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Tag: Vietnam

  • 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.

  • Most Vietnamese graduates interested in startups: survey

    Most Vietnamese graduates interested in startups: survey

    About 75 percent of Vietnamese graduates have either started their own business or are interested in opening one. A survey released Tuesday by Navigos, a leading provider of executive search services in Vietnam, also found hat 52 percent of fresh graduates want to attempt a startup in the near future.

    One in five respondents, or 22 percent, said they have attempted a startup at least once before. Only 26 percent said that they have no plans for a start-up. The survey polled over 1,600 fresh graduates with less than two years of working experience.

    It found that a high number of fresh graduates are not satisfied with their current salaries, incentives and promotion opportunities.

    On a scale of five, they rated their satisfaction with salary at 2.95, and incentives at 2.99. Long-term development opportunities scored lowest at 2.88.

    Salaries and incentives are important factors for graduates in choosing their first jobs. Seventy percent of respondents selected “income and welfare policies” as one of the top criteria for job selection.

    Compatibility with personal strengths came second at 55 percent, while career prospects and opportunities for development come third and fourth at 53 percent and 52 percent respectively.

    The majority of fresh graduates, 34 percent, make VND5-7 million ($215-300) a month. Twenty-nine percent said their monthly salaries were VND7-10 million ($300-430). Only 12 percent made VND10 million ($430) or higher.

    The survey also found that candidates who are proficient in foreign languages have higher salaries. Only five percent of those whose jobs don’t require foreign language skills earn VND10 million ($430) or higher, while this figure is 37 percent among candidates who can speak another language.

    Young employees changed jobs more frequently, posing a retention challenge for employers. Eighty-one percent of the respondents said that “jumping jobs” helps them avoid wasting time on unsuitable or unsatisfactory positions.

    Forty-three percent claimed that switching jobs helped them gain diverse working experience and expand networks.

    Although young candidates value high salaries and benefit packages when choosing jobs, 57 percent said higher earnings was not the motivation for jumping jobs.

    Of the respondents who’d quit their jobs, 45 percent said the reason was personal plans like education or family issues.

    Four out of ten graduates said that they quit because they didn’t like their daily tasks, while almost one in four said they could not fit in with the corporate culture.

  • FastGo can’t go, say Vietnamese authorities

    FastGo can’t go, say Vietnamese authorities

    Vietnamese ride-hailing firm FastGo, at odds with authorities over its legal status, asserts it is going by the book. According to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, FastGo is not yet eligible to be approved for a pilot phase, nor is it registered as a tech platform.

    In a written reply to the Da Nang Department of Transport’s proposal to permit FastGo to operate, the Ministry of Transport has said that the application falls under the category of “electronic contract service based – management support platform.”

    But, the ministry adds, it is yet to receive a proposal to launch the app directly from FastGo Vietnam JSC, which means the application is not yet ready to be approved for a pilot phase.

    The ministry has also requested the Da Nang Department of Transport to inform cab companies not to use FastGo if the app is offered to them. Furthermore, FastGo is not allowed to provide its services directly to taxi drivers, it says.

    However, Nguyen Huu Tuat, FastGo CEO, is adamant that the app is not violating any law. He said that he has not received a written response the ministry or from the Da Nang Department of Transportation.

    Tuat clarified that FastGo does not provide transport support management services to individual drivers in Da Nang. It only services drivers of local transport cooperatives.

    “FastGo has filed the information and sent a request for approval for a pilot phase, but has not received a response from the Ministry of Transport,” said Tuat.

    He said Fastgo is neither defined as a transport service provider nor is it a transport cooperative. It is merely an application connecting drivers with customers. Tuat said that he was waiting for new transport regulations on this issue, following which the company will determine the specific business category for registering its app.

    FastGo has been functioning in Vietnam’s major cities since June. It is only after six months that regulators have backtracked and declared that its registration is incomplete.

    A representative of the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade said: “FastGo has not registered its tech platform with the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Therefore, it is unlawful for FastGo to engage with drivers or operate a transport management platform.”

    In response to this comment, Tuat asserted that he has submitted this proposal, but is yet to receive a reply.

    Launched in June 2018, FastGo now operates in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang with more than 30,000 drivers. At the end of August, the local company received funding from VinaCapital, and is planning to mobilize up to $50 million for a second expansion phase that will target Indonesia and Myanmar.

    FastGo Vietnam Joint Stock Company was established in April 2018 with its headquarters in Hanoi. The company belongs to a wide network of services provided by Nextech, a leading tech firm in Vietnam.

    A Nikkei Asian Review report quoted the company as saying it hopes to make its service available in 20 cities in Vietnam and five other Southeast Asian markets, including the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand, by the end of next year.

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  • Haidilao hot pot debuts in Vietnam

    Haidilao hot pot debuts in Vietnam

    Chinese hot-pot chain Haidilao is to open its first outlet in Vietnam. The outlet is located on the second floor of the 68-story Bitexco building in Ho Chi Minh City. Without revealing the opening date, the company has been recruiting office staff and restaurant crews for its Vietnam debut. Hai Di Lao Viet Nam Holdings Company was established in August, headquartered in Hanoi.

    Founded in 1994, Haidilao serves Sichuan-style hot pot integrating features from all over China. Until now, the chain has opened 29 restaurants overseas, including in Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the US.

  • Vietnamese consumers among the most optimistic in the world

    Vietnamese consumers among the most optimistic in the world

    Vietnamese consumer confidence has reached a global high thanks to optimism over jobs and personal finances. The Vietnam Consumer Confidence Index has risen by nine points from the second quarter to reach an all-time high at 129 points in the third quarter of 2018, according to the Global Consumer Confidence Survey.

    The survey results have been released by research association The Conference Board in collaboration with global market research company Nielsen.

    The survey ranks the country in second place in the world in terms of consumer confidence, behind India at 130 points.

    While most Asian economies are vulnerable to the ongoing trade dispute between China and the U.S., Vietnam is a possible exception, as it may attract parts of the global value chain that currently run through China, the report said.

    The rise in the confidence index is also due to greater optimism about employment prospects, personal finances and the level of willingness to spend.

    Eight out of ten Vietnamese surveyed said that they were positive about their job prospects, up nine percentage points from the second quarter.

    Eighty-two percent of respondents expected their personal finances will be good or excellent over the next 12 months, up 6 percentage points from the second quarter.

    The majority of them, 63 percent, said that the next 12 months are a good time for them to buy the things that they want and need, 8 percentage points higher than the second quarter.

    Concerns about having a stable job and health (both at 40 percent) remained the top concerns among Vietnamese consumers. The national economy came in third at 27 percent, 5 percentage points higher than the previous quarter.

    Vietnamese consumers continue to take the lead globally when it comes to saving, the survey found. Seventy-two percent of respondents said that they would save their spare cash, up two percent from the second quarter.

    But Vietnamese people are also more willing to spend on big-ticket items. The percentage of people who would spend their spare cash on home improvements increased 10 percent from the second quarter to 48 percent.

    Over half of them, 53 percent, want to spend the money on new clothes, up 7 percentage points from the second quarter.

    Nguyen Huong Quynh, managing director of Nielsen Vietnam, said that when consumers faced multiple concerns, their purchasing decisions will be affected and businesses should always keep a close track on changes in the spending habits of consumers.

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  • Ashley HomeStore adds stores in Vietnam and more

    Ashley HomeStore adds stores in Vietnam and more

    American furniture store chain Ashley HomeStore has expanded globally with new stores in Vietnam, Thailand and New Zealand. In support of the move, the company has established a 400,000sqft consolidation warehouse in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City. The new facility will allow a faster order response time.

    The firm’s president and CEO Todd Wanek said: “As a company, we’ve achieved many milestones this year. The largest has been the growth of our global footprint, which exceeds 900 HomeStores worldwide. This major accomplishment stands as a true testament to our global brand recognition.”

    HomeStore now operates in 54 countries with 310 locations.

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  • Vietnamese carriers get busy with early holiday plans

    Vietnamese carriers get busy with early holiday plans

    With six weeks to go for Tet, the Lunar New Year festival, Vietnamese carriers are bracing for the upsurge in demand. Jetstar Pacific, the low-cost arm of flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, announced Tuesday that it would increase the number seats on local routes by 80,000.

    It has also opened a new route from Hanoi to the southern city of Can Tho to meet travel demand between the two destinations before and after the Tet holiday, which falls February 2-10 next year.

    Earlier, the carrier had announced plans to operate 3,210 flights, or 600,000 seats, to serve customers for the Tet holiday.

    Vietnamese people traditionally move from the cities to their hometowns and villages all over the country to reunite with their families before the Lunar Near Year begins.

    State-owned Vietnam Airlines has also raised its number of seats from January 20 to February 19 to 1.4 million, 100,000 higher than the same period last year. This involves an addition of 566 more flights, to serve customers in Tet.

    The flag carrier has also announced that it will open a new route from Ho Chi Minh City to the new Van Don International Airport near Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh Province. It will start operating one flight a day between the two destinations starting December 30.

    About 90 percent of flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, central cities of Vinh and Da Nang have already been booked, a Vietnam Airlines representative said.

    As there are signs of the demand increasing further, the largest airline in the country by passengers carried plans to open another 56,000 seats in the next few days.

    Many VietJet Air agents have confirmed that VietJet has opened ticket sales from Ho Chi Minh City to Van Don Airport in Quang Ninh Province starting January 20. The Van Don International Airport, the first private airport in the country, is set to open for business on December 25, 2018.

    Dinh Viet Thang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), said at a conference last month that the number of airplanes will increase by 32 to 180 to meet the high travel demand around Tet time. This means that the transport capability of the Vietnamese aviation sector will increase by 20 percent, he added.

    The number of air passengers for the upcoming New Year’s Eve and Tet holidays is expected to increase by 11 percent year-on-year, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV).

    It also says that local airlines have registered to increase the number of flights by 2,611 to 19 airports for Tet. The number of passengers during the holiday is expected to increase by around 280,000 over normal days.

    The highest holiday surge in the number of passengers will be seen on the HCMC-Hanoi route, which will have 519 additional flights, or 20 percent of the total increase. The corresponding numbers for the HCMC-Da Nang route will be 354 flights and 14 percent; HCMC-Vinh, 306 flights and 12 percent; and Hanoi-Phu Quoc, 24 flights and one percent.

    Vietnamese carriers have served almost 45.1 million passengers in the country in the first 11 months of this year, up 11.9 percent from a year ago, according to the General Statistics Office.

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