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Tag: Vietnam

  • Make or break time for Vietnamese e-wallets

    Make or break time for Vietnamese e-wallets

    Big moves by some players are exerting severe pressure on many e-wallet service providers in Vietnam.

    Twenty seven payment service providers had been licensed in Vietnam as of last March, with 20 of them offering digital wallets, according to the State Bank of Vietnam. Others provide services such as financial switching, electronic clearing and payment gateway.

    There are many reasons why banks, tech companies and fintech companies are venturing into the world of electronic wallets, including the growing global trends of digital banking and setting up financial startups.

    Besides, Vietnam has a large population of young people who are compulsive smart phone users and fond of technology but lack interest in traditional banking services.

    “Consumers are increasingly living a modern lifestyle that is accompanied by digital services,” Tran Thanh Nam, founder and director of mobile payment player Moca Technology and Services Corporation, said.

    “In addition to free social networks, they have begun to pay attention to incorporating electronic services for their daily needs. From ride hailing to food delivery, it comes with safe and convenient non-cash payments.”

    Who are offering e-wallets?

    Moca’s popular rivals included MoMo, Bankplus, Vi Viet, VTC Pay, WePay, Mobivi, and Vimo.

    As of December 2017 MoMo had more than five million users and expects to see a two- to three-fold increase this year. Vi Viet has more than two million users and hopes to increase the number to 3.5 million this year.

    Late last year Pham Tien Dung, head of the State Bank of Vietnam’s Payment Department, said only about five payment intermediaries earned profits. The rest of the market has been labeled “unstable”.

    Nguyen Dinh Thang, chairman of LienVietPostBank, which owns Vi Viet, said: “E-wallets need more time to develop to meet customer needs and market potential, and using cash cannot be changed in the blink of an eye. The market needs time to experience the utility and convenience of e-wallets.”

    Industry insiders said each e-wallet has its own development strategies and target customer segments.

    But they admitted that the failure by many e-wallets to adapt to the financial ecosystem in Vietnam and the lack of widely accepted payment gateways are holding the industry back.

    In 2017 MoMo garnered more customers by offering discounts and promotions and spending on advertising. Then, this year it decided to exploit the power of the ecosystem by signing a deal with ride hailing company Uber Vietnam. Unfortunately, Uber withdrew from Southeast Asia a few months later.

    Zalo Pay was a latecomer but achieved great success at the beginning of this year by running a “lucky money” campaign during the Lunar New Year that enabled users to gift lucky money to their loved ones using the digital wallet.

    This campaign was a huge hit also in China when WeChat and AliPay ran it.

    Zalo has an advantage over other e-wallet rivals since it already has an enormous user database from its messaging application.

    The competition is fierce

    The most recent tie-up, and one that could be a game changer, is between Moca and Grab. The CEOs of both companies are ambitious about developing their electronic wallets. Their strategy is “if we grow, we grow together”.

    More specifically, the deal indicates that those who partner with Moca e-wallets will benefit from the large number of Grab population of millions of drivers and passengers across the country.

    Grab users will soon be able to choose from all payment services offered by Moca, including bill payments, phone credit recharging, and non-cash payment at retail stores and fast food chains like 7-Eleven and McDonalds.

    A combination of Momo popularity, rising Zalo Pay and the Moca-Grab marriage are exerting great pressure on dozens of other e-wallet providers.

    Traditional mobile payment services of Vietnamese banks are also intimidated by the competitors.

    Responding to this challenge, TPBank has updated the flight ticket support service on its mobile application.

    UOB Bank Vietnam now allows in-app opening of new accounts in 10 minutes, reducing the time spent opening one at the bank by 80 percent.

    “In big cities like HCM City, four out of every five people have smart phones which can assist them in completing everyday tasks in a much faster and convenient way. We always want to develop and leverage technology so that banking services are much simpler, safer and smarter for our customers from the very first transaction,” said Harry Loh, CEO of UOB Vietnam.

  • Morrisons seals supply deal with Big C

    Morrisons seals supply deal with Big C

    UK supermarkets group Morrisons has secured a supply partnership with Thai grocery chain Big C.

    The firm will be sending 100 branded products to feature on Big C shelves in what represents a major international partner for Morrison’s, which otherwise has a minor presence in Gibraltar and the Channel Islands. The company also previously supplied its own-label products to a Hong Kong e-commerce platform British Essentials.

    Morrison’s CEO David Potts has stated the company is not currently pursuing an international strategy – the partnership with Big C is the result of unexpectedly fast growth in the company’s wholesale business.

    Morrison’s revenues increased 4.5 per cent over the past half year compared to the same period last year. While same-store retail figures grew 2.1 per cent, its wholesale business grew 2.8 per cent.

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  • Vietnamese banks sound alarm over cybercrime

    Vietnamese banks sound alarm over cybercrime

    Many banks in Vietnam have reported about customers losing information about their accounts to criminals through phishing attacks and other methods.

    In a recent statement Techcombank said it had detected many cases of fraud and misappropriation of money by faking Western Union transactions.

    The criminals would send victims fake Techcombank messages claiming they had received money through Western Union, and tell them to go to a fake Techcombank website and log in to confirm the transaction, resulting in their account information being stolen.

    Maritime Bank has issued a statement cautioning customers about frauds in which criminals contact them through phone calls, text messages, social networks, and emails pretending to be the bank’s employees. They then ask the victims to provide their account information in return for money, promotions or prizes.

    Other major banks such as VPBank and Vietcombank have also issued similar statements cautioning customers against revealing their OTP codes to anyone, including the banks themselves, under any circumstances.

    They are also told to closely monitor their accounts to detect any abnormal activity, and report immediately to the bank if they receive suspicious calls or text messages.

    According to global statistics recently released by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, nearly 36 percent of cyberattacks in the second quarter of 2018 were targeted at financial services, including over 21 percent targeting banks and 8.17 percent targeting online shops.

    Financial experts have warned that Vietnam has become a hotbed of cybercrime, with criminals becoming increasingly sophisticated while banks still using old, insecure technologies and their customers lacking awareness of how or why to protect account information.

    To counter the increase in cybercrime, the government has issued a decree requiring banks to secure their customers’ information and not to provide such information to any third party without written consent from customers.

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  • InterContinental Danang wins top World Travel Awards

    InterContinental Danang wins top World Travel Awards

    InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort has reaped a bumper harvest of prestigious awards at the World Travel Awards 2018.

    The resort, developed by the Sun Group, won Asia’s Leading Green Resort, Asia’s Leading Luxury Hotel Villa, Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort, Asia’s Leading Luxury Wedding Resort and Vietnam’s Leading Luxury Resort awards for this year.

    It also surpassed numerous other heavyweight competitors to retain the Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort title for the fifth consecutive year since 2014.The high-end property beat the winner of the previous four consecutive years, Mission Hills Shenzhen (China) and seven other competitors to become Asia’s Leading Green Resort 2018.

    In the framework of the event, the Bai Bac Bay Villa, the latest addition to the resort’s luxury collection of penthouses and villas designed by famed architect Bill Bensley, received the Asia’s Leading Luxury Hotel Villa Award for the first time.

    Combining the beauty of tropical landscapes, unique architectural space and international-standard service, InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort has been one of the ideal choices for couples to host breathtakingly luxurious weddings.Speaking at the awards ceremony held in Hong Kong earlier this month, Juan Losada, general manager of the resort, said: “Being named as Asia’s Leading Green Resort 2018 is a recognition of our efforts to maintain the sustainable development of the resort and protect the ecosystem of Son Tra Peninsula. This year’s award is a result of the world-class service and great experiences we deliver to our guests every day,” he said.

    This is a one-of-a-kind resort that redefines luxury by combining Vietnamese aesthetics with international standards. Set on 37 hectares of stepped gardens leading down to a private beach, each of the 200 rooms and villas guarantees a magnificent view of the crystal clear water of the East Sea.

    It has welcomed a veritable host of high-profile guests, including politicians and celebrities throughout the years. In October, 2017, it was selected to host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week held in Danang.Decorated with wooden furniture and handmade silk and craft art pieces procured from many Vietnamese localities, this luxury resort was designed by star architect Bill Bensley.

    The World Travel Awards was launched in 1993 to acknowledge excellence in the travel and tourism industry and is now in its 24th year. Heralded as the “travel industry’s equivalent to the Oscar’s” by The Wall Street Journal, the awards are handed out based on votes by the public and travel professionals across the globe.

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  • Vietnam sees high-speed train finally coming

    Vietnam sees high-speed train finally coming

    The trans-Vietnam high-speed rail is back on the agenda, with officials saying it can compete with aeroplanes for business.

    Government officials are also confident that the current pace of economic development will make it practical to source funding for the multi-billion dollar project in phases.

    The Ministry of Transport is working on a feasibility study for the high-speed railway project what would span 1,545 kilometers (960 miles) to connect Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

    The project is estimated to cost more than $58 billion, which was the reason lawmakers had shot it down several years ago, saying the nation could not afford it then.

    It is currently envisaged that two sections of the route – from Hanoi to the north-central city of Vinh and from the south-central city of Nha Trang to HCMC – will be built first in 2020-2030 at a cost of $24 billion, and commercial operations are likely to begin in 2032.

    Questions have been asked about the advisability of pursuing the high-speed rail project in the context of Vietnam still needing a lot of capital for infrastructure projects like expressways, the Long Thanh International Airport, which is set to become the country’s largest, as also expansion of the Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC.

    This is countered with the argument that the high-speed railway has great advantages in a country with narrow and long terrain like Vietnam.

    Nguyen Van Thanh, chairman of Vietnam Automobile Transportation Association (VATA), said that in the next 10-15 years when Vietnam’s population rises to more than 100 million, the demand for travel would be huge.

    By then, the country will need more means of transportation, Thanh said, adding that he guessed many people would prefer the rail rather than roads on safety considerations.

    Going further, Thanh compared the high-speed rail with flying.

    “Many will choose the high-speed rail because the time for traveling would be almost the same, but unlike airports that mostly lie in suburban areas, rail stations are in the inner city, which makes it more convenient for passengers. Moreover, the procedures for flying are much more complicated.”

    Transport expert Than Van Thanh had similar thoughts.

    “Railways have been left behind for 70 years in Vietnam and the country has paid a lot of attention to developing roads; but it’s not safe to let bus drivers drive for more than 300 kilometers at a time.

    “Road transport has high logistical costs and frequent accidents. A high-speed rail will ease the overload on the roads and thus reduce traffic accidents and environmental pollution. If we let too many long distance buses operate on the road, like we are doing now, we are going in the opposite direction from the world,” he said.

    Tran Dinh Thien, a member of the Prime Minister’s advisory group, said the National Assembly used to turn down proposals on the high-speed rail because the investment was too high, but with the current speed of economic development, it was possible to raise fund for each phase of the project.

    “The demand for travel between Hanoi and Vinh is high and with a designed traveling time of 1.5 hours, high-speed trains can compete with buses and airlines. It is not right to give priority to any specific sector,” he said.

    According to a consultancy consortium comprising Vietnamese firms Transport Engineering Design Inc (TEDI), Transport Investment and Construction Consultant Joint Stock Company (TRICC) and Transport Engineering Design Incorporation in the South (TEDIS) that is hired by the government to do the feasibility study, the trans-Vietnam high-speed rail would adopt the distributed traction technology used by Japanese high-speed trains.

    Sixty percent of the tracks will be on viaducts, 10 percent underground and 30 percent on the surface, completely protected by fencing and without a single crossing.

    The entire project could be completed and operational by 2040-2045. The train ride from Hanoi to HCMC then would take eight hours, while the current one takes 24 hours.

    Vietnam’s existing 3,000-kilometer railroad network has not received any major investment since it was built 140 years ago, and does not have the capacity for high speeds.

    Investment in the railways currently accounts for just one percent of the transportation sector’s total budget.

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  • Half of Vietnamese youths think technology will create more jobs: survey

    Half of Vietnamese youths think technology will create more jobs: survey

    A majority of Vietnamese youths believe that technology will increase the number of jobs in future, a survey by the World Economic Forum has found.

    The “ASEAN Youth and the Future of Work” survey done by the WEF together with internet company Sea recently released said while 51.5 percent said technology would increase the number of jobs, 35.3 percent said it would decrease the number.

    These figures vary significantly in the six countries surveyed, the survey said.

    Vietnamamese youths perception of technology impact on jobsin percentageJobs will increaseJobs will decreaseNo impactWEF (2018)

    Singapore and Thailand are the most pessimistic with 53 percent in the former country and 43.6 percent in the latter saying technology would take away jobs.

    But on average, 52 percent of Southeast Asian youths were optimistic.

    Justin Wood, head of Asia Pacific, and member of the executive committee of the WEF, said: “Globally there is concern that technological change may bring rising inequality and joblessness. But in ASEAN, the sentiment seems to be much more positive.”

    The survey also showed that Vietnamese youths are most confident about the impact of technology on their future income, with 72.8 percent saying technology would increase their income, the highest of the countries surveyed.

    In terms of preference for work, the survey found that 26.5 percent of ASEAN youths are currently working for themselves.

    Most countries surveyed have a rising interest in self-employment. In Vietnam, this figure is currently 19.3 percent, but 24.8 percent want to be self-employed in future.

    Over 10 percent of ASEAN youths work for a multinational company and 17 percent would like to work for one in the future, the survey said.

    Though 16.5 percent work for a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME), only 7.4 percent want to continue their career at these companies.

    “The findings suggest that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may struggle for talent in future,” Sea Group chief economist Santitarn Sathirathai said, adding it is important to continue to enhance adoption of digital technologies by SMEs to ensure young entrepreneurs have the resources they need to succeed.

    The survey also found that Vietnamese youths spend the least time on the internet — five hours and 10 minutes a day. In Thailand, this figure is more than seven hours.

    The survey polled 64,000 respondents aged 35 or less from Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

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  • Sunnies Studios to expand into Vietnam

    Sunnies Studios to expand into Vietnam

    Filipino eyewear brand Sunnies Studios has announced plans to expand into Vietnam.

    The fashionable brand, specialising in affordable frames for women, has enjoyed a successful run in the Philippines with more than 40 branches. The Vietnam store, expected to open before the end of the year, will be its first international outlet.

    Sunnies’ creative director Martine said: “Now that the brand has been really established here, we can finally start looking global because that’s the original vision of Sunnies was always to be a truly global brand for the world – not just for the Philippines, but showing the world what the Philippines can produce also.

    “We’ve always wanted to expand in Asia. And Vietnam is so similar to the Philippines I think the market will be equally receptive to the brand.”

  • Artificial intelligence to hit Vietnam hard

    Artificial intelligence to hit Vietnam hard

    Vietnam’s among top 3 ASEAN countries that will face AI-related employment problems, a new study has found.

    The study was carried out Cisco, a multinational technology conglomeratem and Oxford Economics, a firm that specializes in global forecasting and qualitative analysis.

    Results of the study were revealed at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN 2018 in Hanoi on Wednesday.

    Cisco ASEAN regional director Naveen Menon said the study looked into 430 jobs in 21 different industries across six different countries (Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines) to project potential impacts over the next decade.

    It found that 28 million workers out of a 630 million workforce in the six countries would be affected by AI.

    Singapore would be the worst hit with 21 percent, followed by Vietnam (13.8 percent), the Philippines (10 percent), Indonesia (8 percent), Malaysia (7.4 percent), and Thailand (2 percent).

    Around 6.6 million out of the 28 million workers are likely to become “redundant” in the next 10 years, Menon said, adding that these people would have to switch jobs, learn new skills, or look for jobs in a different country.

    “For instance, manpower in the Philippines would have to relocate to Vietnam since some particular jobs are no longer needed there,” Menon said.

    Luong Thi Le Thuy, CEO of Cisco Vietnam, acknowledged the potential impacts and said that industries are looking to apply technology to overcome the challenges and grab new opportunities.

    Vietnam has been an attractive destination for foreign investors because of its low labor costs, but this advantage could change in the coming five to 10 years since the majority of Vietnamese workers are still unskilled, she said.

    Cisco recommends that countries and businesses provide opportunities for employees to be re-trained and prepare for “change-ready skills”, she added.

  • Vietnam relatively safer than ASEAN peers in trade war storm

    Vietnam relatively safer than ASEAN peers in trade war storm

    Unlike most other ASEAN countries, who have been buffeted by the China-U.S. trade war, Vietnam could actually benefit from it.

    The threat of an escalating global trade conflict is weighing on prospects for export-dependent economies like Singapore and Malaysia, while Indonesia and the Philippines face challenges funding their high levels of external debt as their currencies come under pressure from a rising U.S. dollar.

    On the contrary, Vietnam’s geographical proximity to China and economic links with Beijing are paying dividends.

    Facing cost pressures created by U.S. trade tariffs, Chinese manufacturers are starting to shift production away from the mainland into cheaper Asian locations such as Vietnam and Bangladesh.

    “A lot of companies are relocating,” said Robert Subbaraman, head of emerging markets economics at Nomura.

    Angelo Cheung, a Hong Kong-based executive for Aoyagi, a Japanese electronics group that manufactures in China said that some orders from the U.S. had already been halted because of the increasing uncertainty. Cheung said his company is considering various options including moving part of its supply chain to Vietnam.

    The Southeast Asian nation could be a “winner” if a lot of foreign direct investment shifts into Vietnam due to rising cost pressures from the U.S.-China tariffs, Bill Stoops, the chief investment officer of Dragon Capital, said.

    Now with tariffs on made-in-China products set to rise, nations like Cambodia and Vietnam turn out to be more attractive than ever for U.S.-based consumer-goods makers that have factories in China. Some of the names on the list are now Steven Madden Ltd., Tapestry Inc.’s Coach and Vera Bradley.

    The U.S. and China have imposed tariffs on $50 billion of each other’s goods since July as trade frictions between the world’s two biggest economies worsened, despite several rounds of negotiations.

    President Donald Trump has criticized China’s record trade surplus with the U.S. and has demanded that Beijing cut it immediately, threatening further tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of goods – and possibly more.

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  • Asian developers find booming Vietnam property market irresistible

    Asian developers find booming Vietnam property market irresistible

    Asian property developers are looking at Vietnam with great interest, according to industry insiders, both Vietnamese and foreign.

    Pham Lam, the CEO of real estate firm DKRA said that developers from mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia have been “very active” in the Vietnamese market for the last three to five years.

    Last May Singapore giant, CapitaLand, launched its newest mid- and high-priced residential project in Ho Chi Minh City, De La SOL.

    The development, scheduled for completion in the last quarter of 2020, is CapitaLand’s 12th in Vietnam.

    Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post quoted the company as saying Vietnam was its third core market after Singapore and China.

    Last year, Japanese investors Nishi Nippon Railroad and Hankyu Realty hooked up with a local property firm to develop a residential project with total investment of $350 million in Ho Chi Minh City.

    Half of the funding came from the two Japanese firms, while the rest was put up by their local partner.

    Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. has also diversified its portfolio in Vietnam by, in 2016, buying into a property development project in Hanoi, which has total investment of $1.9 billion.

    Chen Lian Pang, CEO of CapitaLand Vietnam, compared HCMC to Shanghai’s Pudong area more than a decade ago when it was undertaking a series of infrastructure works, including the subway and airport terminals, that helped boost property prices when completed.

    HCMC could follow in the Chinese city’s footsteps, he said adding that property prices could increase four to five times in the next 10 years.

    South China Morning Post quoted Kingston Lai, founder and chief executive of the Asia Banker’s Club, as saying that “Today, quality residences in Hanoi’s city center, on average, are sold at only around HK$1,500 ($191.32) per square foot (100 square feet = 9.3 square meters), half of Bangkok’s level.”

    Another reason for the rapid influx of Asian developers is that the imminent growth of the property market is still in its early stages.

    Vietnam is thus considered a new market, which offers more opportunities than those that have reached saturation point, Lam said.

    Since Vietnam’s middle and upper classes are growing rapidly, the appetite for real estate is high, he said.

    Market research firm Nielsen estimated the size of the middle class to reach 44 million by 2020 and 95 million by 2030.

    This segment would be the main target of Asian investors, who are focusing on the high-end of the market, Lam said.

    Another reason is Vietnam’s location, which makes travelling from and to most other Asian countries quick and easy, he said.

    This makes it easier for developers to monitor and make timely decisions to achieve the best performance, he said.

    He expected the wave of Asian investment to continue for the next several years.

    In HCMC, 35,000 luxury apartments have come into the market in the last three years, according to real estate consultancy CBRE.

    This is a major increase from 2012-14 when fewer than 10,000 units hit the market, it said.

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  • Google, Facebook executives meet Vietnam PM, offer to help digitize economy

    Google, Facebook executives meet Vietnam PM, offer to help digitize economy

    Google and Facebook have been among the tech giants discussing cooperation with Vietnam on the sidelines of the WEF on ASEAN 2018 in Hanoi.

    At a meeting Wednesday with Google’s Asia-Pacific president Karim Temsamani, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that Vietnam, with a population of nearly 100 million, has great potential in information technology, which is also spearheading the country’s industrialization and modernization.

    He urged Google, which has a very large user base in Vietnam, to pay more attention to helping maintain and promote Vietnam’s cultural identity.

    The PM expressed hope that the tech giant would collaborate with his country to foster the development of start-ups, train human resources and invest in research and development for growing its technology ecosystem.

    Temsamani emphasized the importance of digitizing the economy, a key global trend, saying Google is willing to help Vietnam achieve it.

    Through its Vietnam Digital 4.0 program, Google aims to provide free training in digital skills to 500,000 owners of small and medium businesses in the country by 2020 to help them improve their competitiveness, he said.

    Temsamani also promised it would help Vietnam build a technology ecosystem and come up with initiatives to help farmers digitize agriculture and promote their products more effectively through YouTube.

    Facebook’s vice-president of public policy for the Asia-Pacific, Simon Milner, also met with Phuc Wednesday. He said his company is committed to maintaining a long-term presence in Vietnam and expressed interest in joining the government’s effort to create a digital nation.

    It would take part in the programs of digital citizen, digital economy, digital government and digital connectivity, and assist and collaborate with small and medium businesses and start-ups, he said.

    Phuc also received Cees’t Hart, CEO of beer company Carlsberg Group, and Alex Dimitrief, president and CEO of General Electric Company’s (GE) Global Growth Organization.

    He told them Vietnam is speeding up equitization and divestment of the government’s stakes in enterprises based on the principles of transparency and openness, which offers opportunities to foreign investors like Carlsberg.

    Speaking about plans to divest stakes in Hanoi Beer, Alcohol and Beverage JSC (Habeco), he said Carlsberg and Habeco should soon resolve any remaining issues so that they can go ahead with purchase of stakes and strategic cooperation.

    Hart said Carlsberg, which has been Habeco’s strategic investor since 2008, is looking to buy a bigger stake in the Vietnamese brewer and has been working with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and other agencies to speed up the process.

    Dimitrief of GE said his firm plans to expand its investment in the power sector in Vietnam.

    Phuc told him his government attaches great importance to investors and is working to improve the business environment so that investors can do business effectively.

  • H&M Vietnam big expansion in birthday celebration

    H&M Vietnam big expansion in birthday celebration

    H&M Vietnam has opened two new stores, in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

    The HCMC store is located inside District 7’s Crescent Mall, managed by Savills Vietnam, while the Hanoi store is situated in Vincom Nguyen Chi Thanh.

    Crescent Mall, comprising 45,000sqm of retail space, is one of the city’s earliest international-grade shopping centres and has been trading for about eight years. An extension adding 11,200sqm of retail space, is currently under construction and expected to open late next year, beneath a 25-storey office tower.

    “Crescent Mall is fortunate to be in an area where expansion is still possible,” said Tu Thi Hong An, associate director of commercial leasing at Savills HCMC. “When compared to other areas in Ho Chi Minh, District 7 has been planned and well zoned by Phu My Hung. We hope that H&M will be very happy in this new location.”

    According to Savills, retail turnover in Vietnam last year was US$129 billion, increasing 11 per cent year on year. From now until 2021, the retail market is forecast to grow steadily with the increased demand of leisure (10 per cent per annum), modern grocery (9 per cent) and apparel (6 per cent).

    After entering Vietnam in September last year, H&M Vietnam now has six stores in both Hanoi and HCMC while its rival Zara’s taking time with two outlets, one each in HCMC and Hanoi.

    Another fast-fashion brand, Uniqlo, is planning to expand into Vietnam next year.

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  • How ASEAN could benefit from the US-China trade war?

    How ASEAN could benefit from the US-China trade war?

    ASEAN has been urged to find ways for its member states to join hands together to cushion any possible fallout from the trade war between the United States and China.

    Against the backdrop of an escalating trade war between the US and China, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Dr Ong Kian Ming is advocating greater cooperation between ASEAN countries to package the region to foreign investors instead of focusing on country specific promotion.

    He said Malaysia and it’s Asean counterparts should look at ways as a comprehensive unit to take advantage of this situation as investors might be interested in relocating and investing more in Malaysia as a result of this trade war.

    Drawing reference to the strong two way cross border trade linkage in terms of investment and expertise exchange between Johor and Singapore, Ong said Malaysia should replicate this with other countries.

    He also noted that interest from Chinese companies to invest in Malaysia, coming through the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, has risen since last year.

    Instead of setting hub in Malaysia, Ong added that Chinese companies could use Malaysia as a connecting point to tap into the Asean market.

    He opined that the trade war between US and China is less than likely to find a resolution in the short term and Malaysia, being an open economy will be affected by the trade duel.

    In that light, Malaysia should be open to investments and ratify trade agreements such as RCEP and CPTPP, which are yet to be signed in order to strengthen its stance on remaining open to trade.

    “As tariffs have gone down, the non-tariff measures has also gone down. That is why we need to have a greater push among the governments in Asean with the help of the business sector to come in and advice the government on the challenges they face so that we can remove or reduce some of the regulatory red tape with regards to the non-tariff measures,” he said referring to non-tariff barriers.

    Ong said in that regard, ASEAN is working together to compile a database of non-tariff measures so that the trade bloc could gather some of the regulatory and bureaucratic issues faced by companies when setting shop in another ASEAN state.

    International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking urged all the relevant agencies in Malaysia to strive to reduce bureaucracy so as to facilitate more investments into the country.

    He also asked for all chambers of commerce within ASEAN to stand together and start trading with each other during a meeting with members of the Malaysia-Thailand Chamber of Commerce (MTCC) earlier last week.

    Retailers across the region do not see any immediate impact on their business; however, it is worth monitoring exchange rates, as RMB value might represent a variable to consider while working on price architecture.

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  • Premium Apple reseller store EDigi opens in Vietnam

    Premium Apple reseller store EDigi opens in Vietnam

    Vietnam’s IPP Group has launched its first Apple premium reseller store EDigi, in Ho Chi Minh City.

    Located at 2 Cong Xa Paris, at the corner of Nguyen Du and Dong Khoi Streets, the 250sqm store is the first Apple’s one-stop shop in Vietnam. According to that, EDigi will provide products and warranty services for all Apple devices, including hand-carried ones.

    EDigi is also the first store in Vietnam to promise a maximum repair time of 48 hours, according to the group representative.

    IPP Group specialises in retail, travel retail, and F&B, offering brands including Rolex, Armani Exchange, Bally, Burger King and Domino’s Pizza in Vietnam.

    Its most recent deal was bringing Mothercare to Vietnam.

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  • VN-Index sees highest gain in 2 months

    VN-Index sees highest gain in 2 months

    Vietnam’s benchmark VN-Index closed up 1.52 percent on Tuesday, the highest in two months.

    It ended the day at 985.06, up 14.72 points.

    The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange and the UPCoM-Index for unlisted companies rose by 0.66 percent and 0.81 percent, respectively.

    The VN30-Index, representing the 30 largest stocks in terms of capitalization, also rose, reaching 958.91 points for a 1.65 percent gain.

    Several blue chips rose sharply, dairy giant Vinamilk (VNM) by 3.4 percent, PetroVietnam Gas (GAS) by 2.7 percent, Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate Vingroup (VIC) by almost 2 percent, and budget carrier Vietjet Air (VJC) by 2.1 percent.

    Bank stocks joined in, with Vietcombank (VCB), BIDV (BID) and Vietinbank (CTG) all rising by 1.6-3.8 percent.

    ACB, HDBank (HDB), VPBank (VPB), and VIB also closed in the green.

    After crossing the 1, 200-point mark on April 9, the VN-Index slumped. In the second quarter it plunged 18.19 percent, making it the worst-performing market in the world.

    Since then, it has not hit four figures again, with the 1, 000 expected to be a major psychological resistance level.

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