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Tag: Vietnam

  • Delivery platform Now resumes Hanoi service

    Delivery platform Now resumes Hanoi service

    Delivery platform Now is resuming delivery of groceries and other essential goods in five Hanoi districts starting Wednesday.

    The firm announced the resumption of NowFresh and NowShip in the districts of Cau Giay, Dong Da, Hai Ba Trung, Ba Dinh and Thanh Xuan under strict supervision following advice from the municipal Department of Transport and the Department of Information and Communication.

    NowFood, the food delivery service that accounts for majority of its users, remains suspended.

    All the drivers will complete daily health declarations and temperature checks before beginning to work and follow Covid-19 safety measures including wearing masks, keeping distance, avoiding crowds, and disinfecting delivery packages regularly.Only drivers approved by the Hanoi Department of Transport are allowed to deliver.

    Now had temporarily suspended all of its services from July 28, following Grab, Gojek and Be. Among these platforms, it is the first to announce resumption of operations in Hanoi.

    Hanoi is implementing a 15-day social distancing period starting July 24. The city has recorded 1,668 cases since the fourth wave began late April.

  • Hanoi supermarkets limit customer numbers

    Hanoi supermarkets limit customer numbers

    Many supermarkets in Hanoi are starting to impose social distancing, limiting the number of customers and the volume of foodstuffs they buy.

    BigC Thang Long Supermarket stipulated that each customer is allowed to buy a maximum three-egg blisters a day, while the respective rate at MM Mega Market is five egg blisters.

    Aeon Mall Ha Dong announced each shopper could buy 30 chicken eggs each time. Its egg price currently stands at VND3,000 ($0.13) per egg, up VND300-400 against a week earlier.

    In supermarkets across Hanoi, most essential groceries like fresh vegetables and fruits are abundant. Only poultry eggs are insufficient from time to time, so many supermarkets have limited the number of eggs customers may buy.

    A shopper named Le in Cau Giay District said: “After going to the third supermarket, I managed to buy two egg blisters. It is very hard to buy eggs this time,” he said.

    Go!Market Supermarket in Thanh Xuan District announced it had limited the number of people entering its premises at once. Shoppers are required to make health declarations online or via QR code scans, have temperature checks, sanitize their hands, receive coupons, and queue for entry. Every 10 minutes, supermarket staff would guide a group of customers to enter it.

    Supermarkets in Hanoi were taking stricter measures to prevent and combat Covid-19, after some wholesales markets and supermarkets in the capital were closed down due to pandemic impacts.

    Since Hanoi imposed social distancing to fight Covid-19, Thanh, a resident of Tan Trieu Commune, Thanh Tri District, Hanoi has visited the local market or a nearby supermarket once a week. Earlier, she went shopping every other day.

    On Sunday, her residential area gave each household a coupon for shopping at the local market or nearby supermarkets thrice a week at fixed time frames of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. till 9 p.m.

    Many other districts of Hanoi have distributed coupons to families so they could buy essential goods at markets, supermarkets and convenience stores on odd or even days at fixed time frames.

    Hanoi has recorded 1,457 Covid-19 cases in the ongoing wave. The city is on its 10th day of a 15-day strict social distancing campaign.

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  • 23 VinMart, VinMart+ outlets closed due to Covid-19 linkage

    23 VinMart, VinMart+ outlets closed due to Covid-19 linkage

    Eight VinMart supermarkets and 15 VinMart+ minimarts in Hanoi and Hung Yen Province have been temporarily closed Monday after a meat supplier was found to have a Covid-19 linkage.

    These outlets are believed to have linkage with Thanh Nga Supply Foods in Hanoi’s Hai Ba Trung District where at least 21 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed, said a spokesperson for VinCommerce that operates the retail chain.

    Sixteen outlets are located in Hanoi, and seven in Ecopark, Hung Yen Province, which is about 40 minutes to the southeast of downtown Hanoi.

    VinCommerce denied rumors that “hundreds” of its outlets are linked to the supplier.

    Authorities are in the process of disinfecting the outlets and trace contact history of VinMart staff to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

    The outlets will only be opened when authorities deem safe, the spokesperson for VinCommerce said.

    VinMart is the biggest retail chain in Hanoi with nearly 1,000 outlets.

    Hanoi has recorded 1,457 Covid-19 cases in the ongoing wave. The city is on its 10th day of a 15-day strict social distancing campaign.

  • Viettel shrugs off Covid, remains profitable

    Viettel shrugs off Covid, remains profitable

    Telecom giant Viettel reported pre-tax profits of VND 19.9 trillion ($867.2 million) for the first half of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 3.1 percent.

    The growth came despite the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, which has forced 95 percent of its HCMC-based points of sale and 80 percent in Hanoi to suspend operations, and the number of mobile subscribers and telecom use declined.

    The military-owned firm continued to work on digital transformation and sought to maximize online channels, and as a result achieved revenues of VND128.6 trillion in the first half, a 6.8 percent rise.

    In all its foreign markets, Viettel increased market share, with the biggest increases seen in Haiti and Peru with 1.5 and 1.4 percentage points.

    Its four leading foreign markets remain Cambodia, Laos, East Timor, and Burundi, while in Myanmar, it closes to the top with a 30.8 percent share.

    Viettel has used technology for combating the Covid-19 pandemic by launching a vaccination management platform and installing 7,500 cameras in quarantine facilities.

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  • Rubber firms bounce back from poor 2020 as demand

    Rubber firms bounce back from poor 2020 as demand

    A 150 percent hike in rubber prices has sharply increased profits for the sector and pulled many companies out of the red.

    Vietnam Rubber Group reported a 182 percent year-on-year increase in net profits to VND2.4 trillion ($103.4 million) on revenues of VND10.5 trillion, a 77 percent rise.

    Its profits from core business activities were VND4.5 trillion as against a loss of VND2.6 trillion in the same period last year.

    Its subsidiaries also reported excellent results.

    Tan Bien Rubber Company saw net profits and revenues soar by 284 percent and 167 percent to VND120 billion and VND375 billion.

    Ba Ria Rubber Company also reported triple-digit growth in profits to VND35 billion.

    Dak Lak Rubber Company made a turnaround after losses a year ago, and was back in the black with profits of over VND76 billion.

    A rise in both demand and prices has been attributed to the industry’s outstanding performance.

    According to the General Department of Customs, earnings from rubber exports rose by 88 percent to $1.2 billion in the first half of this year.

    Average export prices increased to over $1,680 per ton as demand recovered after the slump in early 2020 even as supply decreased due to the Covid-19 pandemic and rising crude oil prices.

    ACB Securities forecast rubber prices to remain at $ 2,100 this year, 44 percent higher than last year’s average.

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  • US apparel companies seek speedy vaccination of Vietnamese workers

    US apparel companies seek speedy vaccination of Vietnamese workers

    The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) has requested the U.S. and Vietnam governments to speed up the distribution of vaccines to major suppliers of Adidas, Gap and other brands.

    “We urge you to dramatically ramp up distribution of vaccines, including America’s stockpile of AstraZeneca vaccines, to countries like Vietnam now,” Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the association, said in a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden.

    Immediate and dramatic action by the U.S. will not only save millions of lives worldwide but could also promote America’s economic recovery, he added.

    Vietnam is the second-largest supplier of apparel, footwear and travel goods to the U.S., accounting for 20 percent of all U.S. imports, he said.

    “This is why the success of the U.S. apparel and footwear industry, and our three million American workers, is directly dependent on our suppliers around the world, including those in Vietnam, having healthy workforces,” he wrote.

    In a separate letter to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Lamar urged that the Vietnamese government takes “several key emergency actions to help control the spread of Covid-19, particularly in the south, to thwart a growing humanitarian crisis.”

    The U.S. has already provided five million doses, but the association is advocating that the government supplies more on an urgent basis, he said.

    Vietnam, particularly southern localities, is experiencing a severe Covid-19 wave that has recorded over 116,900 infections since the end of April, in which Ho Chi Minh City accounts for 66 percent.

    Major suppliers for global brands like Adidas and Nike in the country have shut down operations or operating at limited capacity under strict social distancing orders.

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  • Nike and Adidas face supply-chain disruption after Vietnam factory closure

    Nike and Adidas face supply-chain disruption after Vietnam factory closure

    Taiwan’s Pou Chen, which makes footwear for companies such as Nike and Adidas, suspended operations at its plant in Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday as COVID-19 curbs hit factories in the country’s business hub.

    Vietnam’s health ministry said in a statement that production at Pou Chen’s Pouyuen Vietnam factory would be suspended for 10 days.

    State media said 49 infections had been detected at the plant in Ho Chi Minh City, which is at the epicenter of the country’s worst coronavirus outbreak.

    The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

    Shares in Pou Chen, the world’s largest manufacturer of branded athletic and casual footwear, closed down 1.3% on Wednesday.

    After successfully containing the disease for much of the pandemic, Vietnam has faced a more stubborn outbreak since late April.

    Record infections and strict curbs on movement have left plants operating below capacity in northern provinces where suppliers for Apple, Samsung Electronics and other global tech firms are located, sources have said.

    Pouyuen Vietnam, the largest employer in the city with 56,000 workers, was unable to arrange for its workers to sleep at the site as required by authorities to allow the business to remain open, the health ministry said on Wednesday.

    Last year, Pouyuen Vietnam was ordered to suspend its production for two days after failing to meet local social distancing rules.

    Earlier this week, state media said authorities also ordered 29 companies in the Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, an industrial park, to suspend production due to the outbreak.

    In the neighboring Saigon Hi-Tech Park, which houses international companies, more than 700 infections were detected in recent days and authorities ordered companies to shut units with infected workers, state media reported.

    Despite the latest outbreak, Vietnam has recorded far lower caseloads than many other countries with 36,605 infections in total and 130 deaths.

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  • Bamboo Airways, Vietjet suspend regular flights

    Bamboo Airways, Vietjet suspend regular flights

    Bamboo Airways, Vietjet, and Pacific Airlines have suspended most of their regular routes amid a surging number of Covid-19 cases that have seen demand plunge.

    Bamboo Airways will cease all regular flights for two weeks from July 26 to August 7 amid the severe spread of the disease and social distancing measures imposed in major cities, it stated.

    Websites of Vietjet and Pacific Airlines on Tuesday showed few or no flights between popular destinations like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang.

    Most passenger flights between HCMC and Hanoi have been canceled since July 23 as the capital imposed strict social distancing.

    Vietnam Airlines is the only carrier operating on this route with a maximum of two flights a day allowed.

    Between June 19 and July 18, the number of flights plunged 84.6 percent to 3,772, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

    Vietnam has recorded 105,287 local Covid-19 patients in 62 cities and provinces since the new wave started three months ago.

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  • Saigon supermarkets to close at 5 PM

    Saigon supermarkets to close at 5 PM

    All supermarkets in HCMC will close at 5 p.m. starting Monday to comply with the city’s suspension of night-time activities amid its Covid-19 battle.

    Retail chains like VinMart and Co.opMart will operate from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.

    Big C outlets will open 1.5 hours earlier at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. Aeon Malls and Mega Market will also apply the same hours.

    Most supermarkets in the city had shelves full of eggs, meat and vegetables Monday, with no sign of stockpiling.

    Retail chains have been doubling or tripling their supply to fulfill demand. They also have delivery staff ready in case delivery platforms are banned.

    HCMC banned people from leaving their homes except for emergencies after 6 p.m. starting Monday.

    This is the latest effort to curb the spread of the fourth wave of Covid-19, in which over 62,100 cases have been confirmed in the city out of 97,400 nationwide.

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  • Vietnam defers e-commerce tax by five months

    Vietnam defers e-commerce tax by five months

    Vietnam is set to delay an online tax on e-commerce vendors by five months to support economic recovery amid severe Covid-19 impacts.

    The Ministry of Finance has proposed to the government that the implementation of Circular 40 be postponed until January 1, 2022, Minister Ho Duc Phoc said Sunday. The circular was to take effect on August 1.

    The delay has been proposed as part of several solutions to support the recovery of businesses as the fourth Covid-19 wave spreads in Vietnam, infecting over 105,000 people, most of them in HCMC, often referred to as the nation’s locomotive.

    The circular imposes a 1.5 percent tax on e-commerce vendors with annual revenues of VND100 million ($4,354) or higher.

    E-commerce platforms are responsible for collecting this tax from vendors and paying it to the finance ministry.

    An average of 3.5 million transactions are made on e-commerce platforms each day in Vietnam, and the transaction value has been increasing steadily, according to official data.

    However, e-commerce platforms have proposed that they aren’t made responsible for paying tax on vendors’ behalf as it will create excessive costs and personnel burdens.

    Vietnam’s e-commerce market expanded by 18 percent last year to $11.8 billion, the only one in Southeast Asia to record double-digit growth amid the pandemic, according to the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency.

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  • Seafood firms net big catch from export recovery

    Seafood firms net big catch from export recovery

    A seafood export recovery has helped bigger firms boost profits while smaller ones have struggled with the spike in shipping rates.

    Seafood exports topped $4 billion in H1, a year-on-year increase of 15 percent, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. In Q2 particularly, seafood export turnover increased by more than 21 percent over the same period last year, reaching nearly $2.4 billion. This led to firms reporting positive business results.

    Vinh Hoan JSC earned over VND2.3 trillion in revenue and over VND260 billion in post-tax profit, up 41 percent and 16 percent year-on-year, respectively. According to its monthly report, VHC’s exports to most markets increased, with the two largest ones being the U.S. and China.

    The Kien Hung JSC (KHS) said its net profit increased 10 times in Q2 as demand from Europe, America, Japan and South Korea temporarily recovered and stabilized. The firm also actively sought imported materials at competitive prices to maintain stable production.

    The Minh Phu Seafood Corporation has yet to announce its H1 business results, but estimates a pre-tax profit of over VND300 billion, a year-on-year increase of 11 percent.

    However, not all seafood exporters reported positive business results, partly because of high freight rates. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) said that by May, freight rates in some ports had doubled compared to late 2020 and sextupled compared to early 2020.

    The Nam Viet Corporation reported an increase of over 20 percent in revenue in Q2 but a decrease of 26 percent in net profit year-on-year. The corporation attributed the decline in profit to a sharp rise in financial and selling expenses, that latter shooting up 137 percent compared to last year due to a hike in freight and transportation rates.

    The Thuan Phuoc Seafood and Trading Corporation (THP) saw its profit fall even further to VND10 billion, half that of the same period last year, because of rising selling expenses.

    The sea freight, which ups nearly times, cost the firm VND26 billion.

    In early July, VASEP requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to report to PM the issues of container shortage and sea freight rates, seeking intervention to have the latter reduced to pre-November 2020 levels.

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  • Steelmakers protest proposed tariff adjustments

    Steelmakers protest proposed tariff adjustments

    The Vietnam Steel Association (VSA) has protested the latest proposed adjustments to tariff rates on steel products saying they will hurt domestic manufacturers.

    Under the proposal made by the Ministry of Finance, export tariff for billets would rise from zero percent to 5 percent, while the most favored nation (MFN) import rates for certain steel products would be reduced to 10 percent from 15 percent.

    The proposal is aimed at cutting the prices of construction steel, which have shot up 40 to 50 percent compared to early 2020.

    VSA has protested the proposal, arguing that the prices were impacted by the global raw materials market rather than the current tariff policies, or any trade remedies applied to steel products.

    VSA chairman Nghiem Xuan Da noted that most of the input materials for steel production are imported. A price hike in these materials will immediately affect domestic manufacturers, causing output prices to skyrocket.

    However, global steel prices have declined since late May.

    Vietnam reaped steel export earnings of $4.9 billion in the first half of this year. Meanwhile, it produced 16 million tons of steel, up 37 percent over the same period last year.

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  • Hanoi supermarkets increase inventories

    Hanoi supermarkets increase inventories

    Supermarkets in Hanoi are stocking two or three times their normal volumes of goods and increasing warehouse capacity to brace for a worsening of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    The acting director of the city Department of Industry and Trade, Tran Thi Phuong Lan, said there is abundant supply of essential items and fresh foods, and no threat of shortages. Fearing the novel coronavirus, many Hanoi residents are stockpiling meat, vegetables and rice to avoid venturing outdoors.

    Big C supermarkets have doubled their normal fresh food inventories and increased dry goods by 30 percent, Nguyen Thi Bich Van communications director of Central Retail Vietnam, which owns the chain, said.

    Aeon supermarkets have stocks of two to four times the normal volumes of fresh groceries and 130 percent of that of dry goods since last week. Aeon Vietnam procurement director Tran Thu Quynh said the chain has worked with suppliers to secure extra stocks in case of an emergency and expanded warehouse capacity and inventories of frozen goods.

    Vinmart/Vinmart+ supermarkets have tripled and quintupled their stocks of groceries and eggs and vegetables.

    But admittedly there remain difficulties in terms of transportation and personnel.

    Quynh said certain goods that are imported or brought from the south, like fresh seafood and local fruits, are facing major delays as suppliers face challenges related to production and transportation amid the implementation of social distancing in the 19 southern localities.

    Over the last week Hanoi has assigned priority to vehicles transporting essential items. The capital city impose a 15-day social distancing campaign starting 6 a.m. Saturday as part of efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19.

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  • Seaport, maritime transport firms more profitable

    Seaport, maritime transport firms more profitable

    Market recovery and larger freights helped Vietnamese seaport and maritime transport enterprises, both state-owned and private, gain bigger profits in the first half of this year.

    Vietnam National Shipping Lines (VIMC) made consolidated revenues of more than VND6.2 trillion (nearly $269.6 million), a 20 percent increase, and consolidated profits of over VND1.1 trillion, doubling against the same period last year.

    Meanwhile, net profits of HCMC-based Saigon Port JSC surged 155 percent year-on-year. The company currently runs many ports in the city, including Tan Thuan, Tan Thuan 2, Nha Rong, Khanh Hoi and Sai Gon-Hiep Phuoc.

    Dong Nai Port JSC in the southern province of Dong Nai saw revenues and profits increase 38 percent and 35 percent, respectively between January and June.

    Profits of Cam Ranh Port JSC in the central province of Khanh Hoa, and of Quy Nhon Port JSC in the central province of Binh Dinh surged 118 percent and 93 percent, respectively.

    Gemadept Corporation’s management board estimated its first-half revenues at over VND1.4 trillion, up 19 percent, and pre-tax profits of some VND390 billion, up 38 percent. The firm owns four ports in the northern region, one port in the central area and three ports in the south. It plans to increase its share in the Vietnamese port market from 11 percent in 2020 to 19 percent in 2021, and 23 percent in 2025.

    Like seaport operators, maritime transport service providers turned profits in the first half of this year, mainly thanks to market recovery and larger freights.

    Maritime transport units of VIMC started making profits after a long period of losses. Vietnam Ocean Shipping JSC (Vosco), which suffered losses of nearly VND120 billion in the first half of last year, recorded after-tax profits of more than VND220 billion in the first half of this year, the highest since 2009.

    Meanwhile, Hai An Transport and Stevedoring JSC, has been estimated to see pre-tax profits in the first half of this year more than double.

    According to VIMC, the quick recovery of Chinese, U.S. and European economies amid Covid-19 outbreaks led to bigger demand for goods and materials, positively affecting the international sea transport market.

    Data from the General Statistics Office showed Vietnam’s import-export turnover stood at nearly $320 billion in the first half of this year, increasing over 32 percent against the same period last year. The volume of goods through seaports surged, with container outputs rising 24 percent.

    In early July, Drewry World Container Index (for container freight) stood at $8,399, surging 346 percent against the same period last year.

    According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors, at some ports, freight in mid-2021 doubled that of late 2020 and rose nearly six times against early 2020.

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  • Let shippers deliver food, says Grab

    Let shippers deliver food, says Grab

    Delivery app Grab wants food delivery services resumed in Hanoi since they help reduce the number of people gathering to fulfill various needs.

    “Since Hanoi authorities have been limiting the number of people at supermarkets and retail locations to lower the risk of contagion, services like GrabFood, GrabMart and GrabExpress have provided valuable assistance,” it said in a proposal, referring to its food, retail and parcel delivery services.

    They could help meet the city’s desire to ensure adequate supply of essential goods, it said.

    It assured its delivery people would meet social distancing requirements and it would limit delivery to essential items.

    Hanoi on Saturday ordered five ride-hailing and delivery platforms, Grab, Gojek, Be, MyGo and FastGo, to suspend their services, but still let other delivery platforms operate.

    Grab said the decision was inconsistent with the city’s policies and feared could cause unfair competition.

    Hanoi began a 15-day social distancing order starting 6 a.m. Saturday amid rising coronavirus concerns in both the capital and nationwide.

    It has recorded over 900 cases in the latest wave.

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