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Tag: Vietnam

  • Vietnamese prefer fresh food by far to processed items

    Vietnamese prefer fresh food by far to processed items

    Vietnamese citizens spend three times more on fresh food than fast-consumer moving goods (FMCG), a new survey says. A family in urban Vietnam spends about VND1.1 million ($47.12) on fresh food a month, according to the recent survey by market research firm Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam.

    The survey polled over 2,000 households in Hanoi, the central city of Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and southern Can Tho City, and over 1,000 households in various rural areas across Vietnam.

    Fruits top the spending category in fresh food, accounting for 19 percent of the total, while vegetables come second at 11 percent. The rest goes to meat, seafood and rice.

    The traditional market remains the favorite shopping outlet for Vietnamese people, accounting for 85 percent of total spending on fresh food.

    Vietnamese people spend VND930,000 ($39.81) per week on fresh food at traditional markets, mostly on meat and seafood.

    Although locals spend only VND220,000 ($9.42) per week on fresh food at supermarkets, the figure shows a 28 percent growth over last year. Most of the supermarket spending is on fruits and processed food.

    Fresh food and FMCG make up the majority of Vietnamese people’s spending at 26.8 percent last year in the cities and 25.9 percent in rural areas.

    With rising incomes, Vietnamese people, especially in the cities, have been spending more on education and health, the report finds.

    The share of spending on education by urban families increased from 10.8 percent in 2012 to 12.9 percent last year, while spending on health grew from 3.5 percent to 3.9 percent in the same period.

    The report also finds that Vietnamese consumers accord top spending priority to food safety, health and environmental issues/disease.

    The majority of survey respondents, 96 percent, are confident that their spending capability will be stable or increase in upcoming months, and 86 percent expect the Vietnamese economy to be stable or grow stronger in the near future.

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  • Higher Fed interest rate could weaken Vietnamese currency

    Higher Fed interest rate could weaken Vietnamese currency

    The U.S. recent interest hike might result in a high demand for U.S. dollars in Vietnam, weakening the local currency further, experts say. The U.S. Federal Reserve Wednesday raised its interest rates for the fourth time this year to 2.25-2.5 percent. The Fed has projected two more hikes next year.

    Every time the Fed raises its interest rate, the interest rate for the greenback will increase at international banks, economist Nguyen Tri Hieu said.

    He said that with the interest rate on dollar accounts at Vietnamese banks at zero percent currently, investors might look to deposit their money in international banks for at least 2 percent.

    “This could result in a bleeding of dollars which could lead to a lower supply of the greenback in Vietnam.”

    Hieu added that the smaller supply of dollars will increase its exchange rate against the dong.

    The Fed interest rate increase will pressure the USD-VND exchange rate, as the dollar strengthens further over the dong.

    Local banks will push their interest rates up to prevent their customers from exchanging local currency to the U.S. dollar, he said.

    According to Ngo Dang Khoa, HSBC country head of global markets, another risk is that the U.S. dollar is forecast to be stronger next year, making a weaker dong a high possibility.

    Economist Hieu said that a strong dollar will also increase its exchange rate against the Chinese yuan, which will create even greater pressure on the dong.

    If the dong value remains unchanged, it will become stronger against the yuan, and Chinese exports to Vietnam could increase, resulting in a higher trade deficit than Vietnam has already has with the country, he said.

    However, other observers have said that as the fourth hike has been predicted, the Vietnamese market has prepared itself for the new interest rate and short-term impacts could be mitigated.

    Khoa with HSBC also said that there won’t be major responses from the Vietnam market following this hike, especially the forex market, as investors have already expected the interest rate to be raised.

    The local finance market won’t have to bear major impacts because of the raise, as the State Bank of Vietnam has recently taken measures to control the exchange rate and interest rate to stabilize the market, he said.

    The dong has fallen by some 1.57 percent, against the greenback since the beginning of the year. The dong hit 23,419 to the dollar on Friday.

    Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had said in August that the devaluation of the dong needs to be kept within a 2-percent band this year compared with the end of last year.

  • Vietnam’s largest oil refinery begins commercial operations

    Vietnam’s largest oil refinery begins commercial operations

    The Nghi Son Refinery began commercial operation Sunday, and is expected to meet about 40 percent of domestic petroleum demand in 2019.

    Speaking at its inauguration, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized the key role of the project.

    The refinery will process 200,000 barrels of crude per day in the first phase, equivalent to 10 million tons a year, double the capacity of Dung Quat, Vietnam’s only other refinery, in the central Quang Ngai Province.

    Situated in the Nghi Son Economic Zone, 200 km south of Hanoi in the central province of Thanh Hoa, Nghi Son is expected to hit 80 percent of capacity next year.

    According to the Thanh Hoa People’s Committee, last June the refinery was already capable of 10 refined petroleum products such as liquefied petroleum gas, gasoline A92, A95, diesel oil, and kerosene.

    As of December the plant has processed around five million tons of crude.

    Nghi Son together with Dung Quat is expected to meet 80-90 percent of domestic petroleum demand, reducing Vietnam’s dependence on imports.

    The $9 billion refinery is 35.1 percent owned by Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co, 35.1 percent by Kuwait Petroleum, 25.1 percent by state-run PetroVietnam and 4.7 percent by Mitsui Chemicals Inc.

  • Italian fast fashion brand set for Vietnam debut

    Italian fast fashion brand set for Vietnam debut

    Italy’s OVS midrange fashion brand will open its first outlet in Ho Chi Minh City this weekend. ACFC, distributor of IPP Group, a major Vietnamese fashion retailer, has confirmed that they are introducing the OVS brand in Vietnam. OVS is a popular fashion brand in Europe. In Italy, the brand has 15 percent of the market share in the country’s children aged 0-14 segment.

    The company’s products range is geared towards consumers of all ages. Its collection stretches from bold, urban looks, to elegant, formal office attire. At the same time, the OVS price tag targets the mass consumer segment.

    An increasing middle-class population has made Vietnam a magnet for international fast fashion brands, industry insiders have noted.

    The middle and affluent class, categorized as those earning $714 a month or more, would double to 33 million, about a third of the population, between 2014 and 2020, it is reported recently, citing a study by the Boston Consulting Group.

    Market research firm Nielsen estimates the number of middle and affluent class Vietnamese will reach 44 million by 2020 and 95 million by 2030.

    By late 2017, there were some 200 international fashion brands, including Zara, H&M, Stradivarius, Pull & Bear and Massimo Dutti, in Vietnam, accounting for more than 60 percent of the market share.

    A survey released in October last year by market research firm Q&Me showed fashion items topping online purchases in Vietnam, followed by IT products, cosmetics, food and beverage, and books and stationery.

    According to Statista, a database portal of statistics, consumer survey results and industry studies, the apparel market will be worth $2.74 billion this year and is set to grow at 7.7 percent annually until 2021.

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  • Auto industry revs up industrial real estate in Vietnam

    Auto industry revs up industrial real estate in Vietnam

    Industrial real estate developers have been reaping the benefits of the investment surge into Vietnam’s automobile industry. Over the past three years, auto producers from Europe, the U.S. and Asia have been increasingly renting out industrial space and manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, giving real estate developers a significant boost.

    This is the conclusion drawn by a recent report by real estate service firm CBRE Vietnam which evaluates the impact of growth of the Vietnamese automobile industry on the industrial real estate market.

    The report notes that Camoplast Solideal from Luxembourg has rented 70,000 square meters of land to open a tire factory, and Schaeffler from Germany, 55,000 square meters to develop production facilities.

    Mercedes from Germany has rented 5,500 square meters of land to open a distribution center, while Bentley from the United Kingdom has rented 5,000 square meters for a showroom and service center.

    Yazaki of Japan has rented 39,000 square meters for electric car cable production, and Mogul Federal from the U.S. 5,000 square meters to make seats.

    The CBRE report says that although Vietnam’s car manufacturing sector may be behind some other ASEAN countries, the consolidation of cleared land allocated for automobile production is increasing.

    For both foreign and domestic producers, manufacturing facilities are mainly clustered in the north. Auto producers tend to choose this area to rent industrial land, the CBRE report says.

    Due to higher demand for industrial land, rentals have increased, recently.

    At an industrial park in southern province of Dong Nai, the price to rent industrial land for long-term leases of up to 50 years reached $90 per square meter last month, up from $60 to $70 last year.

    The average rent of industrial land in northern Vietnam hit $82 per square meter per lease term in Q3, an increase of nearly 9 percent compared to Q1, according to a report by real estate service firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

    Hanoi’s average rents increased significantly to $137 per square meter per lease term, the highest in the north, driven by limited supply.

    There are only 358 businesses in the auto industry in Vietnam compared to 2,500 in Thailand, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and observers have said that the potential for growth is high.

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  • Mercedes-Benz Vietnam to recall 4,802 SUVs over faulty seatbelts

    Mercedes-Benz Vietnam to recall 4,802 SUVs over faulty seatbelts

    Mercedes-Benz Vietnam is expected to issue a recall notice for 4,802 vehicles due to seatbelt faults in their rear seats. Company representatives said that an application for the recall has been submitted and they are waiting for approval from the Vietnam Register, the vehicle registration, inspection and quality control department of the Ministry of Transport.

    The models affected by this recall are the popular GLC 200, GLC 250 4MATIC, and GLC 300 4MATIC. These models were assembled at the Mercedes factory in HCMC between March 2016 and February 2018, and sold mainly to Vietnamese consumers.

    It is expected that owners of the faulty SUVs can have their vehicles checked and repaired free of charge at Mercedes Vietnam dealers nationwide from Jan 15, 2019 till the end of 2023.

    For the left and right rear seats, the seatbelt retracts so much that its locking clip can be stuck in a crevice in the inner car plating. If this happens, the clip cannot be retrieved and used again.

    Mercedes GLC is one of the models distributed in the Vietnamese market by the German luxury manufacturer.

    In 2017, GLC was the best-selling model for the company as well as the entire luxury car market, priced at VND1.68-2.9 billion ($72,032 – $124,032).

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  • Vietnam wants China to import more, invest more

    Vietnam wants China to import more, invest more

    China should increase imports of Vietnamese goods and make more hi-tech investments, government officials and business representatives say. Le Hoai Trung, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed at the Vietnam-China Economic Promotion Forum Thursday that China creates more favorable conditions for more Vietnamese goods to enter the country through border gates.

    “We hope that the Chinese government will be more open to the Vietnam market, especially for products that Vietnam has strong supply and China has high demand for, such as rice, pork, milk, agriculture, seafood, electronics and consumer goods,” Trung said in the forum attended by 500 Vietnamese government and business representatives and 200 Chinese counterparts.

    Vietnam has a high trade deficit with China. From January to November, the country exported $37.7 billion worth of goods to China and imported $59.6 billion, a trade deficit of $21.9 billion, according to Vietnam Customs.

    Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “Although Vietnam’s exports to China have been increasing this year and trade deficit is declining, I don’t think this trend will be sustainable.”

    He said it would require a big effort from authorities to pave the way for Vietnamese goods, especially agriculture products, to enter China.

    Loc also proposed that that unofficial trade activities between the two countries at the border be formalized to guarantee long-term benefits for both sides.

    As protectionism in the world rises, Vietnam and China need to cooperate to control trade cheating, like Chinese businesses exporting its goods via Vietnam to other countries, which would impact on sustainable development of both countries, Loc said.

    Trung said at the forum that Vietnam welcomes foreign direct investment from China that is focused on high technology in infrastructure, supporting industry and agriculture.

    He added that Chinese FDI businesses should ensure environmental protection and Vietnamese labors’ benefits when investing in the country.

    Loc added that China, as a leading country in the world in the high-tech sector, can provide this kind of investment to Vietnam.

    “Vietnam is looking for a new type of foreign investment which has higher quality, integrate more with Vietnamese businesses using high-technology which are environment-friendly,” he said.

    China is Vietnam’s largest import market, while Vietnam is China’s largest trading partner in ASEAN and the 8th in the world.

    From January to November, bilateral trade turnover reached over $97 billion, up 16.5 percent year-on-year, according to official data.

    China has invested in over 2,000 projects in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of $13 billion. It ranks 7th out of 129 countries with FDI in Vietnam.

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  • Vietnam’s PVOIL seeks multiple partners

    Vietnam’s PVOIL seeks multiple partners

    Vietnam’s second-largest oil retailer, PV Oil, is seeking multiple buyers, instead of a single strategic investor, for a 44.72 percent stake. Although many investors expressed interest in becoming strategic partners with PetroVietnam Oil (PV Oil), including British-Dutch oil company Shell, South Korea’s SK Energy, and Idemitsu, a Japanese petroleum company, complicated administrative procedures have discouraged them, analysts say.

    PV Oil requires a strategic partner to hold the stake for at least 10 years.

    According to a new and revised divestment plan for PV Oil, the company is expected to raise at least $300 million from the divestment, Cao Hoai Duong, CEO of PV Oil, said.

    The bidding is expected to start in 2019.

    Last December, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue had approved that state-owned PetroVietnam, the parent company of PV Oil, would reduce its ownership in PV Oil to 35.1 percent by selling a 44.72 stake to strategic investors.

    In January this year, VND4.18 trillion ($184 million) was raised through the sale of a 20 percent stake in PV Oil in an initial public offering (IPO).

    Vietnam maintains a 49 percent cap on foreign ownership limit in PV Oil.

    PV Oil runs 540 filling stations on its own and has about 3,000 locations operated by agents, mostly in northern Vietnam, as well as about 120 gas stations in Laos.

    PetroVietnam is one of the three biggest state-owned groups in Vietnam and a major contributor to state coffers.

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  • Asian stocks slump after Fed raises interest rates

    Asian stocks slump after Fed raises interest rates

    Tokyo led a rout of Asian shares today, mirroring big losses on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve (Fed) defied unprecedented pressure from US President Donald Trump and raised interest rates, sparking fears the move could choke economic growth.

    The Nikkei plunged to a 15-month low as investors took fright over the pace of monetary tightening, with a slump triggered by the Dow’s fall to its lowest level of 2018 gathering pace.

    The Fed raised rates for the fourth time this year – as expected – but markets reacted badly after chairman Jerome Powell said the bank would not shift course on reducing its balance sheet.

    Investors had hoped for a less aggressive approach amid concern that global growth is slowing, while Powell played down the impact of recent market turmoil on the US economy.

    “They think the Fed has completely misjudged the situation and now it’s just a matter of … trying to find an exit while you can,“ said Kyle Rodda, a market analyst at IG Group in Melbourne.

    “We’re probably entering a stage now where markets have got it (in) their head that we’re preparing for quite sustained downside going into 2019.”

    The Fed now projects only two interest rate increases, down from three previously, as it trimmed its forecast for US growth and inflation.

    Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at OANDA, said the “Fed delivered a dovish hike, but clearly, there wasn’t enough affirmation in the statement that the Fed was close to pausing or ending their interest rate hike cycle sooner than expected”.

    But some analysts urged caution.

    “The market overreacted to the Fed, I think,“ said Shane Oliver, head of invest-ment strategy at AMP Capital Investors in Sydney.

    “It is moving in a dovish direction and is on track for a pause in the first half of next year. Markets are being driven by fear rather than fundamentals.”

    But the spillover from the rate hike continued to rattle investors in Asia today, deepening concern over global growth prospects which are already facing headwinds from Trump’s trade war with Beijing, a slowing Chinese economy, and potential turmoil from Britain quitting the European Union.

    Japanese stocks also declined after the Bank of Japan left ultralow rates unchanged, with the threat of trade protectionism and slowing global growth casting a pall over the export-driven economy. A strong yen also put downward pressure on stocks with the dollar falling below ¥112.

    Nissan dropped more than 2% after a Japanese court rejected prosecutors’ request to extend the detention of former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn after his arrest for financial misconduct.

    Shanghai fell more than 0.5%, even after the People’s Bank of China said it would supply lower-cost liquidity for up to three years to banks willing to lend more to small companies, as policy makers aim to shore up the flagging economy.

    Sydney closed more than 1% lower while Hong Kong and Seoul were down 0.9% each.

    The equities slump spread to Europe. Around 1100 GMT, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 0.5% with losses capped by stronger-than-expected UK retail sales data and as traders looked ahead to the outcome of the Bank of England’s regular monetary policy meeting later today.

    In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 shed 1.0% and the Paris CAC 40 slumped 1.5%.

  • Vietnam to top 7 pct growth in 2018 and 2019

    Vietnam to top 7 pct growth in 2018 and 2019

    Vietnam may grow more than 7 percent in 2018, the highest in 10 years, and is likely to maintain the rate next year, experts say. Nguyen Xuan Thanh, director of development, and public policy lecturer at the Fulbright University of Vietnam, said the country’s economy is expected to grow at over 7 percent this year, the highest level since 2007.

    “The major contributor of growth comes from industries that benefit from policies to replace import goods, such as automobile and pharmaceutical production,” he said at a conference organized Thursday by the National Financial Supervisory Commission (NFSC).

    In 2017, Vietnam rode on 20-30 percent growth of phones and electronics, but this year, that sector’s growth slowed down to only 11 percent in the first 11 months of 2018, Thanh explained.

    He also noted that a positive aspect of the growth this year has been that it is no longer dependent on credit. The NFSC estimates credit growth to have slowed significantly to 15 percent this year from 18 percent in 2017.

    “Many experts were concerned that Vietnam’s high growth rate in previous years was linked to credit growth, but there has been strong economic growth this year without high credit growth,” Thanh said.

    Meanwhile, NFSC leaders said Vietnam’s growth may exceed 7 percent in 2018 and remain at between 6.9-7.1 percent in 2019.

    Truong Van Phuoc, acting chairman of the NFSC, said the high growth in 2018 is due to large contributions from the private sector. In addition, trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which are expected to come into effect in 2019, may also bring positive impacts.

    Vietnam also has the opportunity to attract investment as well as new opportunities from the field of information technology and biotechnology, he added.

    But experts also point out some factors that could affect economic growth next year. Thanh noted that growth this year was not only due to investment and export but also the heavy consumption.

    Any changes to consumption can have immediate effect on economic growth, 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.

  • India rice rates hit more than three-month high, Chinese rules weigh on Vietnam

    India rice rates hit more than three-month high, Chinese rules weigh on Vietnam

    Rice export prices in India rose to their highest in more than three months as a key producing region hiked procurement rates for domestic paddy. Top exporter India’s 5 percent broken parboiled variety was quoted at $375-$382 per tonne this week, the highest since Sept. 7.

    The central state of Chhattisgarh, a leading rice producer, raised the minimum paddy buying price to 2,500 rupees per 100 kg, from 1,750 rupees earlier this week.

    “Importers are not ready to pay a higher price. Exports are likely to slow down in coming months,” said an exporter based at Kakinada, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

    Prices of Vietnam’s 5 percent broken rice declined for the fifth straight week to $385 a tonne as activity remained muted, traders said.

    “Prices fell further because we are concerned that China’s move to impose stricter conditions on Vietnamese rice will have a long-term impact,” a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

    “It’s not clear if China is buying more from Cambodia and Myanmar to compensate for the possible declining shipments from Vietnam.”

    Another trader said supplies from Vietnam will increase from late next month when the winter-spring harvest begins.

    In Thailand, benchmark 5 percent broken rice prices were quoted at $390-$391 per tonne, free on board Bangkok, versus $385-$393 a week ago, as the market is expected to remain quiet until well after the New Year period.

    “This is a reasonable level as we’re nearing the end of the year. There is not much overseas activity and we’re also in the harvesting season,” a Bangkok-based trader said.

    Meanwhile, Bangladesh, which emerged as a major importer of rice in 2017 due to stock depletion following floods, has stepped up efforts to procure more rice locally after output of the staple grain improved, a food ministry official said.

    “The response from farmers is very good and the procurement drive will be continued,” the official said.

    The country’s production for 2018/19 is expected to recover to 34.7 million tonnes, up 6.3 percent year-on-year, according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture attaché in Bangladesh.

    The South Asian country has procured more than 1.3 million tonnes of rice locally so far in the current season to build state reserves.

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  • Convenience stores a haven for most Saigon youth

    Convenience stores a haven for most Saigon youth

    Increasing numbers of Saigon residents are visiting convenience stores, and most of the youth hangout there. A survey by market research firm Q&Me in December found 80 percent of Saigon residents saying they patronize convenience stores. Of these, 61 percent are youth who also hangout in the stores, using in their eat-in space, attracted primarily by the air-conditioning.

    Fifty-four percent of customers said they use the eat-in space because it is a good place to stay for a short time, while 51 percent said they come for the wifi, said the survey, which polled 500 people aged 16-39 online and 721 visitors at 110 convenience stores in Ho Chi Minh City.

    The majority, 63 percent, of eat-in space customers are estimated to be in their 20s. Those in their 30s account for 16 percent, and teenagers, 15 percent.

    Those who age in their 40s and 50s account for only two percent of eat-in space users.

    Forty-four percent of customers use the eat-in space to drink, and 38 percent to eat and drink. Popular activities are chatting with friends, using their mobile phones and relaxing.

    The most popular foods at eat-in spaces are snacks, instant cup noodles and single customer hotpot. Instant cup noodles are popular during lunch and dinner time, while snacks are taken irrespective of timing.

    The eat-in space is most occupied during lunch time, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m, with half of the seats taken, on average. The period between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. also sees a high occupation rate of 33-37 percent.

    The survey found VinMart+ has the highest number of stores at 805, followed by Circle K with 261 and Family Mart with 160.

    Family Mart is the most popular store with 87 percent of respondents saying they have visited it earlier and 12 percent said they recognized it.

    VinMart+ comes next with 84 percent participants visiting and 15 percent recognizing, while the figures for Circle K are 76 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

    The least popular stores are Shop & Go, 7 Eleven and GS25. Forty-two percent of respondents said they recognized Seven Eleven but have never visited a store. This ratio is 36 percent for GS25 and 30 percent for Shop & Go.

    The number of convenience stores in Vietnam has increased by 21 percent year-on-year to 1,819 as of May, the survey found. Most of them are based in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

    A previous report by market research firm Nielsen Vietnam had said that Vietnamese people have been going to convenience stores more often in recent years. It said that an average Vietnamese shopper make 4.5 trips a month to convenience stores this year, three times that of 2010.

    Since 2012, the number of convenience stores in the country has nearly quadrupled, Nielsen said.

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  • Vietjet boosts the business by opening new route

    Vietjet boosts the business by opening new route

    Vietjet continues to solidify its presence in Vietnam this holiday season with the announcement of its newest route connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Van Don (Quang Ninh Province). Bridging the gap between Vietnam’s largest city and the attractive island district in Quang Ninh Province, the new route will serve to meet the growing travel and trade demands of locals and tourists alike.

    Starting 20 January 2019, passengers will be able to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to Van Don (and vice versa) with flights operating every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. With a flight time of 2 hours and 15 minutes per leg, the flight will depart from Ho Chi Minh City at 07:00 am and arrive in Van Don at 09:15 am. The return flight takes off from Van Don at 09:50am and lands in Ho Chi Minh City at 12:05 pm.

    In celebration of the new route, Vietjet is currently running a three golden day promotion starting 20 to 22 December 2018. 2.2million tickets priced only from MYR0 (*) will be available for booking during the promotional time between 1.00pm to 3.00pm (Malaysian time) via the website. The promotion is applicable on all domestic flights within Vietnam and the travel period is from 20 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 (excluding public holidays).

    Located in close proximity to Ha Long Bay – a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Van Don Islands District is an attractive tourist destination comprising of over 600 large and small islands. Van Don has a unique beauty that boasts serenity and wilderness. It is home to many famous destinations such as Bai Tu Long National Park, Dua Islet, Thien Nga Islet, Quan Lan Island, Minh Chau Island, and Ngoc Vung Island.

    Aiming to be a Consumer Airline, Vietjet has continually opened many new routes, added more aircraft, invested in modern technology, while offering more add-on products and services to serve all demands of customers.

    Vietjet has been a pioneering airline, winning the hearts of millions of passengers thanks to its exciting promotions, entertainments, especially during the festive seasons. With high-quality services, diverse ticket classes and reasonable airfares, Vietjet offers its passengers flying experiences on new aircraft with comfy seats and delicious hot meals served by beautiful, dedicated and friendly cabin crews, and many more enticing add-on services.

  • Supporting industry should be a major priority: PM Vietnam

    Supporting industry should be a major priority: PM Vietnam

    Vietnam needs to make its supporting industry a production base for the global manufacturing chain, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc says. “Vietnam should become a production base for multinational companies. This is what the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other government bodies should think about in their development strategy,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said Wednesday.

    He was speaking at the conference on “Solutions for Promoting the Development of Supporting Industry in Vietnam,” held in Hanoi.

    He said that Vietnam should strive to compete in regional and global markets, manufacturing parts for cars, motorbikes and even airplanes.

    The government has always been prioritizing land access for the supporting industry, and has never said no to any such request, Phuc said.

    Supporting businesses should speed up and start operations earlier, Phuc said, adding that there were firms in the industry that could finish clearance and lay their foundations in just three months, while some have left things hanging for as long as three years.

    The supporting industry in Vietnam remains weak, having to import nearly 90 percent of raw materials, spare parts and components needed for production, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

    This means a low localization rate, even in industries with great supporting industry potential, like automobiles and textiles and garments, it said.

    Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said at the conference that only 300 supporting firms were currently part of the supply chain for multinational companies. As of last year, Vietnam had 75,000 manufacturing firms.

    The number of new businesses in this sector has barely increased in recent years, even though this is a key foundation for industrialization, Anh said.

    Therefore, those making finished products in the country are having to import accessories and parts from other countries or produce them on their own, he added.

    He cited Japan as a good example of a strong supporting industry. Even though the majority of Japanese supporting businesses are medium, small and micro sized, they are integrated deeply in the global manufacturing chain with high added value. They provide accessories and parts to the aviation industry, he noted.

    The trade minister added that Vietnam’s policy for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) does not create favorable opportunities for local supporting businesses to develop and join the global manufacturing chain.

    There are over 3,000 supporting industry businesses in Vietnam, accounting for 4.5 percent of the manufacturing and processing sector, creating jobs for over 550,000 employees, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

    From January to November this year, Vietnam imported $30.66 billion worth of machines, accessories and parts, and exported $15.13 billion worth of products, according to Vietnam Customs, marking a trade deficit of $15.53 billion.

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  • Vietnam to work on cheaper premium Japanese beef

    Vietnam to work on cheaper premium Japanese beef

    Vietnamese businesses are racing to raise upmarket Japanese cattle at home to produce cheaper Wagyu beef. Beef from cattle raised in Vietnam is 2-4 times cheaper than imported ones. Two years ago, Huy Long An Limited Company in the southern province of Long An imported thousands of Wagyu cattle, from which the famous Japanese beef is produced.

    Vo Quang Huy, the company’s director, said his company has signed a deal with Japan’s Sawai Farm to develop a farming model for Wagyu beef in Vietnam.

    “We are selling the beef on a trial basis to hotels and restaurants. The product will hit the markets in 2019, when production is stabilised. Although it’s difficult to raise them (Wagyu) in Vietnam, they’re worth a lot,” Huy said.

    He said a kilo of Wagyu beef can sell for VND700,000 ($30) to VND1 million ($42.84) a kilogram.

    Like the Huy Long An company, the Kobe Beef Vietnam company has also been breeding Wagyu cattle in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. Nguyen Tri Vu, general director of the company, said he imported genetic material for the Japanese breed from the U.S.

    The company is currently rearing 420 cows, and on average sells one every week. Each cow is worth VND200-250 million ($8,567- 10,708), many times higher than that of other cow breeds in the market today. Each kilogram of ‘Viet Wagyu’ sells for VND2-4 million ($85.67- 171.34) per kilogram.

    “This beef is mostly sold to restaurants, hotels and gourmets, mainly in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat. This is a premium breed. It costs VND150,000 ($6.43) a day to feed one cow. They are also fed some materials that have to be imported, hence the high price,” Vu said.

    Local beef now costs from VND100,000-500,000 ($4.4-22.02) per kilogram.

    Other Japanese farms have also announced their intention to start raising cattle in Vietnam.

    Speaking on the potential of the market, an agriculture expert said that demand for Japanese beef was increasing, but among those with high earnings.

    Import prices are relatively high, with the cheapest around VND1 million (($42.84)) per kilogram and the most expensive nearly VND19 million ($815.89), and the average ones at VND9 million ($386.47) per kilogram. On the other hand, beef from cattle raised in Vietnam have very competitive prices.

    However, if the local breeders do not establish good brands, they could lose market share to products of no clear origin, he said

    Vietnam’s cattle industry is failing to meet the country’s increasing demand for beef, forcing local consumers to turn to imported products, the expert added.

    Last year, the country imported more than 262,300 live cattle, and nearly 42,000 tons of beef and buffalo meat valued at more than $410 million, according to the Animal Husbandry Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

    The deputy director of the department, Tong Xuan Chinh, said Vietnamese people’s diets have changed drastically in recent years, and they’re now eating more beef and buffalo meat.

    Average consumption has doubled to 5-6 kilograms of beef and buffalo meat per year in the past decade, but the cattle industry has been unable to keep up with the rise in demand. Local supplies of beef and buffalo meat only meet 80 percent of the current demand, he said.