Retail News CRM

Tag: Vietnam

  • Vietnamese pork banned in several countries

    Vietnamese pork banned in several countries

    Some countries and terriories are banning pork imports from Vietnam following the recent outbreaks of African swine fever in the country. Violators of the ban face fines and even imprisonment. Taiwan has announced that Vietnamese people coming in with pork products would be fined about $6,500, according to Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The fine will go up to $33,000 if a passenger is caught for a second time and denied entry if they do not pay the fine in full.

    A Vietnamese woman was fined $6,500 for bringing a pork snack into Taichung airport in central Taiwan on February 27.

    Vietnam Airlines has been warning passengers against carrying pork items into Japan and Australia.

    Passengers carrying raw or processed foods to Japan from Vietnam must have a certificate of safety, failing which they face three years’ imprisonment or a fine of JPY1 million ($8,900).

    In Australia, passengers must declare all foods made from plant or animal ingredients or face a fine of AUD420,000 ($298,032).

    Dubai, the U.K. and the U.S. also prohibit pork products from Vietnam.

    Following China and Mongolia, Vietnam has become the third Asian country hit by the incurable African swine fever, which has been detected in the cities of Hanoi and Hai Phong, and four provinces of Thai Binh, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, Thanh Hoa and Hai Duong.

    The flu is a viral disease that infects all pig species through bodily fluids such as blood and mucus. It causes hemorrhagic fever with a 100 percent mortality rate.

    Humans are not affected by the disease.

  • Vietnamese beer sales now drive revenues for Sabeco’s new Thai owner

    Vietnamese beer sales now drive revenues for Sabeco’s new Thai owner

    Vietnamese brewery Sabeco has contributed 46 percent of the revenues of Thai parent ThaiBev in the first quarter of 2018-19. For the quarter ended December 31, 2018, it reported sales of VND13 trillion ($560.58 million) as ThaiBev announced net profits of VND5.54 trillion ($238.83 million) on total revenues of VND54.28 trillion ($2.34 billion), 35 percent and 60 percent up year-on-year.

    Beer products became its revenue driver for the first time with sales of VND24.84 trillion ($1.07 billion). Though spirits sales saw strong growth, their share of revenues dropped from 54 percent to 43 percent.

    In terms of sales by market, the group reported 52 billion baht ($1.66 billion) in Thailand, down to 71 percent from 96 percent last year. The other significant amount was Vietnam’s VND13 trillion or 23.9 percent.

    ThaiBev said while consumption in Southeast Asia is generally slowing, Sabeco has sustained impressive growth.

    Two months ago the Thai group became the majority shareholder in the Vietnamese brewer with a 53.59 percent stake following a debt-to-equity swap.

    It believes the acquisition of Sabeco would help its expansion in Vietnam, which has a youthful population, extensive distribution network and the strongest beer market growth in the region.

    Sabeco, formally known as Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corp, reported a 5 percent rise in revenues last year to more than VND36 trillion ($1.56 billion).

    It has a 42.8 percent share of the Vietnamese beer market, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Securities Corporation.

    According to the Vietnam Beverage Association (VBA), the Vietnamese beer market is worth $3.4 billion.

    Securities company FPT Securities predicts the market will grow by 5-6 percent a year.

  • English learning app co-founded by Vietnamese raises $7 million

    English learning app co-founded by Vietnamese raises $7 million

    ELSA has raised $7 million in a Series-A round from Google’s AI Fund Gradient Ventures and other U.S. investors. The investment round for ELSA, a mobile app that uses artificial intelligence and speech recognition technology to help language learners improve their English pronunciation, was led by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture fund.

    According to tech news provider Engadget, the Google fund will also offer “technical mentorship” to AI startups. ELSA will gain access to Google itself, including prominent figures such as investor and futurist Ray Kurzweil, design mastermind Matias Duarte and X lab leader Astro Teller.

    U.S. fund SOSV and Singaporean Monk’s Hill Ventures, strategic investment funds from the previous investment round, also invested in the app. In three years after its establishment, ELSA has successfully attracted $12 million through funding rounds in Silicon Valley, the U.S. and Asia.

    CEO and co-founder Van Dinh Hong Vu revealed that this round of funding will help the startup continue to recruit computer engineers and computer scientists in AI, and to explore new markets like Japan, Indonesia and India.

    ELSA currently has 4 million users from 101 countries worldwide, making it one of the top 5 AI applications with the most users. In 2018, the application recorded an increase in student enrolment by 350 percent over the previous year.

    Vietnam has been the fastest growing market for ELSA. ELSA grew its business fourfold in Vietnam in 2018 and expects to grow at a faster pace in 2019.

  • Lotte Mart Vietnam expands in Hanoi

    Lotte Mart Vietnam expands in Hanoi

    Lotte Mart Vietnam has opened its third Hanoi store in Cau Giay District. The South Korean retailer’s new 2776sqm branch is located in the urban district, near seven local universities. Targeting local students, the branch will offer trendy but inexpensive products. There will be an international zone that sells products from Korea, the US and Europe and  a ‘Delica’ corner will offer baked goods and easy-to-cook food.

    About 35 per cent of the fresh-food products will include harvests from farms near Hanoi to maintain freshness.

    Lotte Mart Vietnam head of overseas business Kang Min-ho said the firm is planning to expand its business in the country, mainly focusing on Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

    Lotte Mart now has 14 stores in Vietnam.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Major aviation deals inked as US, Vietnam presidents meet

    Major aviation deals inked as US, Vietnam presidents meet

    Three major aviation deals were signed Wednesday in the presence of Vietnamese and U.S. presidents Nguyen Phu Trong and Donald Trump. Budget airline Vietjet signed with U.S. airplane manufacturer Boeing Company a deal to buy 100 new narrow-body 737 MAX airplanes worth $12.7 billion, according to the manufacturer’s list prices.

    “The deal is an important move for us to meet our international flight network expansion plan with a higher capacity,” Vietjet president and CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said.

    Vietjet also finalised a $5.3 billion long-term engine support agreement with General Electric for the LEAP-1B engines in its fleet.

    New airline Bamboo Airways also inked a deal with Boeing for 10 wide-body 787-9 Dreamliners worth almost $3 billion.

    The carrier, owned by property and leisure company FLC Group, had placed a provisional order last year for 20 Boeing 787 jets worth $5.6 billion at list prices.

    The new deal brings the total number of Boeing 787 that Bamboo Airways has ordered to 30, worth total value of almost $8.6 billion. First aircraft are expected to be delivered in the third quarter of next year.

    Bamboo Airways is preparing to launch flights to the U.S. from late 2019 or early 2020, after Vietnam earlier this month received a Category 1 rating from the U.S, allowing local airlines to operate direct flights to the U.S.

    “Direct flights between the two countries will not only push tourism activities, but also further facilitate bilateral trade and investment,” FLC president Trinh Van Quyet said in a statement.

    Bamboo Airways is also considering the purchase of 25 narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX worth $2.5 billion, the statement said.

    Vietnam Airlines signed a $300-million for strategic partnership deal in aviation information technology with U.S.-based technology company Sabre Corporation.

    The deal is expected to help the state-owned Vietnamese airline increase IT applications in flight management and passenger service.

    Sabre has been cooperating with Vietnam airlines for over 20 years. Last year, they had signed a $400-million aviation technology application deal.

    Vietnam’s aviation sector has been booming in recent years. Local airlines served almost 50 million passengers last year, up 10.1 percent from 2017, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

  • Vietnam Jan-Feb FDI inflows up 9.8 pct to $2.58 bln

    Vietnam Jan-Feb FDI inflows up 9.8 pct to $2.58 bln

    Vietnam received $2.58 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in January-February, up 9.8 percent from the same period a year earlier. FDI pledges, which indicate the size of future FDI disbursements, were more than 2.5 times higher than the same period last year, climbing to $8.47 billion, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said in a statement on Tuesday.

    Of the pledges, 81.8 percent are to be invested in manufacturing and processing, while 5.6 percent would go to real estate, the ministry said.

    Hong Kong was the top source of FDI pledges in the period, followed by Singapore and South Korea.

    The Southeast Asian country reported a record high FDI inflows of $19.1 billion last year, up 9.1 percent.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Foreign investors return to surging Vietnamese stock markets

    Foreign investors return to surging Vietnamese stock markets

    At over VND3 trillion ($129.21 million), foreign buying in the local bourses from February 1-25 is three times the January figure. Foreign investment since the beginning of the year has been worth over VND4.3 trillion ($185.16 million). They have been focusing on blue chips like Hoa Phat (HPG), one of Vietnam’s leading steel producers. The company, ignored for the last several months, returned to the portfolio of foreign investors and saw millions of shares traded every day in February.

    In the 11 sessions after the market reopened February 11 after the nine-day Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday from Feb 2-10, foreigners bought 20 million shares for more than VND600 billion ($25.8 million). A month earlier they had been net sellers of over 10 million shares.

    Other blue chips like Vietnam’s biggest dairy company Vinamilk (VNM), private conglomerate Masan Group (MSN) and the biggest bank by assets Vietcombank (VCB) have all run up quite sharply as a result of buying by foreign investors.

    The benchmark VN-Index has gained more than 100 points this year, equivalent to over 11 percent. On Monday it closed at 994.43 points, within touching distance of the psychological 1,000-point mark.

    Foreigners have played a significant role in the recovery, having invested over VND4.3 trillion ($185.16 million) in the period, almost half of it since Tet.

    According to Rong Viet Securities Company, foreign investment this year could actually go down as a result of the reduction in monetary easing and fiscal stimulus across the globe this year, meaning there is less foreign cash available to invest in marginal markets such as Vietnam.

    But it also points out that Vietnam is on the verge of being upgraded to ‘emerging’ market, which could be a positive sign for foreign investors.

  • Hanoi businesses do brisk business with Trump-Kim summit specials

    Hanoi businesses do brisk business with Trump-Kim summit specials

    Several enterprising businesses have cashed in on the Trump-Kim summit with signature products – craft beer, cocktails, haircuts and T-shirts. A standing bar on Tran Vu Street has already gained a lot of attention with a craft beer named Kim Jong Ale, a kimchi flavored beverage concocted in Saigon.

    Huong Anh, who manages the bar, has waxed lyrical about the beer for the occasion. “Kim Jong Ale is a customers’ favorite here. The inspiration behind this beer is the pure streams of Mount Paektu, which is located between North Korea and China,” she told reporters.

    Yet another bar on Hang Than Street brought out a cocktail called “Make the world great again”, mixing soju, bourbon and Fireball Cinnamon Whisky, pineapple juice, vanilla and grenadine.A wine bar in the capital city has also helped itself to some publicity and increased business with a cocktail called “Peace Negroniations,” a variation of the classic Negroni, made with pink-grapefruit soju, vermouth and bitters. We replaced gin with soju for this special cocktail,” bartender Chau said.

    It took two days to complete this recipe, said Ngo Dinh Tien, a bartender.

    A pizzeria has been offering free pizzas to people with names similar to that of Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump, and to those sporting the distinctive haircuts of both leaders, from February 20-28.

    To get such haircuts, the place to go to is the one on De La Thanh Street that has been offering these for free. The salon is even organizing a contest for people getting such haircuts, with the grand prize being free haircuts for three years.

    A South Korean restaurant in the My Dinh area has hung a banner on their door, featuring Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump and welcoming the summit. The owner said the poster has attracted a lot of attention with many customers taking selfies with it.

    An Old Quarter restaurant has hogged some attention for itself with hamburgers named after the two leaders – “Durty Donald” and “Kim Jong Yum,” served with U.S. and North Korean flags.


    Perhaps the hottest summit item has been souvenir T-shirts. Truong Thanh Duc’s small shop on Hang Bong Street has been operating at full capacity, making 500 shirts a day with a design that says peace and carries pictures of both leaders. Each T-shirt costs less than $5


    .

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Foreign investment crucial to Vietnamese banks in 2019: Moody’s

    Foreign investment crucial to Vietnamese banks in 2019: Moody’s

    Most Vietnamese banks fall short of international capital adequacy norms and have to focus on attracting foreign capital this year, Moody’s has said. The credit rating agency said in a release Monday that “the underdevelopment of the domestic capital markets” means the banks would have to look to foreign investors to meet the capital requirement of 8 percent of risk-weighted assets to cover operational risks.

    Raising capital has been a struggle for Vietnamese banks in recent years. Major state-owned banks such as BIDV and Vietinbank have for long been making plans to increase charter capital but in vain.

    BIDV, the second largest listed bank, has had charter capital of nearly VND34.19 trillion ($1.46 billion) unchanged since 2015.

    Last November it planned to sell a 17.65 stake to South Korea’s KEB Hana Bank to increase it to over VND40.22 trillion ($1.73 billion), but the deal has not been consummated.

    Vietinbank, the fourth largest listed bank, has seen its capital remain unchanged since 2014 at VND37.23 trillion ($1.59 billion).

    Only Vietcombank, the largest listed bank in the country, last month raised VND6.2 trillion ($265.86 million) from selling a 3 percent stake to foreign investors, as part of its plan to ultimately sell 10 percent.

    BIDV and Vietinbank had offered to pay its largest shareholder, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the previous year’s dividends in stocks and not cash to increase their capital, but the central bank refused saying it needed the cash.

    Moody’s added that the banks’ capitalization will strengthen this year because of stronger profitability and stable credit growth.

    It said that Vietnamese banks last year achieved a higher aggregate return on assets for a second year running, registering a rise of 1.1 percent from 0.9 percent in 2017.

    Aggregate net income for the banks rose 35 percent to VND70 trillion ($3 billion) in 2018 from the previous year, it said.

    “For 2019, Vietnamese banks that Moody’s rates will achieve a further improvement in profitability, again because of wider net interest spreads and lower credit costs,” said Rebaca Tan, a Moody’s analyst.

    “Credit growth will stay stable over the same period because of tighter control by the State Bank of Vietnam, and asset quality will improve further, as the banks continue cleaning up their balance sheets.”

  • Bamboo Airways to sign deal for 10 Boeing planes during Trump-Kim summit

    Bamboo Airways to sign deal for 10 Boeing planes during Trump-Kim summit

    Vietnam’s newest carrier, Bamboo Airways, which began flying last month, is set to sign a deal with Boeing to buy 10 aircraft. The signing will take place on the sidelines of the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, an unnamed airline executive said. In July last year the airline had signed a provisional deal to buy 20 Boeing 787-9 wide-body jets worth $5.6 billion at list prices.

    “We will sign with Boeing a deal to buy 10 Boeing 787s,” the executive said. “This is different from the deal signed earlier for 20 Boeing planes.”

    The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently allowed Vietnam to operate direct flights to the U.S.

    Bamboo Airways and other Vietnamese airlines have expressed interest in operating direct flights to that country.

    Bamboo was set up by private conglomerate FLC in 2017 with a charter capital of VND700 billion ($30 million), which it recently increased to VND1.3 trillion ($55.68 million).

    Budget airline Vietjet also plans to sign on the sidelines of the summit a deal to buy 100 narrow-body Boeing aircraft.

    Vietnam’s aviation industry is booming demand. The country welcomed 12.5 million air passengers last year, up 14.4 percent from 2017, according to the General Statistics Office.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • AirAsia unveils plans to begin international flights to Vietnam city

    AirAsia unveils plans to begin international flights to Vietnam city

    AirAsia will start flying from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok to Can Tho in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta in the next few months. The budget carrier has announced it will begin the Kuala Lumpur – Can Tho service on April 8 with four flights a week and the Bangkok – Can Tho service from May 2 with three flights, AirAsia said in a recent statement. Tran Viet Phuong, director of the city’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, told local media that the services would help increase the number of foreign tourists visiting the Mekong Delta.

    He added that visitors from not only Southeast Asia but also from India and Australia would find it easier to reach the city given AirAsia’s network.

    AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said: “We foresee the new route not only contributing to the socio-economic development of the city, but also providing new opportunities for the people in Mekong Delta to connect with ASEAN and beyond through our wide network.”

    According to the Can Tho Tourism Association, 8.48 million tourists visited the city in 2018, a 12.5 percent increase from the previous year.

    Lees ook:

  • Amazon to train Vietnamese small firms in e-commerce

    Amazon to train Vietnamese small firms in e-commerce

    Amazon will train 100 Vietnamese businesses to develop their business on its platform. According to the Department of Trade Promotion, Amazon Global Selling will identify 100 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for its “Supporting Vietnamese enterprises to boost exports via Amazon” program. It will train the businesses in promoting exports and build brands through its website.

    According to Amazon Global Selling, the program will support businesses with comprehensive export solutions and logistics infrastructure, its 175 fulfillment centers and presence in 185 countries.

    “In the context of evolving global markets, Vietnam has more than 700,000 businesses, of which 98 percent are SMEs, so in addition to traditional trade promotion methods such as going to international trade fairs, promoting e-commerce is extremely necessary,” Vu Ba Phu, head of the department, said.

    Bernard Tay, director of Amazon Global Selling in Southeast Asia, said his company chose Vietnam to run this program because it sees great potential for development, especially with the entrepreneurial spirit of Vietnamese youth.

    “Vietnamese businesses are well known for their top production capabilities. When combined with our worldwide resources, it will create conditions for them to develop and build brands in the international market.”

    But he said they need to adapt to global product trends, improve their proficiency in foreign languages and brand building expertise to derive the most from the e-commerce platform.

    Vietnam’s e-commerce value climbed to about $4 billion in 2016, becoming one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.

    Revenue from online retail in the country is forecast to hit $10 billion by 2020, accounting for five percent of the country’s retail market.

    Lees ook:

  • Vietnamese airlines continue to be plagued by pilot shortage

    Vietnamese airlines continue to be plagued by pilot shortage

    With increasing demand for pilots as they expand, Vietnamese airlines have had to raise salaries, spend more on training and hire foreign pilots. Figures from the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam show that by 2020 Vietnam will need a total of 2,680 pilots for commercial flights, 1,320 more than now. Vietnam Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, needs to hire 193 more pilots to increase the number on its payroll to 1,293 pilots to meet demand in 2019, according to the carrier’s recent assessment report.

    The assessment forecast the demand to keep rising increasing to 1,340 by 2020 and 1,570 by 2025. This is a challenging number given the increasing shortage of pilots globally, according to industry insiders.

    According to a recent report from Boeing, the global aviation industry will need 790,000 new pilots by 2037, or double the current number, driven by an anticipated doubling of the commercial airplane fleet, record travel demand and tightening labor supply.

    Pilot training has always been extremely expensive, with stringent health and technical knowledge requirements, meaning that the number of pilots qualifying is always limited, according to industry insiders.

    A former Vietnam Airlines pilot revealed that because of the shortage, soon after he gave notice of termination he received many offers from airlines both domestic and foreign.

    He said many other pilots at Vietnam Airlines also constantly offered 15-25 percent higher salaries by head hunters.

    As a result the carrier has been focusing on hiring trainees. Duong Tri Thanh, its general director, said given the global shortage of pilots and carry out its expansion plans in time, Vietnam Airlines has been training internally and recruiting foreign pilots despite high costs.

    Similarly, Jetstar Pacific or Vietjet Air are facing difficulties filling their vacancies with pilots when trying to rapidly expand in South Korea, Japan, and other countries in Southeast Asia. Currently, the number of pilots at these firms is largely foreign due to limited domestic supply. Typically, at Jetstar Pacific, foreign pilots account for 80 percent of their fleet.

    However, foreign pilots can be hard to come by since many other companies in Asia can offer them better remuneration and working conditions.

    An aviation expert said airlines need to combat the pilot shortage by investing in training facilities and recruitment programs and subsidizing training for pilot trainees.

    Vietnam’s aviation industry has been growing rapidly in recent years. There were 12.5 million air passengers last year, up 14.4 percent from 2017.

    The number of flights in the country grew by 16 percent on average between 2010 and 2017, according to official data.

    Vienam’s five airlines are Vietnam Airlines, its low-cost carrier Jetstar Pacific, budget airline Vietjet Aviation, Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Air Services Co.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Vietjet to ink $13 billion Boeing deal during Trump-Kim summit

    Vietjet to ink $13 billion Boeing deal during Trump-Kim summit

    Vietnamese budget airline Vietjet will sign next week a deal to buy 100 narrow-body Boeing aircraft. The signing will take place on the sidelines of the upcoming Trump-Kim summit, sources said. The sources also said Vietjet will finalize next week a provisional deal agreed last year to buy 100 narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX jets worth almost $13 billion at list prices.

    The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last week gave Vietnam a Category 1 safety rating, allowing local airlines to operate direct flights to the U.S.

    Vietjet, along with other local airlines, had previously expressed interest in operating direct flights to the U.S.

    The carrier, the largest private airline in Vietnam, had also signed a deal to buy Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body jets when former U.S. President Barack Obama visited Hanoi in 2016.

    It also finalized a deal in November last year with Airbus for 50 A321neo jets during a visit to Hanoi by French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.

    Vietjet currently operates 40 domestic routes and 66 international routes. It has 385 flights daily within Vietnam and to places such as Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, mainland China, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia.

  • Japanese Brand Muji Will Open First Vietnam Store in 2020

    Japanese Brand Muji Will Open First Vietnam Store in 2020

    Japanese household goods and apparel chain Muji plans to open in Vietnam next year. The company will establish its subsidiary Muji Vietnam this August with headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City. The first store is scheduled to open in the second quarter. Muji’s parent Ryohin Keikaku says it chose Vietnam as Muji’s next overseas market because of the country’s fast-paced development. Vietnam has the third-largest population in ASEAN and is undergoing rapid economic growth.

    “From our business’ point of view, it is one of the major markets in ASEAN, with the estimated real GDP growth of 7.1 per cent last year,” the company said in a statement released in Japan.

    “We expect that our experience and knowhow in the global market will help in running stores that serve everyday living and [that will] increase Muji’s fans in the area.”

    Muji products are among the most popular items hand-carried back into Vietnam from travellers visiting countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

    The opening of first Muji Vietnam store is expected to attract many Vietnamese youngsters, with the minimalist lifestyle reflected in the retailer’s product range currently a trend in the country.

    Muji has more than 450 stores in Japan, and 470 stores in other countries.

    Lees ook: