Retail News CRM

Tag: Vietnam

  • Vietnam posts $665 million trade surplus with the UAE

    Vietnam posts $665 million trade surplus with the UAE

    Vietnam posted a $665 million trade surplus with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the first two months of 2021, alongside an increase in both exports and imports.

    Vietnam’s exports to the UAE rose 60 percent year-on-year $737 million, while imports increased 44 percent to $72 million, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

    Total Vietnam-UAE trade value surged 58 percent year-on-year during this period.

    Phones and components were Vietnam’s foremost exports to the UAE with a value of $551 million, up 108 percent year-on-year. Exports of agriculture and aquaculture products also experienced robust growth. Cashew exports hit $10.3 million, a year-on-year rise of 600 percent.

    Vietnam’s main import from the UAE is the plastic raw material, reaching $41.8 million, a year-on-year increase of 66 percent. Among the products imported from the UAE, only petroleum products saw a 42 percent year-on-year decline to $2.5 million.

    Lees ook:

  • 35 pct of businesses lay off workers due to pandemic

    35 pct of businesses lay off workers due to pandemic

    Thirty-five percent of businesses had to let staff go after being hit by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which disrupted supply chains, a survey has found.

    The dwindling number of workers was one of the four major difficulties businesses faced during the pandemic, the others being difficulties in approaching customers and disruptions in cash flows and supply chains, the survey, done by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the World Bank, said.

    Textile and garment was the sector with the highest number of companies reporting negative impacts (97 percent), followed by information and communications (96 percent) and electrical equipment (94 percent), the survey, which polled nearly 10,200 businesses, said.

    Overall, 87 percent of companies reported negative impacts.

    Small and micro businesses established less than three years ago were most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Dau Anh Tuan, head of the VCCI’s legal department, said.

    But the government’s support policies were helpful, 70 percent of respondents said.

    Businesses called for more long-term solutions such as increasing public investment, completing ongoing infrastructure works, and providing stimulus packages.

    The VCCI has called on the government to provide financial support to companies that maintain a high employment rate and subsidize the cost of training to improve workers’ skills.

    Vietnamese businesses should take the opportunities thrown up by the pandemic as major Japanese, U.S., E.U., and Australian companies are looking to shift their supply chains out of China, it added.

    The VCCI also did a survey of 1,564 foreign companies in Vietnam and found 87.9 percent were affected by the pandemic and 22 percent had to lay off workers.

  • Auto sales up 21 pct in 2021

    Auto sales up 21 pct in 2021

    Auto sales in the first two months of the year jumped by 21 percent to 40,017 units.

    Passenger vehicles dominated sales at 71 percent, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association.

    Local company Truong Hai Auto (Thaco) led the market with 14,964 units representing a 39 percent year-on-year increase.

    It was followed by Toyota (6,848), and Mitsubishi (4,605).

    Honda and Ford rounded off the top five.

    Last year sales had fallen by 8 percent to 296,634 units as the Covid-19 pandemic badly affected the economy, hitting people’s incomes and discretionary spending.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • IT engineers’ salaries soar as supply cannot meet demand

    IT engineers’ salaries soar as supply cannot meet demand

    IT engineers with five years’ experience are getting paid salaries of VND120 million ($5,200) a month amid rising demand for their skills.

    A software/solutions architect in Ho Chi Minh City earns up to VND160 million while a software engineer gets VND120 million, according to recruitment company Adecco Vietnam.

    A DevOps engineer, who is responsible for software development and IT operations, can get VND90 million and a data engineer, VND80 million.

    As corporations focus on digital transformation, demand for IT personnel is rising, but Vietnam’s pool of qualified candidates is small, it said.

    “With the huge rise in demand for digital media, cloud and security solutions, IT infrastructure roles are highly sought after.”

    IT professionals with good communication skills who adapt quickly to new technology trends have huge opportunities, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence and big data, it said.

    For senior positions such as chief information officer and chief technology officer, the salary could go up to VND400 million.

  • FLC Group’s Bamboo Airways shares drops

    FLC Group’s Bamboo Airways shares drops

    After Bamboo Airways hiked charter capital to VND10.5 trillion ($458 million) in February, Vietnamese conglomerate FLC Group’s shares in the airline has reduced from 51.29 percent to 39.4 percent.

    The airline was founded in May 2017 with a total charter capital of VND700 billion. In less than four years, it has increased its charter capital five times.

    In February 2021, the airlines increased its charter capital for the fifth time to VND10.5 trillion, all of it contributed by private investors. With this adjustment, Bamboo Airways ranks second in terms of charter capital among six domestic airlines, only behind flag carrier Vietnam Airlines with VND14.2 trillion.

    In 2020, the airline reported a 34 percent year-on-year increase in pre-tax profits to VND400 billion. It was among the few airlines which made a profit during the pandemic year.

    It also had the best on-time performance in 2020, with an on-time performance rate of 96 percent. In the first two months of 2021, the rate has increased to 97 percent.

    Property developer FLC, which currently owns 39.4 percent stake of Bamboo Airways, posted VND421 billion in pre-tax profit in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 43 percent.

  • Malaysian firm to buy stake in five solar farms in Vietnam

    Malaysian firm to buy stake in five solar farms in Vietnam

    A subsidiary of Malaysia’s largest power utility, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, plans to acquire a 39 percent stake in five Vietnamese solar power projects from Singapore’s Sunseap Group.

    The farms were built last December in southern Vietnam and have a total capacity of 21.6 MW.

    After selling 39 percent to TNB Renewables, likely this month, Sunseap will own a 51 percent stake in them.

    President and CEO of TNB, Datuk Bahrain Din, said the deal would mark TNB’s entry into Vietnam’s fast-growing renewable energy and utility market.

    Sunseap Group owns projects in Singapore, Australia, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, and Cambodia.

    In 2019, it completed the $150-million solar farm, the solar power plant CMX Renewable Energy Vietnam, one of the country’s largest in central Ninh Thuan Province.

    TNB has projects in the UK, Kuwait, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, and Indonesia, and expects to have 8.3 GW of renewable energy by 2025.

    Of the foreign investors in Vietnam’s renewables sector, the majority are from Thailand.

    In 2020 Thailand’s Super Energy Corporation Public Company invested $456.7 million to build four solar plants in southern Vietnam, Loc Ninh 1, 2, 3, and 4.

    Gulf Group increased its ownership of two solar farms in the southern province of Tay Ninh from 49 percent to 90 percent in the second quarter of last year.

    In 2019, AC Energy, a subsidiary of the Philippines’ Ayala company, and Vietnam’s BIM Group established BIM/AC Renewables to develop projects in the central Ninh Thuan Province.

  • World Bank okays $86 mln for energy efficiency in Vietnam

    World Bank okays $86 mln for energy efficiency in Vietnam

    The World Bank will provide Vietnam with $86.3 million to support the development of a commercial financing market for investing in industrial energy efficiency.

    The provision includes a $8.3 million grant used to build private sector capacity to execute energy efficiency projects, the bank said in a statement.

    It will also provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and relevant authorities to strengthen policy frameworks on energy efficiency.

    The remaining amount will be used to establish a risk-sharing facility to provide credit guarantees to support local banks in providing loans for energy efficiency projects.

    By reducing lending risks, the facility is expected to mobilize around $250 million of commercial financing to be provided to industrial enterprises and energy service companies at competitive terms and with low collateral requirements.

    “Scaling up energy efficiency is the single best and lowest cost option to achieve multiple goals at once: meeting energy demand, preventing pollution and reducing greenhouses emission while also increasing industry competitiveness,” said World Bank country director for Vietnam, Carolyn Turk.

    The World Bank estimates that Vietnam could save up to 11 gigawatts of new generation capacity by 2030 if comprehensive demand-side energy efficiency investments are carried out.

    The energy efficiency investment need for key industries in Vietnam has been estimated at around $3.6 billion.

  • Vietjet to sell 17.7 mln treasury shares

    Vietjet to sell 17.7 mln treasury shares

    The board of budget carrier Vietjet has approved a proposal to sell 17.7 million treasury shares equivalent to 3.28 percent of its charter capital.

    It would help fund expansion and preparations for recovery after the pandemic this year, the airline said.

    Vietjet’s VJC shares closed at VND136,000 ($5.89) on March 8, and at this price the carrier will earn over VND2.4 trillion from the deal.

    It plans to complete the transaction in the first half of this year.

    Vietjet had bought the shares in August 2019 for VND132,063 each. In June 2020, the carrier announced it was seeking to sell them to a strategic investor.

    Vietjet was among the few airlines to make a profit and not fire any employee amid the Covid-19 pandemic last year. It recorded a consolidated after-tax profit of VND70 billion in 2020.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Vietnam considers airspace permission for 737 MAX aircraft

    Vietnam considers airspace permission for 737 MAX aircraft

    Vietnam aviation authorities have proposed that the Boeing 737 Max aircraft be allowed to pass through the country’s airspace after two years of grounding.

    The proposal was made after the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) reviewed Boeing’s efforts to improve the aircraft and the evaluation of major aviation authorities such as the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

    The U.S. allowed the resumption of Boeing 737 Max operations in December and Europe did so in January.

    China and Russia have not opened up their airspace, and when restrictions are lifted in these countries the CAAV will propose that this aircraft is allowed to operate in and imported into Vietnam.

    The Boeing 737 Max was grounded worldwide in March 2019 after 346 people were killed in two crashes in the space of a few months in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

    Lees ook:

  • Japan’s venture capitalist invests $700,000 in Vietnamese media start-up

    Japan’s venture capitalist invests $700,000 in Vietnamese media start-up

    Japan’s venture capital firm Genesia Ventures led the seed funding round of Vietnam based media startup Vietcetera with the investment of $700,000.

    The deal, finalized during the first quarter of 2020, is being made public after Vietcetera received its digital media license from the government, Bloomberg quoted its co-founder and CEO, Hao Tran, as saying.
    Silicon Valley-based Hustle Fund Management also took part in the seed funding.

    Vietcetera expects to complete its Series A funding of at least several million dollars in the first half of 2021, Tran said.

    Vietcetera is a digital media company targeting the nation’s growing middle class, based in HCMC. It provides Vietnamese and English content ranging from general business articles to lifestyle stories and podcasts.

    Tran said the funds will support expansion of its data science platform, accelerate product development and expand market share. Vietcetera’s website last year grew its readership by 700 percent, he added.

    Vietnam’s online media market is expected to reach $7 billion in 2025 from $3.3 billion in 2020, while its e-commerce market is projected to grow to $29 billion in 2025, according to a report by Google, Singaporean investment firm Temasek and American consulting company Bain & Company.

    Its e-economy is forecast to increase to $52 billion in value in 2025 from $14 billion last year, with e-commerce at $29 billion, according to the report.

    There were 72 million social media users in Vietnam in January 2021, according to the “Digital 2021: Vietnam” report compiled by strategic marketing consultancy Kepios Pte, social media management firm Hootsuite Media Inc. and social media marketing firm We Are Social Ltd.

    YouTube is the most popular social media platform with 92 percent of internet users aged 16-64, the report said. Facebook and local social network Zalo, owned by Vietnam’s VNG Corp., attracted 91.7 percent and 76.5 percent of users, respectively.

    Lees ook:

  • Vietnam women’s e-commerce leadership ratio second highest in Southeast Asia

    Vietnam women’s e-commerce leadership ratio second highest in Southeast Asia

    Forty-six percent of e-commerce business leaders in Vietnam are women, the second-highest in Southeast Asia, according to a survey.

    The survey has been conducted in Hong Kong and six Southeast Asia countries by market research company iPrice Group.

    This figure was lower than that of Hong Kong (55 percent) but higher than that of Thailand (44 percent), the Philippines (39 percent) and three other Southeast Asian countries, showed the survey.

    Vietnam’s figure has improved from 37 percent in 2018.

    In Southeast Asia, however, there is still a gender gap in top positions. Only 31 percent of women have C-level roles – executive levels such as CEO or chief financial officer (CFO).

    In the vice president position, just 38 percent are women.

    Overall, there is a 40-60 disparity between women and men when it comes to being in positions of power.

    “Given centuries of gender inequality and women taking time off for child-rearing, the disparity isn’t as wide as we may have assumed,” the iPrice report said.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • VinFast to produce batteries for electric cars in Vietnam

    VinFast to produce batteries for electric cars in Vietnam

    Automaker VinFast has signed a memorandum of understanding on strategic cooperation with Taiwan’s ProLogium Technology Co.. Ltd. on production of batteries for electric cars in Vietnam.

    Under the MoU signed Wednesday, the two parties will set up a joint venture to manufacture solid-state batteries for electric cars. The joint venture will be licensed to use ProLogium’s patented solid-state battery pack assembly technology.

    This is a strategic step for VinFast in mastering battery technology for electric vehicles, laying a foundation for its research and development of smart and advanced electric vehicles in the future.

    Founded in 2006, ProLogium is the world’s leading solid-state battery maker. In 2017, ProLogium became the first company in the world to have a test line for solid-state battery technology for automotive applications.

    Its solid-state batteries have passed safety tests in Europe and China, which are the world’s largest electric vehicle markets.

    It is also cooperating with large electric cars manufacturers to test a new battery technology and expects to deploy it for mass-production in 2023-2024.

    By using solid-state batteries, VinFast electric cars will be able to go longer distances, reduce charging time, and increase the total number of times they can be charged.

    VinFast’s partnership with ProLogium is a part of its plan to become a global smart electric car brand.

    In January, VinFast introduced three new electric self-driving car models. It is also setting up electric charging stations nationwide, aiming at 40,000 charging ports for electric bikes and cars by the end of 2021.

    VinFast sold 31,500 cars in Vietnam last year. Since entering the auto industry three years ago the company now has a plant in the northern province of Hai Phong and R&D centers in Australia, Germany and the U.S.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Steel industry expected to recover this year

    Steel industry expected to recover this year

    Vietnam’s steel industry is expected to recover this year with rising export orders, thanks to improved global demand and surging domestic consumption.

    Market leader Hoa Phat Group last month exported over 12,000 tonnes of products, mostly cold-galvanized steel, to North and South America.

    This followed an export of 10,000 tonnes in January to Belgium and Spain.

    The company targets producing 300,000-400,000 tonnes of steel products this year, 30-40 percent of which are likely to be exported.

    Its competitor Hoa Sen Group last month set a new export record of 121,000 tonnes of galvanized steel worth more than $100 million. The group has a network of over 85 countries and territories, with main markets being the U.S, Mexico, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

    Vietnam’s steel industry is expected to see growth of 5-6 percent this year, with global demand set to rise by 4.1 percent thanks to a recovery in developed markets, according to the Vietnam Steel Association (VSA).

    Other drivers for growth include expectations of rising public investment in infrastructure, the recovery of the real estate market and more foreign direct investment, said VSA deputy chairman Trinh Khoi Nguyen.

    The industry started 2021 strongly, with a 61 percent year-on-year rise in production volume to 2.65 million tonnes.

    Domestic sales in the period rose 55 percent to 2.12 million tonnes, while exports rose 53 percent in value to $553 million.

    These figures indicate robust recovery prospects this year after VSA saw half of its members reporting plunging revenues last year, especially in the first and second quarter, due to Covid-19 impacts.

    However, trade officials have warned that rising safeguard measures could hurt the industry.

    Last month, Indonesia imposed an anti-dumping duty of 3.01-49.2 percent on Vietnam cold steel sheets.

    In January, Malaysia revised duties on cold-rolled coils of alloy and non-alloy steel from Vietnam to 7.42-33.7 percent for the period between January 24 and May 23.

    The U.S. and Canada have also slapped anti-dumping duties on Vietnam’s steel products in recent years.

    The Trade Remedies Authorities of Vietnam has advised local steelmakers to diversify their markets to avoid being punished with such duties.

    Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (VCCI) WTO Center, said that steel producers need to prepare themselves with knowledge of regulations on international safeguard measures and cooperate with other countries’ trade authorities to resolve issues.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Big C brand name to be fully replaced by Tops Market, GO!

    Big C brand name to be fully replaced by Tops Market, GO!

    Retail chain Big C plans to rebrand all its outlets as Tops Market or GO! this year, laying the Big C name to rest after 22 years in Vietnam.

    Thailand’s Central Retail, its owner, began the process on March 1 by changing the names of three Big C outlets in HCM City, in An Phu and Thao Dien in District 2 and Au Co in Tan Phu District, to Tops Market.

    The four stores in Hanoi in Tu Liem, Ha Dong, Thanh Tri, and Thanh Xuan districts will be renamed soon.

    By the end of last year five Big C hypermarkets in Nha Trang City, Can Tho and Ha Long cities and Binh Duong and Vinh Phuc provinces had their names changed to GO!.

    The company said the rebranding is meant to create a new look and upgrade its shopping space.

    Central Group bought Big C Vietnam from France’s Casino Group in 2016 for over $1 billion.

    From 2022, the Big C brand will only exist in Thailand, where it is owned by TCC Group led by tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Central province seeks approval for 2nd casino

    Central province seeks approval for 2nd casino

    Khanh Hoa authorities have recommended the issue of a license for Vinpearl Company to build a $2.24-billion casino in the central province.

    The casino is proposed to be built on Hon Tre Island near famous beach town Nha Trang along with tourism and amusement components.

    It requires approval from the Politburo, which is at the apex of the Communist Party, and government. If approved it will be the second in the province after an earlier, $2.02-billion casino received the green light in 2019.

    The Ministry of Finance said an assessment needs to be done on the impacts of the proposed casino on local tourism and socio-economic growth.

    The government has for long treated gambling as a social evil and prohibited Vietnamese from entering casinos.

    But in January 2019 it opened certain casinos to Vietnamese as part of a three-year trial and will continue to do so on a case-by-case basis.

    Vietnamese who want to gamble in a casino must be over 21, earn a minimum of VND10 million ($430) a month and have no criminal record or objections from their family.

    A group of casino owners recently sought the government’s permission to let Vietnamese in to make up for foreigners’ absence due to the Covid-19 international travel restrictions.

    Vietnam has eight casinos which earned revenues of VND2.5 trillion in 2019, according to Ministry of Finance data.