian localities and joined hands with the Cambodian side in national defence as well as external affairs in border areas./.

Kien Giang moves to promote marine economic growth

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has planned to further promote sustainable marine aquaculture in line with the “Strategy for the Sustainable Development of Vietnam’s Marine Economy by 2030 with a Vision to 2045”.

Local leaders said the province will fully tap its potential and advantages to promote marine aquaculture in a modern manner in connection with tourism development, while ensuring the environment and national defence and security at seas and islands.

The plan aims to contribute to accelerating the restructuring of agriculture, promoting marine economic growth, and improving competitiveness and local incomes.

It aims to have 7,500 farming cages by 2025, including 4,700 traditional fish cages, 1,900 hi-tech fish cages, and 900 cages for breeding other seafood.

The water surface areas for cage farming and mollusc farming are expected to reach 7,000 ha and 24,000 ha, respectively.

The farming yield is to reach 113,530 tonnes and be worth 7.54 trillion VND (327.6 million USD), including 29,870 tonnes from cage farming and 83,660 tonnes from mollusc cultivation. The sector is forecast to employ 18,510 workers.

According to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, farming areas in Phu Quoc city, Kien Hai island district, the island commune of Tien Hai in Ha Tien city, and Son Hai and Hon Nghe in Kien Luong district will focus on farming groupers, cobias, yellow-fin pompanos, and seabass, as well as blue lobster, mantis shrimp, crab, and oysters for pearl farming.

Meanwhile, coastal areas in Ha Tien city and the districts of Kien Luong, Hon Dat, An Minh, and An Bien will develop zones for farming molluscs such as blood cockles, saltwater mussels, green mussels, and oysters.

Local authorities must also fully tap the potential and effectively use the sea for farming, towards promoting agricultural economic restructuring, increasing productivity and output, and ensuring food hygiene and safety.

The locality has worked hard to create more jobs and improve incomes in coastal communities and those on islands, cut inshore fishing activities, preserve the environment, and minimise activities that deplete natural aquatic resources.

It aims to develop marine farming at an industrial-scale using modern technologies that can produce a large volume of products for both export and domestic demand.

The province also attaches special importance to promoting links and cooperation in producing raw materials, processing and consuming aquatic products, ensuring food hygiene and safety, and protecting the environment, contributing to protecting and regenerating aquatic resources and preserving biodiversity.

It has synchronously implemented solutions on land and water surface areas for marine farming, and mechanisms and policies to boost production and attract investors to high-tech aquaculture.

The locality has also paid heed to applying credit and incentive policies to support aquaculture development and high-tech agriculture, as well as to improving the quality of human resources in the sector./.

Lao Cai aims to welcome 5 mln visitors this year

The northern province of Lao Cai, home to the popular holiday town of Sa Pa, has set a target of welcoming 5 million visitors this year and earning more than 696 million USD in tourism revenue.

The province will exert efforts to attract more domestic holidaymakers.

Sa Pa has long been among the country’s leading destinations. Of note, young people accounted for more than 70 percent of tourist arrivals to the town in 2020.

Lao Cai also aims to devise 130 new tourism products to meet demand from tourists and encourage them to return in the future.

Lao Cai’s tourism sector bore the brunt of the ill-effects of the pandemic and welcomed just 2.2 million visitors last year, down by more than half against 2019./.

Opportunities forecast for Vietnam’s economy in 2021: experts

Apart from challenges, many opportunities will be offered to the Vietnamese economy in 2021, experts have said.

Such agreements as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to which Vietnam is a signatory will open up wide doors for the country to further integrate into the world.

Economist Nguyen Minh Phong forecast that Vietnam’s agriculture, industry, export-import, and the domestic financial, stock and real estate markets will grow further in the year.

Notably, with the current growth rate of the local processing sector, Vietnam would join the group of newly-emerging industrialised countries in the coming years.

Pham Dinh Thuy from the General Statistics Office said that the GDP growth target of 6.5 percent set by the Government is feasible in the normal situation. However, this would be a challenge for the country as 2021 is the first year of implementing the 2021-2025 socio-economic development plan.

The official pinned hope on the development of such sectors as food, garment-textile, wood processing, metal production, construction and electricity production.

To achieve the set economic targets, it is a must to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, suggesting stepping up economic restructuring, churning out typical products, streamlining administrative procedures, improving the domestic investment environment, and improving the country’s competitiveness.

Thuy also highlighted the significance of trade promotion and foreign investment attraction, which, he said, needs specific plans.

Pham Viet Hoai, Chairman of Kym Viet JSC, said the application of digital technology would bring about positive results to any firm.

According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong, after the PM adopted the national digital transformation programme, many sectors have reaped significant outcomes, benefiting people and the entire economy.

Digital transformation is vital as it helps enterprises improve their business governance and adapt to the latest changes in technology, market and consumer taste, he said./.

Exports from six ASEAN countries drop only 2.2 pct despite pandemic: JETRO

Exports from six Southeast Asian countries fell 2.2 percent in 2020 from a year earlier to a combined 1.35 trillion USD, a relatively marginal decline despite COVID-19, according to data from the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Of the six, only Vietnam posted an increase in exports for the year, up 7 percent to 282.66 billion USD, with a 5.2 percent drop to Japan more than offset by a 25.7 percent rise to the US and an 18 percent expansion to China.

Meanwhile, the Philippines logged a 10.1 percent fall in exports last year, followed by a contraction of 6 percent in Thailand, 4.1 percent in Singapore and 2.6 percent each in Malaysia and Indonesia.

The combined trade surplus of the six ASEAN members more than triple to 133.66 billion USD, as easing energy prices and shrinking domestic demand led to steeper declines in imports than exports.

Thailand’s trade surplus surged 144.5 percent, compared with an increase of 83.5 percent for Vietnam, 43.9 percent for Singapore and 25.6 percent for Malaysia.

The Philippines narrowed its trade deficit by 46.3 percent to 21.84 billion USD. Indonesia chalked up a trade surplus of 21.74 billion USD, a turnaround from a deficit of 3.6 billion USD in 2019.

Singapore accounted for 27.4 percent of the six countries’ total trade by value in 2020, followed by Vietnam at 21.3 percent, Thailand at 17.1 percent, Malaysia at 16.5 percent, Indonesia at 11.9 percent and the Philippines at 5.8 percent./.

Central Da Nang city to build duty-free zone

Da Nang’s authorities are building a detailed plan for the city’s first international duty-free zone and smart urban area for investors, with construction set to commence soon as the Import-Export Pan Pacific Group (IPPG) has asked the city to allocate land for the project.

Director of the city’s Investment Promotion Agency Huynh Thi Lien Phuong told Vietnam News that the project had been finalising the city’s first international standard downtown duty-free zone and factory outlet centre.

Lien said the city would offer the best conditions for the investor to start the project.

She said the city also planned a downtown free-duty shop at the coastal crown plaza in Ngu Hanh Son District to seek investment.

In 2019, IPPG proposed the project with an investment of 434 million USD, but an appropriate land area was yet to be offered.

In 2018, chairman of the group, Jonathan Hanh Nguyen, urged the city to build a third terminal to ease congestion and design an international standard duty-free zone and recreational area to funnel tourism towards Hoi An, Hue and Da Nang.

He said Da Nang would be a new location for a luxury shopping centre for future development and investment attraction.

Da Nang has been designing the 1,100ha Hi-Tech Park as Vietnam’s ‘Silicon Valley’ to earn revenue of 1.5 billion USD each year with 25,000 jobs and a satellite city of 100,000 people after 2023.

The US-based aviation firm Universal Alloy Corporation (UAC) put the Sunshine Aerospace Components Factory into operation in the first phase in 2020.

The Republic of Korea’s LG Electronics also debuted its research and development (R&D) centre – the second in Vietnam – at the Da Nang Information Technology Park Tower

CMC Corporation, the second-largest information and communications technology (ICT) group in Vietnam, plans to build the Da Nang-based CMC creative space – a digital hub in the Asia-Pacific region – with an estimated investment of 522 million USD.

To date, Da Nang has 876 foreign direct investment projects worth a total of 3.52 billion USD./.

More trade remedy probes predicted for Vietnamese enterprises this year

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is set to bolster action while Vietnamese enterprises have been recommended to gear up preparations as more trade remedy investigations are expected in 2021.

Vietnam’s participation in 14 free trade agreements (FTAs) has helped fuel its trading activities.

MoIT data shows that export turnover boomed from 15 billion USD in 2001 to nearly 100 billion USD in 2011 and then 281.5 billion USD in 2020. The figure is expected to rise 4-5 percent this year.

Sharing the same upward trend in exports, however, is the number of trade remedy cases instigated against Vietnamese goods.

Vietnamese exports, including major foreign currency earners like shrimp, tra fish, steel, and wooden products, have been subject to nearly 200 trade remedy cases so far.

The country has successfully dealt with about 43 percent of cases, thus ensuring the continued export of basa fish and shrimp to major markets like the US and the EU at zero percent or very low tariffs.

It has also launched 19 trade remedy probes itself into imported goods, including steel, chemicals, plastics, fertiliser, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and sugar.

Chu Thang Trung, Deputy Director of the MoIT’s Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam (TRAV), said trade remedies are appropriate policy tools that the WTO recognises and permits its members to use in international trade.

WTO figures show that more than 4,500 trade remedies have been applied by members since the organisation was established in 1995. Such measures are clearly not an abnormal phenomenon, Trung said.

Vietnam’s membership of many FTAs has sped up the removal of tariff barriers on its exports, giving its goods a greater degree of competitiveness in import markets. It has also put more pressure on producers in importing countries, forcing them to use legal trade policy tools to protect their interests, including trade remedies, the official added.

TRAV Director Le Trieu Dung said trade remedies are increasingly common and are legal measures permitted by the WTO to ensure fair competition between domestically-made goods and imported equivalents.

He pointed out that due to some countries’ trade protection policies and lingering difficulties in the global economy in 2021, the number of trade remedy investigations targeting both Vietnamese exports and imports into the country is predicted to remain high for the foreseeable future.

This will expose domestic manufacturers to new challenges, especially as key FTAs like the EU-Vietnam FTA (EVFTA), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will present fierce competition.

Therefore, he added, TRAV has recommended businesses equip themselves with knowledge on trade remedy regulations, particularly those of Vietnam and its export markets, while gearing up resources to cope with any trade remedies.

Pointing out certain shortcomings, experts have said the capacity of local businesses in regard to trade remedies remains modest, while there are ongoing problems in legal regulations and coordination among related agencies.

MoIT has developed a plan on improving the capacity of Vietnamese enterprises to handle trade defence measures now the country is party to many new-generation FTAs.

Experts also held, however, that enterprises themselves need to change their thinking and turn competitive pressure into momentum for reform, development, and product improvement.

Nguyen Thao Hien, Deputy Director of the MoIT’s European – American Market Department, said that to help reduce trade remedy cases, businesses should promote the manufacturing of goods for which domestic material supplies are at hand, as well as those with high added value and rich growth potential amid the pandemic, such as agricultural products, food, and medical equipment.

They must ensure strict quality control and update processing technology so as to raise the value of their products, she added.

Trade remedy investigations can be initiated by one or just a few foreign companies but they pose risks for entire sectors, analysts said, suggesting that Vietnamese firms stay updated with information and actively work with their business associations and State agencies on an effective response.

TRAV Director Dung said that this year, apart from plans on enhancing trade remedy-related capacity and coordination, the authority will also implement plans on building and operating an early warning system for trade remedies and overhaul rules of origin./.

Tens of wind power projects to be operational in Quang Tri

As many as 22 wind power projects with a combined capacity of 907 MW are set to be put into operation in the central province of Quang Tri by year end.

To meet the deadline, the locality has urged project investors to speed up the construction, while pushing ahead with the maintenance of National Highway 9 and other routes to facilitate project equipment transportation.

The local Department of Industry and Trade has also suggested the provincial People’s Committee instruct relevant agencies and units to swiftly remove bottlenecks to site clearance.

As of January, the Ministry of Industry and Trade had approved 31 wind power projects in Quang Tri to date, with an accumulative capacity of 1,177 MW, of which seven are under construction.

Earlier, Huong Linh 1 and 2 wind power projects in the province came into service, significantly contributing to local budget collection.

Apart from projects that had received the green light of the ministry, Quang Tri has tens of others that are under study with a total capacity exceeding 3,600 MW.

The locality has adopted various solutions to support businesses operating in energy in general and wind power in particular such as providing them with consultations in tax, insurance, contract, land and environment, and building the e-government.

Estimations by the ministry showed Vietnam would face a shortage of 6.6 billion kWh in 2021, 11.8 billion kWh in 2022 and 13 billion kWh in 2023. It would require a total investment of 130 billion USD in new power projects by 2030 to make up for the shortages, equivalent to 12 billion USD annually.

The country’s power demand was forecast to increase by 8.5 percent per year over the next five years and seven percent between 2026 and 2030.

Research showed Vietnam had the potential to develop around 8,000MW hydroelectricity from small plants, 20,000MW of wind power and 3,000MW of biomass power and 35,000MW of solar power by 2030./.

UKVFTA hoped to promote Vietnam’s exports

The UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), which became effective on January 1, is expected to create a strong motivation pushing Vietnam forwards on the path of economic development and international integration.

According to Kenneth Atkinson, head of the British Business Group in Vietnam (Britcham), the deal will help strengthen trade and support employment, while promoting growth in both countries.

The erasing of 65 percent of the total tariff immediately after the deal takes effects and 99 percent of the tariff in 6-7 years will bring about practical benefits to British exporters of machineries, chemicals, and brandy, he held.

Along with the reduction of legal barriers as well as burden in administrative procedures in the two markets, the official said, highlighting that the UKVFTA will help observe the regulations and commitments that the two Governments and business communities have agreed on.

The deal will also ensure the increase in the trade by more than 3,000 UK businesses engaged in export activities to Vietnam, while meeting the demand for Vietnamese goods of UK customers, he said.

Atkinson asserted that the area of solar and wind power will receive priorities from the business communities and governments of both sides.

Experts held that Vietnamese products account for only 1 percent of the 700 billion USD import revenue of the UK, so Vietnam has high potential to provide more products to the promising market, including telephones, accessories, garment and textile products, footwear, seafood, wood and furniture, computers, cashew, and peppercorn.

The UK is currently the third largest trade partner of Vietnam in Europe.

Hoang Quang Phong, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that the UKVFTA not only facilitates the trade of goods and services but also helps promote partnership in many other areas, including green growth and sustainable development.

As the UK has officially left the EU, which means the preferential policies that Vietnam enjoys thanks to the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will not be applied in the UK anymore, the UKVFTA has eased concern of the business community about the interruption of trade with the European country, he added./.

Vietnam targets modernity-oriented agriculture: Minister

Vietnam will continue with the building of a modernity-oriented agriculture sector with complete value chains in 2021, according to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong.

Cuong told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s reporter that such production chains will be developed on the basis of three groups of major products – the club with export revenue of at least 1 billion USD, agricultural products that are of localities’ strength like longan in northern Hung Yen province and lychee in northern Bac Giang province, and “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) goods.

Vietnam has paid attention to product quality during its international economic integration, Cuong said, stressing the significance of organic agriculture.

The sector will also take various solutions to call for the involvement of businesses, while promoting the linkages between them and farmers and cooperatives.

To attract more enterprises, the sector will further provide consultations for the Prime Minister in order to complete mechanisms and policies, as well as administrative reforms, he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will also closely coordinate with localities to facilitate investment, the minister said, adding that greater efforts will be made to step up the formation of new-style cooperatives.

Cuong said the application of digital technology should be intensified in spheres, and the MARD will join hands with the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Information and Communications in this regard.

In another interview with the Dien dan Doanh nghiep (Business Forum) newspaper, Cuong said that 2020 was a year full of challenges and difficulties for Vietnam’s economy, including the agriculture sector, due to the COVID-19 crisis. The sector also had to face natural disasters, including unprecedented drought.

The growth and trade targets for the sector last year were also the highest ever, with exports set at over 41 billion USD.

However, Cuong noted, thanks to the efforts of the entire political system, ministries, sectors, localities, and economic elements, the agricultural sector managed to secure growth of about 2.65 percent and post export earnings of 41.25 billion USD, with nine groups of commodities enjoying shipments of over 10 billion USD.

The agriculture sector’s export target of 44 billion USD this year, set by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, is a high but feasible goal. Vietnam earned about 3.49 billion USD from exports of agricultural, forestry, and fisheries products in January, up 27.1 percent year-on-year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shows.

Under a plan recently approved by the PM, Vietnam expects the annual figure to reach some 60-62 billion USD by 2030./.

Thanh Hoa looks to develop tourism into spearhead economic sector

The north-central province of Thanh Hoa has set a target of turning tourism into a spearhead economic sector by 2030.

Amid the difficulties posed by COVID-19, the province welcomed 7.3 million visitors in 2020, earning 10.394 trillion VND (over 453.6 million USD), representing 65.5 percent and 50.7 percent of targets, respectively.

Thanh Hoa’s tourism sector has posted impressive growth in recent years.

But Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Thi said that its development is still not commensurate with potential.

Thanh Hoa lacks high-quality products to attract and meet the demand of international tourists, while its promotional activities remain ineffective and tourism human resources fail to meet requirements in the context of integration, he said.

According to Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, Thanh Hoa needs to introduce changes to take its tourism industry forward.

It should propose that the Government allow it offer incentives for tourism investment, she said.

Attention should be paid to accelerating the implementation of priority strategies for tourism development and administrative reform, and supporting businesses towards attracting strategic investors in developing infrastructure facilities serving tourism development, especially transport infrastructure.

Thanh Hoa should also focus on enhancing its cooperation with other localities to create new tours, develop high-quality and competitive products, and promote digital transformation and the application of information technologies in tourism activities./.

Kien Giang eyes 60-100 million USD in FDI over next five years

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has set its sights on pulling in 60-100 million USD worth of FDI over the next five years, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chin.

It will focus its efforts on fulfilling plans on medium-term public investment and socio-economic development in 2021-2025, striving to attract 40 to 50 FDI projects with registered investment of 60-100 million USD in total, Chin said.

It aims for local social investment to reach 48 trillion VND (2.07 billion USD) this year.

The province has been accelerating communications campaigns on its strengths, potential, and investment incentives to attract both domestic and foreign investors.

Priority is being given to numerous areas, including road infrastructure; river ports; sea ports; electricity; water supply; solid waste treatment; renewable energy; infrastructure development in industrial parks and clusters; fishing, aquaculture and fish processing; intensive farming and industrial agriculture; supporting industries; tourism; services; education; and high-quality healthcare.

It also wants to attract large-scale projects with advanced technologies in high-tech agriculture and food processing.

Cooperation with ministries and government agencies will be stepped up to take part in investment promotion events in major partners such as the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, and the US, as well as those who are members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

The province will also increase dialogue with local businesses and investors to help them tackle any difficulties and create an open and fair business climate.

Kien Giang is calling for investment in 144 projects in priority fields. It has to date granted in-principle approval and investment licenses to 49 projects with total investment of 22.66 trillion VND.

The Mekong Delta province welcomed 206 projects during the 2016-20 period, including 22 foreign projects with nearly 133 trillion VND in total capital./.

Outlook positive for Vietnam’s retail market

Despite a raft of difficulties facing Vietnam’s retail market, economists and insiders are still optimistic about the outlook for the sector in the time ahead, according to the Vietnam Report JSC.

In a recent survey, Vietnam Report found that nearly 42 percent of Vietnamese retail companies have been seriously impacted by COVID-19, while half said the impact has not been too serious and 8 percent experienced only minor effects.

Many people have had to cut their spending after becoming jobless or having their wages reduced due to the pandemic. Retail companies, meanwhile, have had to face a shortage of capital and disrupted supply chains.

However, Vu Dang Vinh, General Director of Vietnam Report, said economists and insiders remain optimistic about the sector’s outlook.

In following COVID-19 prevention and control regulations, many consumers have opted for online shopping, convenience stores, shopping centres, and supermarkets, rather than traditional markets.

Vinh pointed to the increased popularity of multi-channel marketing, both online and in-person, while adding that thanks to quick changes, many retail businesses, including giants like Lotte Mart, have posted online sales growth of 100 to 200 percent, especially in Hanoi and HCM City.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are also expected to boom in Vietnam’s retail market in the time ahead, he said, explaining that more than 60 percent of local retailers are of small and medium-size and have significant demand for capital, so are ready to enter into partnerships.

Analysts also said the mini-supermarket model has proven superior amid the pandemic, as it can limit large gatherings.

Retailers have therefore poured more investment into this model while introducing more changes to better meet customer demand./.

Tra Vinh-based business promotes coconut product export

An enterprise based in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh has been stepping up the export of coconut shell activated carbon and other coconut products as a way to benefit the company itself and local farmers.

Between January 1 and February 10, the Tra Bac Joint Stock Corporation (TRABACO) shipped more than 900 tonnes of coconut shell activated carbon to various markets, including the US, the UK, the Republic of Korea, Japan, Peru, Ecuador, Israel, and China.

General Director of the firm Huynh Khac Nhu said his company has inked a number of contracts with both new and existing partners since the year’s beginning, with 2,000 tonnes of coconut shell activated carbon to be delivered between now and June 2021.

TRABACO’s activated carbon, used for air purification, gold refining, electroplating, and odor control in different industries, meets environmental and health safety standards, thus winning over trust from many domestic and foreign businesses and consumers, he noted.

The product has been exported to more than 30 countries and territories in around the world.

Apart from coconut shell activated carbon, the company also produces and exports others made from coconut like coir carpets, dried coconut shreds, and frozen coconut milk.

To improve product quality and ensure stable material supply, it has contracted farmers to develop a 300ha organic coconut farming zone in Tieu Can district and partnered with a local agricultural cooperative in coconut purchase.

Nhu added these are initial steps in the firm’s plan to form a zone of clean material supply, which will help promote TRABACO’s product quality as well as income for farmers in Tra Vinh province./.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews/SGT/VIR