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Tag: asia

  • Bullet train to connect Hanoi with HCMC in five hours

    Bullet train to connect Hanoi with HCMC in five hours

    Vietnam’s bullet train will cut travel time between Hanoi and Saigon to five hours from the current 24. The railway project management board has submitted a pre-feasibility study to the Ministry of Transport, which quotes transport consultants’ estimate that if the train travels at 320 km/h, its running time would be from 5 hours 17 minutes to 6 hours 50 minutes depending on the number of stops.

    The route from Hanoi Railway Station to Thu Thiem Station in HCMC’s District 2 will be 1,545 kilometers (960 miles) long and run through 20 provinces.

    Sixty percent of the tracks will be on viaducts, 10 percent underground and 30 percent on the surface, completely protected by fencing and without a single crossing.

    It will have double standard-gauge tracks of 1.435 meters width and 24 stations, according to a consultancy consortium comprising Vietnamese firms TEDI, TRICC and TEDIS.

    It will use the distributed traction technology used by Japanese high-speed trains.

    The project is estimated to cost a total of $58.7 billion, comprising $2.23 billion for land, $43.3 billion for construction and equipment and $4.3 billion for management, consulting and other costs.

    It will be undertaken as a public-private partnership (PPP), with the government accounting for 80 percent of the cost and private investors for the remaining 20 percent.

    Construction will be in two phases, with the 282-km Hanoi-Vinh section and 362-km Nha Trang-HCMC section built first in 2020-2030 at a cost of $24 billion. Commercial operations on these stretches are likely to begin in 2032. The second phase connecting Vinh and Nha Trang is expected to be built in 2030-2045.

    The consultants have estimated the project to cost 0.4 – 0.55 percent of the country’s GDP in 2020-2030 and 0.35 – 0.4 percent in 2030-2040.

    After being reviewed by the Ministry of Transport, the study will be submitted to the State Appraisal Council and the government for review and to the National Assembly for approval next October.

    Vietnam currently has over 3,000 kilometers of railway tracks, none of them high-speed. The railway accounts for just 1.9 percent of the transportation sector in the country, according to the Vietnam Railway Authority.

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  • 6 months of recalls, but BMWs are still burning in Korea

    6 months of recalls, but BMWs are still burning in Korea

    Things aren’t looking good for beleaguered German automaker BMW, with yet another vehicle reported to have burst into flames on Christmas Day. A BMW 520 sedan caught fire at around 6 p.m. on Tuesday in Gongju, South Chungcheong.

    Earlier that day at 1 a.m., the driver of a BMW 5GT sedan saw black smoke coming out of the back of their vehicle while driving on a highway bound for Pohang, North Gyeongsang. The car, subject to recall, had already gone through safety checks.

    The driver said the car was moving at 110 kilometers per hour (68 miles per hour) on cruise mode, but it started slowing down even though it was moving downhill and then smoke came out the back. The car didn’t burst into flames as the driver immediately pulled over and called the police.

    There were no casualties caused by either incident, but the news stoked fears over the safety of BMW vehicles. Just one day earlier, on Dec. 24, a BMW 320d sedan caught fire in Gwangju.

    The burnt 320d was a 2009 model not included in the 65 models currently subject to recall.

    A public-private investigation team under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had already raised the need of an additional recall for defective designs in exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system when it released its examination report on BMW fires on Monday.

    The team confirmed that the major cause of the fires was a leaky EGR module, the same conclusion that the German carmaker came to, but disputed BMW’s claims that changing the faulty hardware resolves the issue. The team said there may be a fundamental problem with the EGR design and a simple replacement may not completely resolve that.

    “We spotted coolant boiling within the EGR cooler, and we think the boiling is due to a faulty design of the EGR,” the joint investigation team said in a statement. “If boiling continues, this could lead to a crack in the EGR cooler, [making them leaky.]”

    “New EGR systems won’t lead to fires right away, but the team found that after several years of constant driving heating up the EGR cooler, a similar fire could reoccur as long as the design stays the same,” a spokesperson from the Land Ministry said in a phone call on Wednesday. “We demanded that BMW come up with an explanation regarding EGR design.”

    The joint team also said the intake manifold connected to the leaky EGR coolant should be recalled as well after check-ups if it has been polluted or weakened by a mixture of leaked coolants and engine oil sticking to pipes. The team has delivered its research findings to the carmaker, which has to consult with its German headquarters and come up with a recall plan.

    In the meantime, an increasing number of BMW car owners are signing up to file a suit against the company. Barun Law, which is currently preparing for a class action suit against the carmaker, has collected around 1,000 car owners who would like to take part in the suit as of Wednesday. The Korea Consumer Association is also preparing for a separate suit and has gathered roughly 2,000 participants.

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  • Shiseido makes plans for China

    Shiseido makes plans for China

    Shiseido reinforces the regional headquarters system that oversees the business in China as of January 1, 2019. Moving towards the achievement of its medium-to-long-term strategy, VISION 2020, Shiseido will evolve further to ”Be a Global Winner with Our Heritage” by ensuring sustainable growth in the significantly growing Chinese market.

    Under the new system, Shiseido will reinforce the brand business structure in the China region and its supporting corporate functional structure in order to enhance brand appeal to Chinese consumers and strengthen market execution.

    As to the Brands Business, the management function of the Prestige Brands business in the China region and the CMO function of Cosmetics Brands ＆ Personal Care Brands will be established. Furthermore, the strategic alliance with emerging e-commerce platform companies in the China region will be strengthened under direct control of the CEO of the China region.

    At the same time, Shiseido will proactively support the business strategy and reinforce the corporate functional structure aiming to improve its organizational capability to ensure sustainable business growth.

    Shiseido will continue leading growth through the acquisition of greater competitiveness of the Chinese business and by reviewing the organizational structure to optimize functions for all areas and market characteristics around the world.

  • Strong sales growth for India’s textile manufacturing sector in Q2

    Strong sales growth for India’s textile manufacturing sector in Q2

    The manufacturing sector, particularly textile and iron and steel segments, maintained its pace of sales growth in the second quarter of 2018-19 as compared to the year-ago period, the RBI said on Wednesday. Demand condition in the manufacturing sector “maintained its pace in the September quarter 2018-19 as reflected in strong sales growth (year-on-year)”, as per the RBI analysis of 2,700 listed private sector non-financial companies.

    “The manufacturing sector sales growth was mainly supported by robust demand conditions in chemical and chemical products, iron and steel, and petroleum products industries coupled with significant improvement recorded by textile industry,” the RBI said.

    The central bank said heavy moderation was seen in the sales growth of motor vehicles and other transport equipment, driven in part by a large adverse base effect, and pharmaceutical and medicine industries.

    The information technology (IT) sector also recorded further improvement in sales growth over the year-ago period.

    The manufacturing sector continued to record strong growth in net profits, which received support from other income.

    The RBI said companies in manufacturing sector posted a net profit of Rs 47,100 crore in the reported quarter, up 29.4 per cent from the same period last year. The data is based on abridged financial results of 1,734 companies in the manufacturing sector.

    “Despite continuous contraction in the telecommunication, the services (non-IT) sector posted a turnaround riding on the support from wholesale and retail trade,” the RBI said.

    The profit of IT sector, based on data of 172 firms, was Rs 17,700 crore in the second quarter, up 5.8 per cent over the July-September period of 2017-18.

    As per the RBI, the combined sales of 2,700 companies was Rs 9,81,800 crore in the September quarter, up 18.2 per cent from the year-ago period.

    Their net profit was Rs 71,900 crore, an increase of 41.7 per cent year-on-year.

    On expenditure front, manufacturing companies continued to face rising input cost (cost of raw materials, staff cost) pressures. In case of IT sector, staff costs accelerated in tandem with the improvement in sales growth, the RBI said.

  • Beer tax prioritized as foreign brands build market share

    Beer tax prioritized as foreign brands build market share

    The government is planning to overhaul the current cost-based alcohol-tax system to a quantity-based system, which may address concerns from local alcohol companies about cheap imported beer. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance on Tuesday, current taxes on alcohol are based on costs, such as manufacturing or import prices. The government is currently working on a reform that will transition the system, established back in 1969, to a new one based on quantity, such as total volume or alcohol content.

    The initiative has been in the spotlight with Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki addressing the issue during his recent confirmation hearing.

    “[We] will consider a change next year without increasing prices,” said Hong. “[We] will consider strengthening the future competitiveness of the alcohol sector and the fairness of the alcohol-tax system as a whole.”

    The comments come as criticism mounts against importers that reportedly declare low import prices for foreign beer and maintain competitive or even cheaper prices than local beer.

    The tax base for local beer is based on the price of beer shipped out from distilleries, which includes costs for production and sales and a margin. For imported beers, the tax is calculated based on the import price paid by the importer and the customs duty. As importers can lower taxes by reporting low prices, foreign beers can maintain price competitiveness against local offerings.

    Local beer companies have argued against this cost-based tax system, saying it is a form of discrimination against Korean manufacturers.

    “The tax rates are identical, but because the tax base is high, there is a twofold difference,” said Kang Seong-tae, chairman of the Korea Alcohol & Liquor Industry Association at the annual National Assembly audit in October.

    The favorable tax system has allowed for the competitive pricing of imports and an increasing market share for foreign beers, rising to 16.7 percent last year from 4.9 percent in 2013.

    While the tax change may provide a level playing field, it raises concerns that widely popular promotions in which four beer cans are sold for 10,000 won ($8.89) may not survive the reform.

    The change, however, is unlikely to eliminate the promotions altogether.

    The government is considering a plan to introduce alcohol taxes of 850 won per one liter (33.8 ounces) of beer. The current average beer tax works out to roughly 850 won per liter, though it is calculated in a different way.

    When converting the current alcohol tax to an amount per liter based on figures by imported country from the Korea Customs Service, imported beers that are taxed higher than 850 won per liter include those from the United Kingdom at 1,194 won per liter on average; the Philippines at 1,032 won per liter; Ireland at 1,004 won per liter and Japan at 958 won per liter.

    Beers from these countries will likely attract a lower tax after the reform.

    Meanwhile, beer from countries that have lower average taxes per liter compared to the 850 won per liter standard will become more expensive. Beers from the Netherlands are currently taxed at 519 won per liter, Belgium 567 won per liter, the United States 654 won per liter and Germany and Denmark 735 won per liter.

    In general, premium imported beers have expensive import prices.

    With the introduction of a quantity-based system, taxes levied will become lower and the current promotions of four cans at 10,000 won will likely remain.

    However, promotions of six cans for 10,000 won will probably disappear as cheap imported beer will face higher taxes.

    “[We] will establish a reform plan for alcohol tax as early as the first half of next year by conducting research and gathering opinions,” said Kim Byung-gyu, director general of the Tax and Customs Office at the Finance Ministry. “[We] have an objective to ensure overall fairness in taxation and make changes without increasing the burden on the consumer.”

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  • Korean passengers break record in November

    Korean passengers break record in November

    Korea’s air passenger traffic reached a new record for November on the back of the rise in the number of Chinese tourists and increased overseas travel demand, government data showed Tuesday. The number of air passengers came to 9.57 million last month, up 5.6 percent from a year earlier, making it a new record for November, according to a tally from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

    The ministry attributed the surge to the return of Chinese visitors and the steady increase in overseas travel demand.

    Passenger traffic on Chinese routes spiked 24 percent to 1.32 million, slightly lower than the same month in 2016, when a row between the two countries over the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) missile system had yet to emerge.

    China banned the sale of group travel packages to South Korea in March 2017 due to a diplomatic row with Seoul over the deployment of a Thaad battery in Korea. China has since partially lifted the ban.

    International air passenger traffic rose 8.8 percent on year to a record 7.01 million last month, while domestic passenger traffic dropped 2.5 percent to 2.56 million, according to the ministry.

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  • China’s cheese tea bakery Nayuki opens in Singapore

    China’s cheese tea bakery Nayuki opens in Singapore

    The cheese tea bakery, which draws inspiration from the Japanese philosophy of ‘Kaizen’ (a dedication to continuous improvement), opened to Singapore shoppers on December 8. Marking its debut international store opening, Nayuki has teamed up in a joint venture with BreadTalk Group for its officially opening in Vivocity.

    Vivocity store has been designed to reflect Nayuki’s philosophy: sophisticated and comfortable with seating and premium ingredients such as fresh fruit and tealeaves.

    “When it comes to shop design, we work with different designers, artists and some influential KOLs [key opinion leaders],” Peng Xin, Nayuki’s co-founder said in an interview.

    Singaporeans can now enjoy Nayuki’s signature “fruit tea and soft euro bread pairing” concept featuring the famous Supreme Cheese Strawberry tea and Strawberry fresh cream bread combo.

    In addition to the café’s breads and teas, the outlet also stocks cold brew teas, as well as selling an exclusive edition of its award-winning Alisan Mountain Dew Tea.

    Founded in Shenzhen, Nayuki was launched in 2015 from an appreciation of tea-drinking culture, something that has been known to China for centuries.

    To keep the tradition alive among the younger generation, Nayuki seeks to make tea drinking appealing through a stylish and modern tea concept, and effectively retailing it to millennials.

    And it’s proven successful. With over 100 stores across China across some 13 citie, Nayuki has garnered a cult following with celebrities and international lifestyle brands alike opting to partner with it.

    China is the largest market for tea drinking globally, with 13% of the world’s consumption taking place in China, according to Euromonitor. However, teeing up with BreadTalk Group and entering Singapore is the next step forward in global expansion, according to Peng.

    “Singapore is an important market. We chose Singapore to learn how to meet international standards – and then we can go global,” said Peng.

    Founded in 2000, the BreadTalk Group Limited is a Singaporean multinational food and beverage corporation headquartered in Paya Lebar, Singapore.

     

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  • Samsung to sell latest generation chip to IBM

    Samsung to sell latest generation chip to IBM

    Samsung Electronics will supply next-generation microprocessor chips to IBM, which will use the chips for artificial intelligence (AI) computing and cloud system applications, both companies said Friday. The product Samsung will manufacture for IBM is a seven-nanometer processor made by extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology. The seven-nanometers in the name refers to the width of the circuit through which electricity flows on the semiconductor. The dominant product until recently has been rated 10-nanometer.

    Narrower circuits ensure faster data processing speeds, less electricity consumption and higher area efficiency, with more transistors printed on a given amount of silicon, the base material for semiconductors.

    IBM said in a press release that the strategic partnership will position the two companies to lead “the new era of high-performance computing specifically designed for AI.”

    “IBM selected Samsung to build our next generation of microprocessors because they share our level of commitment to the performance, reliability, security and innovation that will position our clients for continued success on the next generation of IBM hardware,” said John Acocella, vice president of Enterprise Systems and Technology Development for IBM Systems.

    The U.S. company and Samsung have been research and development partners for 15 years.

    For Samsung, the deal is a significant milestone for its foundry business, which is to manufacture semiconductors for external clients that do not have chip fabrication facilities.

    The company is already a leader in DRAM and NAND memory chips, but it is now focusing on the fast-growing foundry market. IHS Markit estimates that the subsector will grow an average of 7.8 percent a year until 2021-which is faster than 5.3 percent expected for DRAMs and 6.1 percent for NANDs.

    Samsung is currently ranked global No. 4 among foundries, with a market share of less than 10 percent. As it works to climbing up the rankings, a client like IBM helps establish momentum for future deals.

    In February, Samsung signed a foundry deal with Qualcomm to supply seven-nanometer processors for 5G mobile devices. The company hopes the seven-nanometer processor chip will help as it works to expand its market share. It is currently one of two foundries known to manufacture the product. The other is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the No. 1 semiconductor foundry with more than 50 percent market share.

    Samsung’s EUV lithography technology was developed earlier this year to mass produce seven-nanometer semiconductors, as the conventional way of printing circuits on 10-nano chips were not sophisticated enough to print thinner circuits.

    A new facility specializing in EUV lithography is under construction at Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, and is due for completion by the second half of next year. Samsung also revealed in May that it plans for the mass production of three-nanometer processors by 2020.

  • Grab eyes stake in Vinasun, taxi company refuses to play ball

    Grab eyes stake in Vinasun, taxi company refuses to play ball

    Grab’s surprise offer to buy a $2.78-million stake in top taxi company Vinasun has failed, with the latter asking to end negotiations. The negotiations between the two firms began earlier this month for compensation claimed by Vinasun from the Malaysian ride-hailing firm after the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City yet again adjourned hearing of a suit Vinasun had filed last year.

    A Vinasun spokesperson told the court following the latest resumption of the trial Wednesday that his firm had declined the offer since Grab had not made an appropriate offer. “We don’t want to continue the negotiations.”

    But Grab does not want the lawsuit to continue.

    Its spokesperson said: “We have become very tired during the 17 months of this trial for damages we did not cause. We do not want Vinasun to waste its time on this meaningless lawsuit. We consider the proposal to buy Vinasun’s stake an investment activity, and we expect to cooperate with Vinasun to end the case in a good way.”

    Vinasun filed the suit against Grab in June last year, accusing it of abusing the Ministry of Transport’s pilot scheme and committing violations.

    It said Grab’s illegal activities were responsible for nearly VND42 billion (nearly $1.8 million) of the VND76 billion ($3.25 million) worth of losses it had suffered in 2016 and the first half of 2017.

    The trial began last February, but was adjourned a month later to allow for more evidence to be gathered. Grab had protested against the value of Vinasun’s losses.

    Last October prosecutors asked the court to accept Vinasun’s petition for compensation of nearly VND42 billion, rejecting Grab’s claim it was a tech firm and not a taxi company.

    Grab responded by writing to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to say that identifying it as a taxi firm would be “a step backward from Industry 4.0.”

    The latest draft of a transport ministry decree requires firms offering taxi services to register as taxi firms before they can apply ride-hailing technologies.

    This means that Grab and other ride-hailing firms have to register afresh as taxi businesses and comply with legal requirements related to operating licenses, drivers’ profiles and taxes.

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  • SUVs are selling more in Korea

    SUVs are selling more in Korea

    Korea’s domestic car market moved in two different directions this year. The rising popularity of large sedans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) stood in sharp contrast to weaker demand for smaller vehicles, industry data showed Sunday. In the January-November period, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung Motors and SsangYong Motor sold a combined 698,326 units, up 0.3 percent from 696,403 cars sold a year earlier, the data showed.

    Demand for medium SUVs, such as Hyundai’s all new Santa Fe, reached 207,269 units, up a sharp 29.5 percent from the same 11 months in 2017.

    The total so far is expected to push medium-sized SUVs to become the country’s top-selling vehicle type on an annual basis in 2018. This will mark the first time such crossovers have taken the top spot in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, where car buyers generally tended to favor mid- to large-size sedans.

    In regard to larger crossovers, the popularity of SsangYong’s G4 Rexton caused sales of such cars to jump 12.9 percent on year to 46,734 units, further pushing up overall SUV numbers.

    Industry watchers said the release of Hyundai’s three-row Palisade and a longer version of SsangYong’s G4 will further fuel sales going into 2019, with numbers likely to get a further boost once Kia releases its own large SUV that is expected to get the Telluride name.

    Besides SUVs, sales of large sedans, centered on Kia’s K9 luxury sedan, caused total numbers to rise a respectable 5.7 percent to 52,945 units up till November despite drop in demand for Hyundai’s luxury Genesis EQ900 falling off compared to the year before.

    On the other hand, sales of midsize and smaller vehicles dipped 0.9 percent on year to 481,542 units, with demand for small city cars dropping 7.5 percent to 115,647 units.

    “Vehicles like the Sante Fe clearly bolstered demand this year, with this trend likely to continue with the release of the Palisade and new versions of the G90 and G80 to further contribute to sales growth for bigger cars going into 2019,” an industry source said.

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  • Shanghai Tang goes back to its roots

    Shanghai Tang goes back to its roots

    Shanghai Tang, recently acquired by Chinese entrepreneur Chen Danxia and Lunar Capital, goes back to its roots with the appointment of Victoria Tang-Owen, the daughter of the visionary founder David Tang, as Creative Director.

    Together with the appointment of Victoria to rebuild on her father’s legacy, the brand will continued to be led by the CEO Maurizio De Gasperis, former Managing Director of the brand.

    The headquarters will remain in Hong Kong, and has just welcomed a new General Manager of Global Retail, Elisabetta Bazzini, with extensive experience in Asia working with a number of luxury fashion companies including Gucci, DFS, Versace and Max Mara.

    Leveraging the heritage of the Chinese luxury brand, Victoria is set to reinterpret Shanghai Tang’s unique brand aesthetics.

    Shanghai Tang is the first Chinese authentic contemporary luxury brand founded in 1994 by Sir David Tang, and thereafter under Richemont’s ownership for almost two decades.

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  • Galaxy A9 has a camera ready for every occasion

    Galaxy A9 has a camera ready for every occasion

    Samsung Electronics started domestic sales of its mid-range Galaxy A9 smartphone today – the company’s first model to be equipped with four rear cameras. The Galaxy A9 was first revealed in October in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and has already started sales in China, India and several countries across Southeast Asia and Europe. In Korea, the device will cost 599,500 won ($530), nearly half the price of Samsung’s most recent premium phone release, the Galaxy Note9.

    Overseas, the A9 comes with either six or eight gigabytes of RAM, but in Korea only the six-gigabyte option will be available. The device comes with 128 gigabytes of data storage, which is expandable to 512 gigabytes with a microSD card. There are three color options – black, blue and baby pink.

    Its most notable feature is its five cameras – one on the front and four on the back – which are the reason it is known as a “quad camera” smartphone. The front camera can take photos up to 24 megapixels and comes with a function to blur out the background when taking a selfie.

    Until a few years ago, Samsung was one of the top manufacturers of smartphones along with Apple. Recently, its global performance has dwindled as demand for up-scale premium phones have retreated. Another big threat is the advance of Chinese manufacturers like Huawei that upped their game in technology and released a wide range of mid-priced smartphones. Budget phones are especially important in that they cater to the massive Chinese and Indian markets, explaining why global smartphone makers are getting so competitive in the price sector. The main rear camera can also take photos up to 24 megapixels with a very low aperture of F1.7, which means the camera will perform better in darker environments. The other three cameras have slightly different functions.

    A 10-megapixel telephoto camera offers a 2X optical zoom lens, while an eight-megapixel ultra-wide camera can capture a up to 120 degrees. The final camera, a five-megapixel depth camera, is used to blur out the background of an image.

    Despite being a budget model, the A9 is equipped with smart camera functions normally found in top-of-the-range models. The “intelligent camera” function can optimize an image’s brightness and contrast after automatically recognizing the object or scene. It also alerts the user if the image is shaky or somebody blinks.

    Samsung said in a statement that it anticipates the five cameras to make the A9 “an optimal model for generations of ‘visual communication’ who mainly communicate with photos and videos.”

    The inclusion of quad cameras on a budget model reflects Samsung’s shifting smartphone strategy that Koh Dong-jin, CEO and head of the IT giant’s mobile business, stressed earlier this year – to apply state-of-the-art functions to mid-priced models.

    “In the past, I brought the new technology and differentiation to the flagship model and then moved to the mid-end. But I have changed my strategy from this year to bring technology and differentiation points starting from the mid-end,” Koh said to CNBC in an interview in October.

    The A9 isn’t the first affordable Samsung phone with high-end features. On Dec. 10, it unveiled the Galaxy A8s, a smartphone in the mid-price range and the first to have a so-called hole display. Its screen covers the phone’s entire front, except for a small hole in the display’s corner for the front camera. The unpacking event, which was Samsung’s first in China, also sent a signal that Samsung is determined to win back market share in the country.

    “You might think this is an ordinary unpacking event, but it’s more of an occasion to send an ambitious message to you all – Samsung Electronics will embark on a full-fledged competition with Chinese manufacturers,” said Kwon Gye-hyun, the company’s vice president for its China business, during the event.

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  • BMW assembly on the anvil, says Vietnam auto conglomerate

    BMW assembly on the anvil, says Vietnam auto conglomerate

    THACO, a major player in the country’s commercial vehicle segment, plans to assemble German brand BMW cars in Vietnam. Tran Ba Duong, chairman of the Truong Hai Auto Corporation (THACO), said at a conference last week that BMW cars will be the next vehicle that THACO assembles in the country, following other brands like Peugeot, Kia and Mazda.

    He did not reveal further details about when this would happen and what models would be assembled.

    THACO became the sole authorized distributor of BMW in Vietnam starting January this year, after Ho Chi Minh City-based Euro Auto lost its license for smuggling 133 BMW cars in December 2016.

    Duong had said earlier that he plans to open 15 BMW and MINI (a car brand owned by BMW) showrooms by early next year. However, the company currently runs only one BMW showroom in Hanoi, another in HCMC and one MINI showroom, also in HCMC.

    THACO has not revealed its revenue from selling BMW cars this year, but a source told VnExpress that the company sold almost 400 vehicles in the first half of this year. Euro Auto, at its peak, sold 1,400 BMW and 400 MINI cars a year.

    BMW cars were first assembled in Vietnam in 1995 by the VMC company in Hanoi. However, low sales led to the factory’s shutdown in 2005, and VMC had to spend two years selling its inventory.

    Mercedes-Benz is currently the only luxury car brand that assembles its vehicles in Vietnam, and it tops domestic market sales in this segment. Industry insiders say that if BMW cars are assembled in the country again, they could emerge a strong competitor, especially in terms of price.

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  • Number of AI speakers in Korea to hit 8 million

    Number of AI speakers in Korea to hit 8 million

    The number of artificial intelligence (AI) speakers in Korea is expected to reach the 8 million mark in the new year as the devices gain popularity, a report by a local digital media lab said Sunday. According to the findings by KT Group affiliate Nasmedia, some 40 percent of the country’s 20 million households will likely have an AI speaker in 2019. The numbers represent a sharp increase from just 1 million units supplied in 2017 and the nearly 3 million that have reached the market this year.

    “The rise in demand comes from greater choice in terms of the products being offered, as well as more upgraded features that have made the AI speakers more attractive to ordinary consumers,” the 2019 digital media and marketing forecast report claimed.

    It added that greater competition among manufacturers to secure the growing market is fueling the spread of such smart devices.

    Korean companies – such as SK Telecom, KT, Naver and Kakao – have all rushed to release new AI speakers.

    Nasmedia said that, in particular, there has been considerable competition in the area of children-related content and audio shopping services with companies vying with one another to “lock” customers into their ecosystem.

    The speakers have been marketed as personal home assistants for adults and even as private tutors for small kids.

  • 5 Tips for Digital Transformation

    5 Tips for Digital Transformation

    Retailers know they need to evolve, even though they cannot do it overnight. But while there’s no silver bullet for transforming culture, collaboration, and workflows inside a large organization, there are steps you can take to make sure your business is receptive to the change it’s about to undergo.

    Understand performance goals

    Before you start, you need to understand the business problem and the role that technology is going to play. Solving complex organizational issues needs the relentless management of changes in behavior, process, and technology all working together to support your performance goals and objectives.

    Collaboration is not a KPI

    Decide how you’re going to measure your KPIs. And remember that collaboration is not a KPI – it’s a means to an end. KPIs could include customer satisfaction, getting products to store faster, selling more products per visit, or retention. You need to get down to that granular detail.

    Shut things off

    If you have an existing tool which people did not like and you invest in something new to overcome those challenges and frustrations, you need to have a path to turning that tool off or at least turning off the elements that are now conflicting. This will impact adoption of new tools and ways of working.

    Educate, educate, educate

    Launching a tool is the easy part, the real work begins when people use it. People need to be educated on what they should be using it for. Show some examples of what ‘good’ looks like, and also what the tool should not be used for. Design an internal marketing campaign and treat it exactly the same as an external campaign. A product-driven approach could help here. Think about how companies try to refresh products in the market over time to improve adoption.

    Put somebody in charge

    For any system, and especially for a collaborative experience, you need someone who can get employees to use the tool in the right way at different times. That might be a community manager who understands the business cycle. Putting up content is the single most important driver of getting people to use the platform and to entice them to contribute their own.

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