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Tag: asia

  • Fair to screen startup hosted by LG

    Fair to screen startup hosted by LG

    Technology-related subsidiaries of LG hosted a fair on Monday in which 20 local start-ups presented their cutting-edge developments in areas such as autopilot technologies, artificial intelligence and big data. The small firms are seeking partnerships with and support from the fourth-largest conglomerate in Korea.

    LG picked the start-ups jointly with the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), hoping to revitalize local start-up ecosystem.

    The conglomerate is providing a venue for the fledgling firms to mingle with their larger counterparts and find new business opportunities.

    LG subsidiaries participating in the event include LG Electronics, LG Display, LG Innotek, LG Chem, LG U+ and LG CNS.

    Executives and researchers from those companies as well as KITA CEO Kim Young-ju paid a visit to the start-up fair, which took place at the LG Science Park in Magok, western Seoul, and had a closer look at technologies and services featured.

    Funnel, for instance, has developed a voice-recognition system that automatically collects information from television broadcasts. The resulting database can be used for artificial-intelligence smart speakers and voice-command chat bots.

    Venta VR owns a technology that is able to tape high-resolution 3D videos and calibrate the video images afterwards in a way that enhances the level of immersion and minimizes visual fatigue.

    LG will offer some of the participating start-ups office and research space inside the LG Science Park as well as technology-related consulting and funds.

    Companies under the LG umbrella have been increasing support for start-ups.

    LG Electronics is backing four start-ups that are in the web operating system business, whereas LG CNS and LG Display have been running their own programs.

    LG-led tech fairs aimed at locating and supporting promising local start-ups have been held in the United States, Germany, Israel and Russia.

    With a German start-up discovered during a tech fair in Europe, LG developed a linear compressor technology for refrigerators.

    LG says it will apply the cooperation system it developed overseas to Korean start-ups and smaller companies.

    “Future cooperation with start-ups will propel their global outreach,” said an executive at the LG Science Park.

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  • Malaysia to have first Victoria’s Secret Lingerie Store

    Malaysia to have first Victoria’s Secret Lingerie Store

    The first full-range Victoria’s Secret Malaysia store has opened. Located in Mid Valley Megamall, the boutique has been launched by the US brand’s regional partner Valiram Group, which is also behind Victoria’s Secret stores in Macau, Bali and Singapore, (but not Hong Kong and Mainland China). It is reportedly planning more stores in Jakarta, Bangkok and Melbourne, Australia.

    The Kuala Lumpur store takes up 8233sqft, and has dedicated space for diffusion lines Pink and Victoria Sport, as well as the beauty products and perfume ranges stocked in earlier Victoria’s Secret stores in Malaysia.

    Many celebrities attended a formal opening earlier this month and social media key influencers including Joi Lynn have been photographed at the store.

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  • Tod’s is not for sale

    Tod’s is not for sale

    Speaking at the 2018 Milano Fashion Global Summit, Tod’s Chairman and CEO Diego Della Valle denied rumours surrounding a possible sale of the Tod’s group, reports WWD. The report quoted Della Valle saying: “This rumor is a “recurring” one, but “if we really had to do an operation, it would be to buy, not to sell. “We are preparing the company for the next 10 years, when we will surely be attentive to new consumers, but carefully avoiding going overboard in chasing trends. We must not lose sight of who we are,” he added.

    Speculations followed after an Italian newspaper reported on Monday that Della Valle’s reorganization of the family’s holding companies may be an indication to a future sale of the group.

    The Della Valle family currently owns majority 60 percent of the Tod’s group through two separate holding companies – the Di.Vi. Finanziaria vehicle and the Diego Della Valle & C.

    For the first six months, Tod’s reported a 2.8 percent decline in its net profit to 33.7 million euros, while sales decreased 1.3 percent to 477 million euros compared to 483 million euros in the first half of the previous year but increased 1.8 percent at constant exchange.

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  • JD start to have parcel delivery in logistic division

    JD start to have parcel delivery in logistic division

    Chinese e-commerce company JD is opening its logistics network up to consumers to send parcels around the country, marking the first entry by an e-commerce company into the parcel delivery business. The new JD parcel delivery service announced enables users of the company’s app in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou to send items intra-city and throughout Mainland China, using the same fast and reliable delivery service JD offers with online purchases. The company, which will expand the program to include high-value items like luxury products and high-end consumer electronics, as well as more diverse options based on delivery timing, aims to eventually make residential and business deliveries for shippers from anywhere to anywhere within Mainland China in the future.

    JD is the only large-scale e-commerce company in the world to operate a nationwide in-house logistics network, down to the last mile. The company says its network, powered by its proprietary supply chain management technology, is able to deliver more than 90 per cent of orders same- or next-day, and reaches 99 per cent of China’s population.

    The new JD parcel delivery service includes a range of competitively priced options, including same-day delivery between different cities; same-day intra-city delivery; standard next-day or two-day delivery and next-day delivery between cities.

    “Depending on the delivery option chosen, packages may be sent by high-speed rail or air,” the company said in a statement. “Individual shippers can use the same JD app they use for shopping to schedule a pickup by one of JD’s full-time logistics staff, and have a parcel delivered thousands of miles away at the speed they choose. They will even be able to select JD’s luxury ‘white glove’ delivery service if they want to make the delivery extra special.”

    Zhenhui Wang, CEO of JD Logistics says the JD parcel delivery service marks the next step in leveraging the nationwide logistics network that JD has built over the past decade, to expand the range of services offered to its customers.

    “JD is known throughout China for the fastest and most reliable delivery, and we are confident that users will appreciate the convenience of this new service.”

    The program has already begun user trials with multiple ways for customers to request pickups. In addition to the JD app, shippers can request pickups on a JD Delivery mini program in WeChat, China’s largest social network operated by JD’s partner Tencent, and a JD “Delivery Team” WeChat account.

    JD unveiled the parcel delivery service at its 2018 Global Smart Supply Chain Summit held in Beijing today. Other initiatives announced at the summit – part of JD’s Global Smart Supply Chain Network Strategy – include JD’s smart warehouse management system initiative, an expansion of the company’s green initiatives, and the formation of a new energy union with 20 industry partners.

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  • New Look to no longer selling in China

    New Look to no longer selling in China

    Embattled UK fashion retailer New Look is to quite China, closing some 130 remaining stores. The move follows a strategic review of the China business announced back in June, when the company put the brakes on an ambitious 450-store rollout plan after opening just 148.

    New Look has appointed property specialist CBRE to find new tenants for the 130 remaining stores in the country.

    In March, South African-owned New Look signed a Company Voluntary Arrangement with its creditors and landlords in the UK allowing 60 stores there to be closed. Chairman Alistair McGeorge at the time cast doubt on the future of the China plans announced by former CEO Anders Kristiansen.

    New Look’s China exit comes two months after rival chain Topshop terminated a franchise agreement with local partner Shangpin “by mutual agreement”.

  • Vietnam’s authority no longer certain about 2020 GDP target

    Vietnam’s authority no longer certain about 2020 GDP target

    Vietnam’s GDP per capita is set to increase this year, but its 2020 target of $3,200-3,500 looks distant. Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said at a National Assembly meeting Monday that if Vietnam’s GDP increases by 6.7 percent this year, per capita GDP will reach $2,540, up $155, or 6.1 percent year-on-year, and 1.21 times that of 2015.

    However, the number is still far away from the country’s target of $3,200-3,500 by 2020, he conceded.

    According to World Bank Group statistics, Vietnam’s GDP per capita in 2017 is $2,343. The figure for Singapore is $57,714, Malaysia ($9,945), Thailand ($6,594), the Philippines ($2,989) and Myanmar ($1,298).

    Minister Dung estimated that Vietnam’s GDP would grow by 6.57 percent on average in the 2016-2018 period, meeting the National’s Assembly target of 6.5-6.7 percent growth.

    However, he expressed concerns about the increasing number of businesses that stopped operations in the first nine months of this year.

    While 96,610 new businesses opened, 73,100 closed, up 48 percent year-on-year.

    These figures worried government officials at the meeting. Vu Hong Thanh, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Economic Committee, said that the goal of having one million businesses by 2020 will be “difficult to achieve.”

    Last year Vietnam had over 560,000 active businesses, up 11 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

    But in another meeting last week, Deputy Prime Minster Vuong Dinh Hue said that the goal “is full of challenges, but achievable.”

    Hue said that how strong these businesses are and how much they can contribute to the economy is more important.

    “The government aims to practically improve the business environment by not imposing more conditions,” he said.

    In the first nine months this year, Vietnam’s GDP grew by 6.98 percent, the highest nine-month growth rate since 2011. The economy grew by 6.81 percent last year, the highest rate in a decade.

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  • SK Group continues to focus on social value

    SK Group continues to focus on social value

    SK Group is reevaluating its business models in a bid to ensure that all of its affiliates create social value along with economic value. SK Chairman Chey Tae-won and the heads of all SK affiliates discussed ways to renew their business models so that doing business leads to increasing benefits for the public as well as SK shareholders and employees during a three-day meeting on Jeju Island that ended Friday.

    “Creating social value is a way to earn strong trust from our customers and society,” Chey said. “By social value, I mean increasing the benefits of all stakeholders in our business including our customers, shareholders and employees.”

    Chey then ordered the chief executives to think over whether there was any part of their business that they are tricked into believing is sustainable.

    “Rethinking business models that you believe are sustainable is the beginning of a deep change that we are trying to accomplish,” the chairman added.

    SK has been making small steps into realizing Chey’s vision from earlier this year. The group’s oil refining arm SK Energy opened up the idle space at its gas stations so a logistics start-up can move in and use the space as storage.

    However, many other SK affiliates still need to come up with ideas to create social value.

    To renew business models, the CEOs agreed that sharing data and resources between SK affiliates is crucial. The heads also said that all members of SK should be a part of the movement for the vision to materialize.

    The chief executives first decided to improve human resources management policies and the research and development system. Details of the discussion weren’t revealed, but Chey ordered the chief executives to rethink the work environment for employees and to bolster R&D capabilities.

    As SK has businesses in a range of industries, the group is also thinking about business convergence among affiliates.

  • Five Things to Check Before Taking Personal Loan

    Five Things to Check Before Taking Personal Loan

    Personal loan helps everyone in an unexpected financial crisis. Whether it’s an unforeseen expense during a wedding or renovating your home, emergency medical needs, restructuring your debts, starting a small business, etc., a personal loan can help you with immediate resources.

    Here is a list of five things to check before you avail of a personal loan –

    Interest rate offered

    The interest rate can vary depending on your creditworthiness. In addition, interest rates must be reviewed and compared with those of another institution before applying for loans, since interest rates usually vary due to several factors including competition among lenders. In this case, you can benefit from a loan at lesser interest.

    Since personal loans do not carry any security they attract high interest rates. Since there is no guarantee of repayment and nor does the lender have any asset in his possession to sell off the rate of interest is unusually high. As a customer you have to find a loan with lower interest rate to benefit

    Loan tenure

    Make sure that the tenure of the loan is acceptable to you. Loans with very short or long tenure can cause financial loss. You must always select a tenure that is suitable to your needs. A very long tenure would mean low EMI but also you must remember that you will be paying interest for a longer period. Thus your total outflow of interest will be more. Short tenure would mean rapid payback of principal which reduces total interest but makes the EMI expensive. The mean between these two would be best.

    Eligibility

    For being able to receive a personal loan you would have to check your eligibility to receive such a loan. Most banks and financial institutions have a web page with loan eligibility calculator. The amount of personal loan which can be given to you depends on the applicant’s income, age, credit score and other outstanding debts. If the loan is at all provided the loan amount and tenure of loan would depend on the above factors too. These factors vary widely between different financial institutions and it is quite possible that another bank will accept someone who has been refused earlier.

    Capacity to pay back

    It is always best to think calmly about your ability to repay. What is the EMI that you can afford depending on your income and monthly expenses and other commitments. The bank that is providing you with the loan will also carry out similar due diligence. It is of utmost importance that a borrower has sufficient funds to repay the monthly installments.

    Applicable penalties

    Lenders usually charge a fee if there is pre-payment. It is because early repayment prevents the bank from earning interest which they had expected as an income. One must always find a bank with least rate of prepayment penalties. Also watch out for exorbitant processing fees and late payment fines.

    Conclusion

    Take a personal loan only if it is absolutely needed for an emergency. It makes no sense to go on a vacation by paying exorbitant interest rates. Use personal loans judiciously and pay them back as soon as possible.

    Since a personal loan is associated with high interest rates, it is always advisable to obtain a personal loan only if you need money urgently and do not want to provide other assets as collateral. Personal loans are not secured, which means that nothing has been given as collateral.

     

     

     

     

  • Ronin Japanese Cuisine (Wanchai) Re-open with Facelfit

    Ronin Japanese Cuisine (Wanchai) Re-open with Facelfit

    Hong Kong’s contemporary Tabehoudai (all you can eat) Japanese buffet RONIN JAPANESE CUISINE (WANCHAI) is celebrating a new facelift introducing enriched lunch and dinner menus showcasing freshest ingredients and seafood.

    The restaurant’s quality Tabehoudai dinner, uniquely enjoyed at leisure without time limit from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm daily, is priced just HK$328 (HK$188 for children and elderly) from Sundays to Thursdays, or HK$348 (HK$208 for children and elderly) on Fridays, Saturdays, public holidays and eves of public holidays.

    Offering business executives the ideal lunch option is a wide selection of fresh sashimi and sushi, Japanese donburi, tempura and sukiyaki sets range from HK$68 – HK$188, highlighting Special Sashimi Platter (HK$68), 8 Kinds of Sushi (HK$138), Ronin Deluxe Sashimi Donburi (HK$150), Ronin Tempura Set (HK$188), Grilled Steak & Foie Gras with Wasabi Sauce (HK$158), Pan-fried Lamb Rack and Prawn with Japanese Style Sauce (HK$148) and another enticing choices.

    In celebration of the new facelift, RONIN JAPANESE CUISINE (WANCHAI) is introducing a special early lunch promotion till 12:30 pm, featuring sumptuous Diced Sashimi Donburi and Onsen Egg and Beef Donburi at only HK$50, including soup and a drink, available 7 days a week.

    On special promotion through November, guests who check-in via Facebook or Instagram additionally receive a complementary ‘Seafood Platter’, presenting the finest catch of the day.

    RONIN JAPANESE CUISINE (WANCHAI)’s fresh and welcoming new look introduces a serene and contemporary Japanese design in dark wood with minimalist décor in earthy tones for an authentic and affordable Japanese dining experience in a rustic and friendly atmosphere.

    RONIN JAPANESE CUISINE (WANCHAI) has attracted a loyal following since opening in 2014 – inspired by the spirit of samurai warriors known by the same name during Japan’s feudal era (1185-1868), who grew tough from confronting various challenges.  Likewise, the brand is dedicated to overcoming obstacles and challenges with the dedicated goal to serve only the very best to customers, including top quality ingredients flown jet fresh daily from Japan.

    RONIN JAPANESE CUISINE (WANCHAI) is part of the Top Standard Corporation stable of Hong Kong restaurants that also encompasses premium sister Japanese restaurant RONIN JAPANESE CUISINE (CENTRAL) in Wellington Street; iconic Chinese dining destination San Xi Lou at Coda Plaza, Mid-Levels and Times Square, Causeway Bay; and Pure Veggie House at Coda Plaza, Mid-Levels.

    View the gallery below for the new look of the restaurant (6 images) :

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  • Stocking up on Digitalization to Increase Share-of-Basket

    Stocking up on Digitalization to Increase Share-of-Basket

    With the rise of e-Commerce, Asian retailers are under tremendous pressure to continuously push traditional boundaries and embark on digital transformation to engage consumers. Keeping up with the latest trends in providing the best consumer experience have retailers looking to tech innovations, particularly digital technologies, to play a key role in capturing and keeping customers’ attention and loyalty.

    Technologies such as the cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), mobility solutions, and augmented reality (AR) are driving customer-facing innovations such as digital marketing, smart shopping carts, couponing, and mobile apps – that bring people into the store and keep them coming back. Cloud applications also make it easier for store associates and corporate staffers alike to collaborate and take care of back-office needs.

    The reality is that retailers need to embrace digital transformation and use technology in innovative ways to enhance the customer experience if they want to remain competitive.

    Technology Challenges

    However, rapid adoption of digital in retail not only improves outcomes but ignites new challenges for IT administrators in retail organizations. Among the challenges are how to:

    • Support increased customer engagement with in-store technologies that have high-bandwidth demands
    • Support increasing use of applications in the cloud with a resilient and secure network
    • Ensure connectivity and provide secure access for point-of-sale (POS) applications and electronic payment transactions
    • Ensure performance for real-time applications such as voice, video, and unified communications

    Taking on one of these efforts in the past may have required every resource, but now all of these must be accomplished by the same IT staff.  Also, these changes must be deployed across hundreds and even thousands of store locations spanning vast geographical regions.

    Yet the connective element that brings everything together for retailers –  existing networks are now too complex, too expensive, and frankly, too outdated to support the challenges and opportunities that come from digital transformation. A new approach to the retail network is required.

    With a Virtual Cloud Network, retailers can create an end-to-end software-based network architecture that delivers services to applications and data wherever they are located at global scale from edge to edge, with consistent, pervasive connectivity, and security.

    Faster service delivery on the cloud

    Alfamart in Indonesia is an example of a retailer that embarked on digital transformation by adopting cloud and mobility solutions, and reaped the benefits of a modernized, connected business network.

    Faced with a vast network of over 10,300 minimarts spread across the Indonesian archipelago and basic internet infrastructure in many far-flung areas, it was difficult for Alfamart to convey information in a timely manner across its network.

    The slow flow of information impeded the business’ ability to make critical decisions in a timely manner,  resulting in them not being able to react quickly enough to customer feedback or market trends, and affected overall competitiveness.

    Alfamart decided to connect all of its store employees and partners with a bring your own device (BYOD) strategy and an enterprise mobility management platform over the cloud.

    All store employees are now equipped with the most up-to-date product information, prices and stock level at their fingertips, enabling them to act quickly to meet market trends, and manage peaks in demand for the fast-moving perishable goods they provide.

    This has improved their speed-to-market, reduced training costs by 20 per cent, enhanced mobility across device and platforms, and improved internal communications between management and employees. Customer satisfaction levels have also gone up.

    Keeping systems up and goods in stock at all times

    City Mart in Myanmar is another retailer which benefited from modernizing its legacy IT infrastructure by adopting virtualization. Lengthy downtimes were a common occurrence under their old IT system, which affected their supply chain and resulted in unfulfilled customer orders, negatively impacting revenues.

    The supermarket network implemented a software-defined IT infrastructure and automated certain IT processes, which not only eliminated server downtime but also cut operational expenses by half. Predictive analytics and smart alerts also helped improve the system performance.

    With a new inventory management system, City Mart is now able to gain visibility of their stock across their entire network of 180 stores, whether on storeshelves or in the warehouse. This enabled them to better understand changing consumer demand patterns across different stores, ensure that goods are in stock at all times, and build stronger relations with suppliers.

    Ultimately, the virtualized IT infrastructure supports City Mart’s expanding business, enabling the retailer to meet the needs of Myanmar’s growing consumer class.

    Networking for Retail 2020

    The future of networking is software, and the network of the future is the Virtual Cloud Network. Virtual Cloud Networks allow retailers to create a digital business fabric for connecting and securing applications, data, and users across the entire network in a hyper-distributed world. In this way, retailers can simplify networking and wide area network management, optimize cloud access from all locations, assure high performance for even the most demanding applications, and enforce security and compliance across the network in every store location.

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  • UNIQLO x ALEXANDER WANG Collection to be launced on November 9

    UNIQLO x ALEXANDER WANG Collection to be launced on November 9

    UNIQLO announced that it will launch the new UNIQLO and ALEXANDER WANG collaboration line in 20 countries and regions around the world on 9 November. In Singapore, the collection will first launch online at UNIQLO.com on 8 November and it will be available in stores from 9 November. The full range will be available at UNIQLO Orchard Central Global Flagship Store and through UNIQLO.com. Selected items will be available at all UNIQLO stores. The range takes the UNIQLO HEATTECH concept of enjoying light and fashionable dressing even in cold seasons and expresses it with new ideas, creating LifeWear that presents HEATTECH as more stylish wear.

    Two images from the launch campaign Warmth Reimagined depict products in an ice block. The metaphorical visual aims to express the thought that HEATTECH transcends the cold and is warm enough to melt away the ice it is encased in. The campaign speaks to the idea that, even though these items are technically ‘innerwear,’ they may be worn as ‘outerwear’ or as visible layers. There is no reason to hide these beautiful, warming garments. Hence Warmth Reimagined.

    The new collection of HEATTECH and HEATTECH Extra Warm items comprises fashionable innerwear with the original functionality of HEATTECH, allowing the wearer to be warm and stylish even in cold seasons. The silhouettes are sharp and slim overall, while the women’s tank top features a unique back design and can be styled with other pieces from the collection. HEATTECH underwear is available in both men’s and women’s lines for the first time. The men’s items include both briefs and boxers, while the women’s range has a bra and shorts. The waist is adorned with a logo, a design element for wearers to casually show.

    The collaboration line includes a range of colours from Alexander Wang’s classic black to neon green. The line also incorporates neo-futuristic elements and sporty styling, such as glossy rib materials reminiscent of 80s fashion. The visual presentation of the comfortable, bias weave fabric is another characteristic of this collection. The fabric itself uniquely changes with body movement, with V-shaped patterns appearing on the surface.

  • JD China Will Launch Flagship U.S. Store on Google This Year

    JD China Will Launch Flagship U.S. Store on Google This Year

    Chinese e-commerce platform JD is preparing to launch a flagship US store on Google. The move will allow JD, the second largest online retailer in China, to sell directly to American consumers by the end of the year, despite the emergence of potential new trade restrictions between the US and China.

    Google, which has been making moves to build a strong presence in e-commerce via its planned Google Shopping platform, purchased a US$550 million shareholding in JD this year. JD meanwhile is eyeing global markets as consumption slows in its home market. It is already selling in the US through partner and major investor Walmart.

    JD Logistics’s director of strategy Bao Yan said: “When Google Shopping launches, JD will have a flagship store. We are shipping from US fulfillment centers to US end-customers.”

    JD operates warehouse and delivery services in Los Angeles and has plans to expand its US-based facilities with several new fulfillment centres, ahead of opening its store on Google.

    Google, moving to compete with Amazon, will be responsible for payment and order processing for the enterprise.

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  • LG Chem to build China facility

    LG Chem to build China facility

    LG Chem said Tuesday that it will invest 2.1 trillion won ($1.8 billion) by 2023 to build electric vehicle batteries in China in the latest move to meet growing demand for batteries for zero-emissions cars. Korea’s top chemical company said it has broken ground on a three-story plant on the 198,300-square-meter (49 acre) site in Nanjing in southeastern China.

    The plant is set to roll out electric vehicle batteries that can power more than 500,000 electric vehicles. The first phase of production is set to begin late next year.

    An electric vehicle equipped with LG Chem batteries can travel about 320 kilometers (198 miles) on a single charge, according to LG Chem.

    LG Chem Vice Chairman and CEO Park Jin-soo said the second plant in China will allow the company to better meet rapidly growing global demand.

    LG Chem has another electric vehicle battery plant in Nanjing. It also operates electric vehicle battery plants in Korea, the United States and Poland.

    The electric vehicle battery market has been on the rise as automakers around the world race to go electric due to tightened regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, which scientists say are to blame for global warming.

    Currently, LG Chem is a key supplier of batteries to U.S. auto giant General Motors, Volvo and Renault, as well as Korea’s largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor, and its smaller affiliate, Kia Motors.

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  • Shopee becomes top e-commerce in Vietnam in Q3

    Shopee becomes top e-commerce in Vietnam in Q3

    Shopee has become the leading Vietnam e-commerce market player, followed by Lazada and Tiki. The report published by Iprice Insight, ranks the top 50 Vietnam e-commerce market players based on their average quarterly traffic, mobile application ranking, social media followers and number of staff, using data collected in July.

    The report shows that during the quarter, Shopee had a monthly average traffic of 34.5 million visitors while Lazada, which had topped the list since the second quarter of last year, achieved 30.2 million.

    Other players in the Top 5 included local company Tiki, with 29.4 million visitors a month, Sendo with 20.7 million, and Adayroi with 5.3 million.

    All of the top four platforms have foreign investment.

    Iprice predicts significant changes during the next quarter when the platforms offer more promotions to stimulate shopping as year-end approaches.

    The Vietnam e-commerce market has been growing fiercely, with revenue forecast to reach US$10 billion by 2022.

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  • Vietnam retains current price ceilings on domestic flights

    Vietnam retains current price ceilings on domestic flights

    While several carriers want the price ceilings for domestic flights raised, inflation concerns have prevailed, for now. The current price ceiling, fixed by the Transport Ministry in August 2015, is set to remain unchanged for the time being as a new draft circular on air transportation rates.

    Under the draft circular on air transportation prices, prices for five different classifications range from VND1.6 million ($68) to VND3.75 million ($160) per one-way ticket.

    The lowest ceiling applies to flights for distances of 500 kilometers and less to remote rural areas, islands and mountainous areas that require a socioeconomic development boost.

    The highest price ceiling of VND3.75 million ($160) applies for flights of more than 1,280 kilometers.

    The maximum service charges listed above are for economy seats, not including value added tax and other charges like baggage, service and security fees.

    In July, several carriers had suggested that the price ceilings be raised since fuel prices were higher than when the current ceilings were introduced in 2015.

    But the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) advised that current price levels be maintained to follow the government’s directive on curbing inflation.

    As of now, the ticket prices listed by carriers are 76-79 percent of the ceiling.

    The CAAV acknowledged that the ceiling prices need to be adjusted, especially for long flights, adding that it will re-assess the situation next year and propose new price brackets if needed.

    Vietnam’s aviation industry has been booming in recent years. The country served more than 94 million air passengers in 2017, up 16 percent from the previous year, including 13 million foreigners.