Retail News CRM

Author: Mei Ling Tan

  • PAL, Cebu Pacific announces flight cancellations

    PAL, Cebu Pacific announces flight cancellations

    THE Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have announced the cancellation of flights due to the maintenance shutdown of the Tagaytay radar from March 6 to March 11. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) issued a notice to airmen enforcing a temporary shutdown of the Tagaytay radar for maintenance and upgrade.

    The Department of Transportation (DOTr), through CAAP, urged the affected airlines to prepare for the scheduled maintenance which is expected to result in flight deductions.

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  • SingPost boosts stakes in Indonesian entity

    SingPost boosts stakes in Indonesian entity

    It will benefit from the growing e-commerce market in the country. Singapore Post announced just recently that it will be upping its stakes in an Indonesian entity through Quantium Solutions International Pte Ltd.

    According to OCBC Investment Research, QSI has entered into a share purchase agreement with PT Rantai Bumi Laut (RBL) to acquire 1,800
    ordinary shares, representing 18% of the issued share capital of PT Quantium Solutions Logistics Indonesia (QSLI) for a cash consideration of US$54k.

    QSI is a JV between SingPost (66% stake) and Alibaba Investment Limited (34% stake) whereas QSLI is in the business of e-commerce logistics fulfilment in Indonesia.

    “Recall that QSI set up QSLI with RBL in Jan 2014 with an initial paid-up capital of about S$375k, of which 49% was subscribed by QSI. According to a study by Google and Temasek last year, 18m people in Indonesia fell into the category of online buyers, representing about 7% of the population. By 2025, it is expected that Indonesia will dominate 52% of all e-commerce activity in SE Asia, due to its huge population and island geography,” OCBC said.

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  • Toyota sees Europe sales up 5 pct this year as hybrids push pays off

    Toyota sees Europe sales up 5 pct this year as hybrids push pays off

    Toyota Motor expects to increase its European sales by 5 percent this year to 975,000 vehicles and maintain its market share of around 5 percent, buoyed by the popularity of hybrids, its regional head said on Monday.

    Speaking ahead of the Geneva auto show, Johan van Zyl said sales of hybrid vehicles in Europe rose 40 percent last year and made up 32 percent of all sales in the region. For Toyota, Europe counts 56 countries, including Israel, Russia and Turkey.

    “We are on our way of achieving our target of having 50 percent of our mix in hybrids by 2020,” he told journalists.

    The executive said the outlook for Europe was clouded by upcoming elections, Britain’s pending exit from the European Union and persistent difficulties in the Russian and Turkish markets.

    He expects industry-wide sales in Europe to rise 1 percent this year. He said any increase in the western part of the region would likely be absorbed by some weakness in Britain, and expects some recovery in Russia.

    Van Zyl said PSA’s announcement on Monday that it would buy Opel from General Motors Co, creating Europe’s second biggest carmaker after Volkswagen AG, would not affect its own strategy.

    “We have no intention at the moment to alter any of our plans with regards to how we’re going to compete in the industry, we’ve got a very clear strategy,” he said, adding that Toyota would keep focusing on the A, B and C segments, keeping hybrids as its differentiator.

    “We are not a volume chaser, we want to create a sustainable, growing business in Europe,” he added.

    Van Zyl said Toyota was fully committed to its operations in the UK regardless of how the negotiations around Brexit pan out, but added that the carmaker was seeking to make the business more efficient.

    “The prudent approach is always to prepare yourself for the worst-case scenario. If we prepare for that and it’s better, then we are OK,” he said.

    He declined to comment on future production plans there other than saying Toyota “will produce vehicles in the UK”.

    Didier Leroy, Toyota’s executive vice president, added that a next-generation fuel cell car the group is developing with BMW will be ready in three to five years, while a separate project to develop a sports car with the German carmaker was ongoing.

    “The project has been globally approved, that means clearly that we will do it,” he said, but declined to give a timeline for when it would be produced.

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  • Vietnamese pharmacy firms cash in on nutritional supplements, brokers say

    Vietnamese pharmacy firms cash in on nutritional supplements, brokers say

    Liver supplements marketed for detoxication and supporting liver functions have become big business.

    Many major pharmaceutical companies in Vietnam, one of Asia’s top beer consumers, have stepped up selling liver supplements to boost their profits, company reports and a brokerage said.

    Duoc Hau Giang, Vietnam’s largest pharmaceutical company, reported that revenue last year rose 4.8 percent to VND3.78 trillion ($166 million) from 2015, fuelled by a surge in sales of liver supplements, Ho Chi Minh City-based Rong Viet Securities Co cited the firm’s financial statement as showing.

    About 2 percent of the revenue last year came from liver supplements, which surged 114 percent from 2015 to VND89 billion.

    The company planned to more than double sales of liver supplement brand Naturenz to VND800 billion, accounting for 12 percent of total revenues in the next five years.

    In pill form, liver supplements marketed for detoxication and supporting liver functions have become big business for local pharmaceutical companies, Rong Viet Securities said.

    Some major pharmaceutical companies have gradually reduced their antibiotics business in favor of other medicines, including supplements, in hope for greater profits.

    Hau Giang’s revenues from antibiotics fell to 40 percent of the firm’s revenue last year, from 45 percent in 2008, based on financial reports. It has projected the antibiotics sales to fall further to 38.5 percent of revenue by 2020.

    Traphaco, Vietnam’s second-biggest listed pharmaceutical company, reported that sales of its liver detox brand Boganic had doubled within a five-year period to VND200 billion in 2015 and that the sale has been rising 16 percent annually in recent year.

    Each Vietnamese person drank on average 42 liters, making the country Asia’s third biggest beer consumer after Japan and China, and Vietnam ranks among the world’s top 25 heaviest beer drinkers. Demand for liver detox has been rising in line with higher consumption of alcoholic drinks.

    Over the past five years, Vietnam has doubled its beer consumption to more than 3 billion liters per year. Last year it produced an estimated 3.8 billion liters of beer, up 18 percent from 2015, based on government data. Its well-known export brands include Bia Saigon and 333.

    The country has projected beer production to rise to 4.1 billion liters in 2020, based on a Industry and Trade Ministry plan.

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  • 80 Mln Indonesia’s Cell Phone Users Become Opportunities for Fintech Industry

    80 Mln Indonesia’s Cell Phone Users Become Opportunities for Fintech Industry

    Minister of Communications and Informatics Rudiantara says financial technology, or fintech will be used as an effort to expand access of financial services to public, or financial inclusion. This relates to the use of mobile technology amid Indonesia society.

    Rudiantara revealed in Indonesia there are 170 million people own mobile phones and 130 million people access the internet. Of the figure, as many as 100 million people access the internet via mobile phones. However, a number of people in Indonesia who have a bank account, based on data from Bank Indonesia, only reach 90 million.

    “This means there are 80 million people have cell phones but are not given access of application related to finance and banking. Incredible,” said Rudiantara as quoted from the official page of Communications Ministry, Saturday (3/4/2017).

    Based on the fact, Rudiantara said, the banking sector in Indonesia now needs to formulate new technology-based business model.

    He said this in ‘Cooperation of National Movement of 1000 Digital Startups’ event initiated by PT Bank Bukopin Tbk (BBKP) at the Ministry of Communications, Jakarta, last week.

    “For Indonesian banking it is only a matter of time to think of new business model, especially for consumer banking. Bank management must think to integrate itself to the new banking technology wave, that is, financial technology (fintech),” he explained.

    The application of technology in the banking aspects is very diverse. Therefore, the Minister of Communication and Informatics expects the banking world to understand the characteristics of consumer.

    “Fintech is diverse, but that much developing is virtual lending which relates to consumer banking. Why, people prefer to use fintech to borrow money rather than go to the bank? The reason is that in terms of time, because the process is fast,” Rudiantara explained.

    He said that currently there are more or less 140 facilities of fintech services that have been registered. Indeed, the cost or interest is higher than that of traditional banking. But it is much better than moneylenders.

    “This indicates that SMEs that borrow can count, although getting larger interests but there is assurance to be able to get a loan more quickly to develop business,” he explained.

    He also expressed his appreciation for bank role, especially Bank Bukopin Tbk, which helped develop the startups and joint fintech.

    “Because there remain few banks that want to get involved. This is a national program, not a program of Communications and Informatics Ministry. In 2020 we expect to reach 1000 qualified startups that go through a phase that has been determined,” he concluded.

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  • CC Containers boosts technology, efficiency and safety with United’s world class equipment

    CC Containers boosts technology, efficiency and safety with United’s world class equipment

    In a non-stop industry like container handling, efficiency is king and downtime can be costly. One company that knows this first-hand is Port of Melbourne- based CC Containers, which prides itself on efficiency, reliability and safety.

    CC Containers selected United Forklift and Access Solutions to provide the company with Konecranes empty container handling lift trucks to expand its container handling fleet with world-class equipment built tough to cope with high-pace demands and to optimise efficiency for its customers.

    United Forklift and Access Solutions, which is national distributor for Konecranes forklift and container handling equipment also backed the new technology with a dedicated full-time technician on-site for the maintenance, repair and upkeep of the new units, as well as other existing units.

    United supplied a total of five Konecranes SMV empty container handlers to suit CC Container’s expanding operational needs.

    “The container handlers are reliable robust pieces of equipment,” said Mr David Muir, managing director of CC Containers, whose company places a high emphasis on standards of reliability and safety.

    “The other major bonus for us is that the drivers like using them. They have good visibility and comfort and are easy to use, which makes a big difference to staff performance,” says Muir.

    In addition to the advanced container handling technologies, United also provided CC Containers with an experienced full-time technician, Gene Roberts, who is on-site and can respond to any maintenance or repair issues quickly and effectively.

    “Mr Roberts has been a great help to us at CC Containers. He has helped with servicing, monitoring and OH&S requirements, which means we are always meeting or exceeding compliance and standards objectives,” said Muir.

    Konecranes is a major global player in the design and manufacture of heavy duty forklifts, reach stackers and container handling equipment, with its SMV series purpose-built to quickly lift, move and sort both empty and full containers in and around ports. Designed to cope with high demands with both speed and efficiency, the Konecranes empty container handlers in service with CC Containers offer a very fast total operating speed as a function of lifting, lowering and driving speed based on load-sensing hydraulics to cope with extreme demands. The container lift trucks also feature the new Optima cabin – which has enhanced cabin space and visibility – and an extensive range of innovative features which optimise quality, productivity and life cycle cost.

    CC Containers’ expanded Konecranes empty container handlersfleet includes:

    • The ECB 80 empty container handler, which can stack six containers high up to eight tonnes
    • The ECB 90 empty container handler, which can stack seven-eight containers highup to nine tonnes
    • The ECB 100DS empty container handler which can lift two boxes at the same time, up to 10 tonnes capacity, and stack six-seven containers high.
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  • Uber agreed to, then scrapped, a non-compete deal with Indonesian unicorn Go-Jek

    Uber agreed to, then scrapped, a non-compete deal with Indonesian unicorn Go-Jek

    Uber may have a reputation for steamrolling its competitors, but it can be conciliatory at times. In 2015, a year before its retreat from China via the sale of its Chinese business to rival Didi, the U.S. company agreed to a non-compete deal with Go-Jek, a fast-growing on-demand service from Indonesia that’s valued at over $1 billion, TechCrunch has learned.

    In a bid to strengthen their collective battle against Grab, the Singapore-based firm represent in six countries, the two companies floated a collaboration that would ensure they didn’t compete directly in Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, according to a person who was involved in discussions. In practical terms, it meant Uber would stick to offering private cars in the country, while Go-Jek would focus only on two-wheeled motorbikes on-demand.

    The agreement fell apart when Uber CEO Travis Kalanick was made aware of the arrangement. Our source said the Uber chief didn’t want to miss out on potential marketshare and thus scrapped the deal. It wasn’t long before they did invade each other’s spaces: Uber introduced ‘Motor,’ its bike taxi service, in Indonesia in April 2016, while Go-Jek announced its GoCar service the following month.

    Uber declined to comment. Go-Jek did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

    Indonesia, and its capital city Jakarta, has become a hot battleground for Uber, Grab and Go-Jek. The country is the largest in Southeast Asia with a population of 250 million people, and it is currently estimated to account for one-third of the region’s ride-sharing market based on revenue, according to figures from a report co-authored by Google. The same study predicts that ride sharing across Southeast Asia will grow by more than five-fold to reach $13.1 billion by 2015, with Indonesia alone worth $5.6 billion.

    Agreeing to an alliance might have made sense for a young Go-Jek, but times have changed. The company, which specializes in motorbike taxis on-demand, had a breakout 2016 in which it attracted investment dollars from major firms Warburg Pincus, DST and Sequoia Capital, all of which took part in its recent $500 million financing round. Now valued at $1.3 billion, the company’s stock has continued to soar as it fends off the challenge from Grab and Uber, two vastly larger companies that have raised billions of dollars more. Today, Go-Jek is arguably Indonesia top ride-sharing firm, and it is reported to be in talks with Chinese tech giant Tencent over a new investment that could bring in as much as $1 billion at a pre-money valuation of $2 billion.

    Beyond imitating its business by expanding into motorbikes, Uber and Grab have also taken a leaf out of its monetization playbook. Grab has copied Go-Jek’s by introducing non-transportation services via motorbike and developing its own mobile payments service, which is designed to seed its platform beyond the initial early adopters that have registered and used it thus far.

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  • Vietnam’s caffeine thirst puts it in world’s top growing coffee markets

    Vietnam’s caffeine thirst puts it in world’s top growing coffee markets

    The Southeast Asian nation ranks only behind Indonesia, Turkey and India in retail value growth.

    Vietnam has one of the world’s fastest growing retail coffee markets, trailing only behind Indonesia, Turkey and India, a global market intelligence agency said in its latest report.

    The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of Vietnam, measuring the average value growth in the 2012-2016 period, stood at 14.9 percent, while Indonesia’s market jumped 19.6 percent, followed by 17.5 percent in Turkey and 15.1 percent in India, Mintel said in the report.

    vietnams-caffeine-thirst-puts-it-in-worlds-top-growing-coffee-markets

    Asian markets, where growth is being driven by a surge in innovative coffee products, make up the majority of the world’s fastest growing coffee markets, while European markets plus Australia are among the slowest, the report said. It did not give any market values.

    Even though Germany, the United States, Italy and Spain top the 2016 list of importers of Vietnamese green coffee beans based on Vietnam’s government data, Mintel’s findings suggest that European nations mostly process the bitter variety and re-export the finished products.

    Instant coffee dominates the retail market in Asia. Out of the new coffee products launched in 2016, 42 percent were soluble coffee granule products in Asia Pacific, while the figure was 20 percent in Europe and a mere 6 percent in North America.

    The global coffee market’s retail volume grew 2.7 percent last year from 2015, slightly up from an annual rise of 2.5 percent the previous year, Mintel said.

    “The global coffee industry continues to experience healthy growth, driven by Asian markets in particular,” said Jonny Forsyth, Global Drinks Analyst at Mintel. “Asia has far more growth potential as traditionally tea drinking consumers are converted slowly but surely into coffee drinkers.”

    The International Coffee Organization estimated the CAGR of Vietnam’s coffee consumption at 8 percent for the four-year period ending in 2015/2016, the second-fastest growth rate among the world’s coffee exporting nations after the Philippines. The crop year lasts between October and September.

    The London-based ICO estimated Vietnam’s coffee consumption at around 140,000 tons in the 2015/2016 season, or 8 percent of output, up slightly from 130,000 tons used domestically the previous season.

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  • Volkswagen to unveil self-driving car as part of post-dieselgate shift

    Volkswagen to unveil self-driving car as part of post-dieselgate shift

    Volkswagen will show off a fully self-driving car at the Geneva auto show, as part of the German carmaker’s drive to be at the forefront of new technologies in the wake of its diesel emissions scandal.

    Europe’s biggest carmaker has said it will invest billions of euros in electric cars, ride-hailing and automated driving, and launch over 30 electric models by 2025 as it battles to recover from its emissions test cheating.

    The self-driving concept car called Sedric – a so-called Level 5 vehicle capable of fully automated operation – is a precursor for more such models from the Volkswagen (VW) group in years to come, Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said on Monday on the eve of car executives’ annual gathering in Geneva.

    VW is hiring top specialists and plans to spend several billions of euros on automated driving alone, Mueller said, without being more specific.

    Sedric can carry 4 passengers and could be used for ride-sharing fleets as well as for individual consumers, VW said.

    Internet giant Google was a forerunner in self-driving technology with its 2015 prototype vehicle, but has since been challenged by companies ranging from Uber to Apple, as well as traditional carmakers.

    Manufacturers and their suppliers are working on different technology suites – including cameras, radar and laser imaging technology lidar – to enable vehicles to drive themselves, but it will take years for these vehicles to come to market.

    Mercedes-Benz unveiled its fully autonomous F 015 luxury concept two years ago. But Toyota has said it does not expect to see Level 5 cars in widespread use for another 10-15 years, while Ford does not plan to offer such vehicles for consumers until 2025 or later.

  • Vietnam sees full state exit from sugar mills by end 2017

    Vietnam sees full state exit from sugar mills by end 2017

    Sugar output in 2015-2016 drops to 1.2 million tons as a drought damaged sugarcane areas last year. The Vietnamese government has set a target to fully divest from sugar mills by the end of this year, which is aimed at raising the competitiveness of the sugar industry, a local newspaper reported Monday.

    The government has started reducing state stakes in domestic sugar refineries since 2014 and at present only has investment in one company, quoting chairman Pham Quoc Doanh of the Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association as saying.

    He said the government has planned to sell all its 70-percent stake in the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Corporation II by the end of this year to complete its divestment from the sugar industry.

    “Thanks to (the divestment), production and business of the sugar industry will be the fairest compared with other industries,” Doanh was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

    Vietnam’s sugar industry, primarily based on sugarcane, is considered less competitive than Thailand, which ranks as the world’s second-largest exporter of the sweetener.

    Doanh said prices and the quality of sugarcane, rather than the processing technology, are placing Vietnam’s sugar industry behind Thailand.

    Thai plants are buying a ton of sugarcane at $26 while Vietnamese refiners have to pay $40-$53 a ton, and Thai sugarcane also has a higher sugar content, he said.

    Vietnam refined 1.24 million tons of sugar in the cane crushing season that ended September 2016, down 12.7 percent from the previous 2014-2015 season, due to a drought and salination in the southern region. The sugar production year lasts from October to September.

    The country’s 2016-2017 sugar output has been projected to rise 13 percent to 1.4 million tons, the sugar association has said.

  • SK Telecom, Nokia team on quantum cryptography

    SK Telecom, Nokia team on quantum cryptography

    SK Telecom and Nokia have teamed up to conduct joint research and development in the field of quantum cryptography for network transport.

    The operators are collaborating to achieve interworking between SK Telecom’s Quantum Key Distribution System (QKD) and Nokia’s next-generation optical transport system by the second half of 2017.

    The first prototype from the collaboration – the Quantum Transport System – was shown off at Nokia’s booth at Mobile World Congress 2017 last week.

    SK Telecom said quantum cryptography is expected to replace existing security mechanisms in all areas at risk of data hacking, including national defense, finance, autonomous vehicles and the IoT.

    In line with this projection, SK Telecom and Nokia have also agreed to cooperate in the area of quantum random number generation, which will be required to apply quantum cryptography to IoT devices.

    SK Telecom has developed a quantum random number generator within the world’s smallest CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) based silicon, measuring just 5x5mm. The company expects to tape out engineering samples of the chip in the second quarter and commercially launch it by the end of the year.

    “Since opening Quantum Tech Lab in 2011, SK Telecom has been making constant efforts to develop quantum cryptography technologies,” SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho said.

    “Based on the cooperation with Nokia, SK Telecom will create a new paradigm and ecosystem in the field of ICT.”

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  • Indonesia Signs Currency Swap Deal with Korea

    Indonesia Signs Currency Swap Deal with Korea

    Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Bank of Korea signed a bilateral currency swap arrangement (BCSA). Through the deal, both central banks will be able to swap currencies for a value of KRW 10.7 trillion or Rp115 trillion.

    The agreement was signed by BI governor Agus D.W. Martowardojo and Bank of Korea governor Lee Ju-Yeo, March 6. Agus said the BCSA extension will economic ties between the two nations through the use of their respective currencies.

    “The goal is to reduce our dependency on using a certain currency,” Agus said on Monday, March 6, 2017.

    According to Agus, the BCSA is part of the government’s initiative to deepen the financial market and support economic defense “especially in facing today’s economic uncertainties,” Agus said.

    The BCSA also guarantees the use of Indonesia and South Korea’s currencies in trading, to support the regional financial stability.

    Agus said the deal is valid for three years and can be extended if the two countries agree.

    The first BCSA between BI and Bank of Korea was signed on March 6, 2014, based on economic ties—especially in trade—between the two nations.

    South Korea is Indonesia’s fourth import destination with an average market share of 6.5 percent a year from 2010-2015. Korea is also Indonesia’s sixth export destination, with an annual market share of 6.8 percent in the same period.

    However, most transactions are denominated in US dollar. “That’s why we need to diversify the use of our own currency when trading with regional countries, to stabilize the rupiah,” Agus said.

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  • Australia Eyes Indonesian Mining and Tourism

    Australia Eyes Indonesian Mining and Tourism

    Head Of the Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Thomas Trikasih Lembong, predicted that Australia’s investment in Indonesia could increase up to USD 3 billion (around Rp 40 trillion) throughout the next three to five years. Most of Australia’s investment is predicted to be centered on the mining and tourism sector.

    “That’s the sum total of the projects we are trying to develop. Two-thirds will be in the mining industry and one-third in the tourism sector, lifestyle, and others,” Thomas said on Tuesday, March 7, 2017.

    Thomas explained that Australia’s has an exceptional mining industry. A number of the largest mining companies in the world is owned by Australia, such as EMR Capital, who purchased a gold and silver mine in North Sumatera, and Newcrest, who is currently operating the gold mine in North Maluku.

    In addition, Thomas said that the Indonesian government is really interested in cooperating with Australia in the tourism sector.

    “Many tourists from Japan, China, and Indonesia travel to Australia. They have great taste, management, and good designs. We need that in order to develop Indonesian tourism sector,” Thomas said.

    Currently, according to Thomas, Indonesian and Australian officials are committed to developing both countries’ tourism sector, especially coastal and maritime tourism. Thomas stated that Indonesia owns a varied number of islands and diving tourist destinations.

    “But we don’t have a maritime tourism industry, while Australia has a good reputation in yacht spots,” Thomas said.

    Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment Steven Ciobo, stated that Indonesia could develop many tourist destinations in addition to Bali. Ciobo asserted that by having investments reeling in and the development of various infrastructures across regions, the number of tourists entering Indonesia can significantly increase.

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  • Vietnam’s high demand for IT professionals shoots up salaries

    Vietnam’s high demand for IT professionals shoots up salaries

    The country could become one of the next outsourcing hubs for software development, industry players said.

    Vietnam’s growing information technology (IT) is seen driving recruitment demand and boost salaries for tech jobs, a recent survey found.

    As many as 81 percent of IT companies said they planned an annual payroll rise of between 6 percent and 20 percent this year, professional recruitment firm VietnamWorks said in the survey conducted late last year with thousands of IT professionals, specialists and companies.

    The industry’s job demand is higher than ever, and the trend will continue over the next years, the survey said.

    The number of tech jobs has doubled over the last three years, VietnamWorks data showed, adding that Vietnam currently has around 250,000 engineers, but will need more than 400,000 by the end of 2018.

    Experienced software developers and managers continue to be in high demand, said the survey.

    Salaries have increased significantly in recent years and many companies have even offered generous bonuses to attract and retain employees.

    Up to 80 percent of the jobs that requires IT professionals with at least two years experience would pay a maximum $1,160 per month, said the survey.

    Vietnam first began offering software development services 15 years ago as global companies started to look outside India for a low-cost technology outsourcing opportunities.

    NeoIT estimated Vietnam’s IT labor costs are 40 percent less expensive than in China and India. A.T. Kearney’s Global Services Location Index and KPMG Advisory forecast Vietnam will be one of the next outsourcing hubs for software development.

    Local technology companies, however, are increasingly diversifying into other services, said the survey, adding this will drive recruitment for specialists in other fields such as business intelligence and information security.

    Currently, software engineers with at least two years of experience are still in highest demand, according to VietnamWorks.

    In terms of high tech development, Ho Chi Minh City is to Hanoi what Silicon Valley is to Seattle. But Hanoi tech scene is growing amid more intense competition in the southern hub.

    Ho Chi Minh City still remains the country’s IT hub with 53 percent of the country’s recruitment demand. Hanoi accounted for 43 percent and the central city of Da Nang took up 4 percent, according to the survey.

    Experts forecast a growing demand for specialist in cloud computing, big data, business intelligence and information security.

    The IT industry’s significant trends in 2017 will drive recruitments for professionals in big data, VietnamPlus cited Vinh Nguyen, an executive from PYCO Group, as saying.

    The survey revealed that 44 percent of the respondents said they would consider changing jobs with a better salary and benefits on offer.

  • Garuda Indonesia Increases Flight Frequency of Routes to Australia

    Garuda Indonesia Increases Flight Frequency of Routes to Australia

    National airliner Garuda Indonesia (GIAA.JK) will increase its flight frequency to destinations in Australia during the holiday period from May to October, 2017.

    The company targets its passenger growth from flights to Australia to reach 650,000 passengers this year.

    “Flight frequency from Jakarta to Australia is increased to five times from four times each week, while the frequency for Bali-Australia route is raised to seven times from six times per week,” said M Arif Wibowo, President Director of Garuda Indonesia on Tuesday (3/7).

    He said the addition of frequency on flights to Australia will be adjusted with market demand during the holiday period. Thus the flight frequency will be different each period.

    The addition of frequency is part of Garuda Indonesia’s effort in meeting demands and rising market growth, and is line with the synergy commitment the company has implemented with Tourism Australia. The cooperation has boosted the number of passengers on Australia flights to more than 644,237 passengers in 2016.

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