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Short- and long-term weaknesses of painting the M&A target on select Vietnamese textile and garment producers

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Mai, general secretary of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said that foreign investors are purchasing shares and making capital contributions into Vietnamese textile companies to capitalise on the global textile and garment market. Given the impact of COVID-19 and their long-standing weaknesses, several Vietnamese textile enterprises are struggling, setting them up as potential M&A targets.

At present, Vietnam is home to 7,000 textile and garment companies. Over 80 per cent of whom are small- and medium-sized enterprises limited by a lack of capital, technology, skilled workforce and good governance. Meanwhile, foreign-invested companies are equipped with modern technology, experts, strong financial capability, and have a stable market for their projects.

Meanwhile, Vu Kim Hanh, chairwoman of the Vietnam High-Quality Goods Association said that Vietnamese textile and garment firms have yet to catch up with the digitalisation trend. Many are confused about digital marketing and online sale. Due to their small scale, local firms cannot fulfil large orders. They remain weak in design and branding, making it difficult to increase added value and raise the competitiveness in the market.

She expected that the participation of strategic investors via M&A will help Vietnamese firms address the challenges and scale up in the future.

E-Land, Korea’s first and largest integrated fashion and retail company, has been a strategic partner of Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment Trading JSC for over the past 10 years by holding a 30 per cent stake at the local firm.

E-Land has steadily increased its ownership to 43.26 per cent to become the largest foreign strategic investor in Thanh Cong Textile, making significant contributions to improving corporate restructuring and governance. Thanh Cong Textile has seen its after-tax profit growing six-fold since E-Land’s investment.

In 2018, Japanese trading house Itochu has increased its stakes in Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) to nearly 15 per cent by investing $46.9 million with an aim to turn the country into a textile export hub for Europe. Itochu is now the second-largest stakeholder in Vinatex after the Vietnamese government.

Itochu exports a little over ¥60 billion ($553 million) worth of apparel from Vietnam a year, half of which is produced by Vinatex. The company aims to raise outsourced production and exports to ¥100 billion ($922 million) by 2021.

The outlook for Vietnam’s textile and garment exports is brighter in 2021 as the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement has taken effect. There is also a higher demand for “Made in Vietnam” fabrics as big brands are increasingly sourcing fabrics from Vietnam than China. The fabric prices are steadily increasing this year, improving the profit margins of local firms.

In the past two years, there have not been so many M&A deals in the textile and garment industry. The majority of buyers scooped up around 10-15 per cent stake in Vietnamese companies as an investment rather than holding a controlling stake.

Thousands of shows a year

Another festive highlight that many visitors should look forward to is the 30-minute show ‘Colors of Venice’ held every evening at the Canal and Central Lake, featuring typical European designs, combined with romantic love stories and laser technology.

In addition to two main shows costing millions of dollars, the ‘sleepless city’ also offers at least 2,920 daytime mini shows, along with 365 evening performances, every year in various topics to bring visitors fresh feelings.

According to Bui Quoc Thai, director of the Kien Giang Department of Tourism, the models of endless entertainment and shopping will help introduce local agricultural products and specialties, especially through the Grand World night market’s 134 stalls, which are divided into four categories — cuisine, souvenirs, local specialties, and fashion items.

Tourists’ expectations for ‘sleepless city’

Duong Huan, a traveler from Ho Chi Minh City, showed his support for the development of a nigh-time economy, especially in big cities and tourism hot spots.

According to Huan, management agencies need to leverage each locality’s own identity more thoroughly to avoid boring repetition.

At the same time, more regulations on food safety and hygiene, pricing, security, and public order are needed for the healthy growth of business and preventing bad practices.

Localities with famous tourist destinations should improve public transport while ensuring security and public order for tourists, he said.

Besides, there should be suitable activities designed for different ages, especially for children, as many young families often find themselves in situations where they cannot entertain their kids during their trips.

According to Trang Ho, a visitor from Hanoi, she prefers taking part in outdoor activities at night during her vacations over more comfortable weather and less busy traffic.

However, tourists have few choices for night-time outdoor activities in Vietnamese cities, Ho complained.

“Nobody wants to stay in a hotel to watch TV during their trips,” Ho said.

“This point signals the business opportunity of the night-time economy.

“I think the ‘sleepless city’ should initially address this need and then other healthy entertainment services.”

The hospital will attract the cooperation of international hospitals and medical facilities as well as foreign experts.

Vietnam-German (Viet-Duc) Friendship Hospital has been recognized as a training center, which

meets global standards by the UK Royal College of Surgeons (RCS).

The certification will expire in February 2024.

Vietnam-German Friendship Hospital is a referral hospital able to perform specialized surgery such as neurosurgery, thoracic cardiomyopathy, hepatopancreatic surgery, digestive surgery, orthopedic surgery, among others.

Doctors at Vietnam-German Friendship Hospital perform surgery on patients. Photo: Vietnam-German Friendship Hospital

This is also the leading hospital in Vietnam that has successfully implemented multi-organ transplant, liver transplant, heart transplant, kidney transplant, lung transplant, and others.

With nearly 2,500 employees, more than 1,500 beds and over 50 modern operating rooms, Vietnam-German Friendship Hospital is the country’s largest surgical center, performing about 70,000 surgeries each year.

Professor, Dr. Tran Binh Giang, director of Vietnam-German Friendship Hospital said that the RCS is an independent body, dealing with numerous fields including surgical assessment, ratings and issuance of global certifications under strict criteria.

Training facilities related to surgery not only in the UK but also in many other countries wish to be certified by the RCS to promote their ranking and prestige regarding the training and quality of their surgeons, the director added.

“With the RCS’s certificate, Vietnam-German Friendship Hospital will attract the cooperation of international hospitals and medical facilities as well as foreign experts,” Giang said.

“The hospital’s doctors train thousands of students every year and cooperated with major hospitals in the world, including those in France, the US, Japan, the UK, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan (China), among others.”

To help people in remote and mountainous areas access modern medical care, the hospital has officially launched the Telemedicine system, which is donated by the German government.

The RCS held an online assessment on December 11, 2020 which lauded the training at the hospital.

Hoang Tung, CEO/founder of PizzaHome, shared with Hanoitimes his suggestions on how Hanoi and other provinces should fully tap into the potential of the night economy.

The Vietnamese government plans to develop the night economy in big cities as an  initiative to develop tourism. How would you assess the potential of the night economy in Hanoi?

Hoang Tung, CEO/Founder of PizzaHome

As an insider in the tourism industry for ten years, I think it is essential for the government to make plans for the development of night economy activities.

Tourists want to spend money and maximize their experiences when arriving in foreign land. It is the utmost task of the travel industry to cater to this demand.

Most of the world’s major tourist towns have very exciting nightlife activities. Naturally, night activities take place in Vietnamese tourist cities too, but discreetly.

In my opinion, night economy activities should not be restricted because it caters to the legitimate demand of tourists. Therefore, the night industry should be regulated in a clever manner and strongly promoted so it could become an advantage of tourist towns in Vietnam.

What should Hanoi do to develop the night economy? From your perspective as an F&B insider, what the industry could contribute to boost the night economy?

Night economy activities in famous tourist cities abound. It can be activities at bars, dance floors, food streets, music, spa services, beauty or health rehabilitation to serve visitors after a tiring day, among others. Even flights and bus trips are arranged to arrive in the city at late hours so as to motivate tourists to take a night walk, sightseeing and dine.

In the F&B industry, the demand for dining at night is huge. I opened a restaurant targeting tourists knowing that there are a lot of flights arriving at late hours, sometimes between 21:00 and 23:00 and visitors need to eat after arriving at their hotel.

Or when tourist trains from Sapa arrive in Hanoi in the early morning, we also opened early at around 4:30 to serve them breakfast. Several lists of night eateries spread out online show how big the market is.

Therefore, the night economy needs to be regulated cleverly so that business people can formally expand their businesses.

How streets in Hanoi should be reserved exclusively for the night economy?

I think the night economy in Hanoi is fragmented. So, the area for nightlife activities should be planned in terms of population density and distance, they should not be too close to residential quarters.

For example, the Old Quarter area, the area around Hoan Kiem Lake, some areas in My Dinh and Long Bien districts are places where tourists would spend the night entertaining. These places should be away from residential areas.

What experiences should Hanoi learn from China, Taiwan, Japan ?

In tourist cities, I personally see them subdivided by:

Firstly, the model in concentrated areas such as China Town or India Town which are quite common. In Vietnam, streets where many South Korean or Japanese people are living are quite busy at night.

Secondly, regarding traditional areas, old quarters have historically been a gathering place, such as the Old Quarter in Hanoi or the Quarter of Foreigners in District 2 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Depending on the country’s culture, history and law, we can choose the direction of development that can stimulate the economic activities at night to create a good experience for domestic and international tourists as well as to boost economic development.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!