Retail News CRM

Tag: Vietnam

  • Vietnam’s Coffee King Makes a Public Appearance

    Vietnam’s Coffee King Makes a Public Appearance

    CEO of Trung Nguyen Coffee put in an unannounced appearance and asked company staff to ‘revolutionize’ themselves. The CEO of Vietnam’s top coffee brand, Trung Nguyen, put in a surprise appearance at a company event on Saturday, after “disappearing” for almost five years.

    Dang Le Nguyen Vu, known as the Coffee King of Vietnam, had stayed away from public eye amidst a lengthy divorce process with his wife that is yet to end.

    Vu, who had nurtured Trung Nguyen Coffee and taken it to 60 international markets, amazed participants at the company event by turning up without prior notice.

    “Brothers and sisters, you have to start by revolutionizing yourselves,” he said in a short speech.The CEO exhorted Trung Nguyen’s leaders and staff to do everything differently from other companies in the world.

    Trung Nguyen must aim to become the number one coffee brand in the world, establishing its presence everywhere, he said.

    Vu said he had spent the last five years meditating up in the mountains and now had answers to “all the questions in this world.”

    The unannounced appearance of Vu has gathered a lot of public and media attention, particularly because his wife, Le Hoang Diep Thao, recently accused four leaders of Trung Nguyen Coffee for misusing their power to manipulate her husband’s company while he was away.

    Thao, who owns another coffee brand, King Coffee, said that incorrect information had been spread on social media to slander her husband, who was too sick to appear in public.

    “These leaders did this to manipulate Trung Nguyen for their personal gain,” she said.

    The divorce proceedings between Vu and Thao, who used to be the deputy director of Trung Nguyen, had also caught public attention in 2015, when they took each other to court, each accusing the other of obstructing the company’s operations.

    Vu and Thao have also been embroiled in a lengthy and costly legal battle for years over the ownership of Trung Nguyen Group, which has a charter capital of VND1.5 trillion ($65.8 million).

    Thao was a minority shareholder of the company until Vu ousted her in 2015.

    The court has not officially settled the divorce petition.

    Lees ook:

  • Facebook, Google okay with Vietnam’s cybersecurity law

    Facebook, Google okay with Vietnam’s cybersecurity law

    Representatives of tech giants raised no objections and said they would modify their strategies according to the new law, claims senior official.

    Facebook and Google found Vietnam’s cybersecurity law “appropriate” and did not object to it, a senior Public Security Ministry official said Friday.

    Vietnam’s cybersecurity law, which was approved by a majority vote in the National Assembly on Tuesday, requires foreign businesses like Facebook and Google to store Vietnamese users’ data within the nation’s territory and provide it authorities upon receipt of written requests.

    As the law was being drafted, lawmakers had reached out to Google and Facebook to discuss its provisions, said Lieutenant-general Hoang Phuoc Thuan, director of the ministry’s Cybersecurity Department.

    “They said that this law was appropriate and that they will research to modify their companies’ strategies accordingly,” Thuan told.

    Authorities will only ask businesses to provide users’ data when there are signs of violations of the law, Thuan said.

    “Providing customers’ data to security authorities is not a violation of privacy,” he added.

    Facebook Vietnam and Google were not immediately available for comment.

    The cybersecurity law, which has been discussed by Vietnamese legislators since October last year, had raised concerns of MPs and experts that the country would end up violating its international commitments.

    Thuan dismissed these concerns. “I have met with and listened to diplomats and they all affirmed that there are exceptions in every country.”

    He affirmed that the law doesn’t affect freedom of speech; it actually protects the rightful benefits of individuals and organizations on networks.

    The new cybersecurity law, which will take effect in 2019, bans internet users from organizing, encouraging or training other people for anti-state purposes.

    They are not allowed to distort history, negate the nation’s revolutionary achievements, undermine national solidarity, offend religions and discriminate on the basis of gender and race.

    The law also prohibits the spreading of incorrect information which causes confusion among people, hurts socio-economic activity, creates difficulties for authorities and those performing their duty, and violates the legal rights and benefits of other organizations and individuals.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Grabbing Grab’s share a tough question in Vietnam

    Grabbing Grab’s share a tough question in Vietnam

    Local ride-hailing firms lack deep pockets needed to out-incentivize market leader Grab. After Uber Technologies Inc sold its ride and food-delivery businesses in Southeast Asia to bigger regional rival Grab last March, Vietnamese firms have tried to chip away at Grab’s dominance.

    A number of ride-hailing apps have been introduced recently, like Aber, which was developed by a group of Vietnamese students studying in Europe; FastGo, an affiliate of NextTech Group; and MVLchain – a Singapore-based transportation startup; VATO; Didi; and MaiLinhBike.

    Besides competing in the bike- and car-hailing businesses with dominant player Grab, the new entrants also plan to offer good delivery, car rentals and long-haul ride services.

    But, for the moment, none of them have shown the ability to fill the gap left by Uber or to threaten Grab’s supremacy, because they have not differentiated themselves from the competition.

    Newcomers did look for some “killer features” that are absent from previous apps to lure customers. For instance, VATO allows users to bargain with the driver for the most competitive price and Mai Linh Bike says it will collect lower commissions from its drivers and will not increase ride prices during peak hours.

    But such measures are not enough because ride-hailing is a cash burn business and only those with strong financial resources can endure, experts say.

    EasyTaxi has probably learned how tough this fight is. The Brazil-based company came to Vietnam at the end of 2013, six months before Grab and Uber’s presence in this market. Despite being the first comer, it withdrew from the market just two years later. Money, or the lack of it, was the reason, industry insiders say.

    Cash burn strategy

    Even big players like Grab and Uber have reported heavy losses in Vietnam. According to the General Department of Taxation, Grab, with a total registered capital of only VND20 billion ($881,057), has incurred losses of nearly VND1 trillion in three years of operating in Vietnam.

    But this cash burn strategy is how Grab and Uber are eating up traditional taxi firms’ market share. In 2014-2015, they launched intense promotional programs including free rides and discounts to lure customers. They also expanded their driver networks by providing them with subsidies and big rewards based on performance.

    Limited funding limits the budding competitors’ ability to offer incentives the way the big players can, so the former are always playing catch up. They can’t offer discounts, and can’t expand their network of drivers in order to offer faster, better rides.

    In a price-driven market, customers are always looking to choose the cheapest possible ride. And they have complained that it is not easy to book a ride with the new apps even in downtown areas.

    Duc Huy, a senior student at the Academy of Journalism and Communication in Hanoi, told VnExpress that he found it difficult to get a ride on MaiLinhBike as there are not many drivers around North Tu Liem District where he lives.

    “I have to wait for 10 minutes to get on a MaiLinhBike ride because the river is 2-3 km away,” he said.

    Drivers too see Vietnamese ride-hailing platforms as backup options. They are not ready to switch despite Grab cutting back on drivers’ incentives.

    Taxi driver Duy Ngoc said he operates on both Grab and VATO apps, but gets just two or three rides booked on the VATO platform a day.

    “So, I mainly drive on the Grab platform to ensure my income,” he said.

    “New apps do not have a large customer base. Drivers just sign up to get incentives, so their main driving service remains the previous one (Grab),” said 25-year-old Grab motorcycle driver Quoc Anh.

    Market niches

    With Go-Jek about to set foot in Vietnam with its Go Viet app, competition is only get tougher for local firms. The Indonesian ride-hailing firm is a heavyweight competitor to Grab in the Southeast Asian region. Will local apps stand a chance? The answer is, unlikely, in a head-to-head fight.

    “Capital shortfall is a disadvantage for Vietnamese ride-hailing apps, so they should not enter the cash burn race,” said Dr Nguyen Duc Thanh, head of the Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research.

    He said going head-to-head with bigger rivals is not the right path to follow. There are other ways to succeed, he added.

    “They can enter niche markets like good delivery, car rentals or long-distance ride services. Instead of trying to divide market share in the beginning, newcomers should think of a long-term strategy to build a solid foundation,” Thanh added.

    It was not a fluke that even a well funded Uber lost to a more localized opponent, he said.

  • Vietnam stock market in Free Fall

    Vietnam stock market in Free Fall

    Vietnam’s stock market dropped 2.87 percent to more than 987 points on Monday, the second time this year that it has dropped below the 1,000-point level.

    The benchmark VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HOSE) fell from 1,000 points for the first time this year on May 23 and did not bounce back to that level until June 4.

    As supply surpassed demand, sellers were pushed to sell their stocks at all costs, leading to falling prices.

    The VN-Index hit 984.24 on the last trading day of 2017, the highest ever since 2007, before reaching 1,000 points early in January.

    Since then, it has stayed at more than 1,000 points until the drop on May 23.

    Lees ook:

  • No betting on World Cup matches in Vietnam allowed

    No betting on World Cup matches in Vietnam allowed

    Sports betting is legal, but a betting operator has not been selected for premier football event. Football fans and punters in Vietnam cannot bet on World Cup matches this year, even though sports betting has been legalized.

    Only a few companies have shown interest in operating a betting business in Vietnam, and none of them have actually submitted bidding documents.

    The lack of agreement between relevant ministries on how to organize the bidding process is among the reasons for the delay, an unnamed Finance Ministry source told Tuoi Tre.

    Limited betting options are another reason. Vietnam only allows betting on international soccer games recognized by the governing body FIFA and approved by the sports ministry. These include the World Cup, the Confederations Cup, Copa America, Champions League and Europa League. These are all short tournaments with limited number of matches, leaving a lot of “idle time.”

    Meanwhile, the most popular football leagues in Vietnam, the English Premier League (EPL), La Liga (Spanish League), German Bundesliga, Serie A (Italia) and Ligue 1 (France), are out of the betting pool.

    If a bookmaker were to operate for just FIFA recognized tournaments, they would suffer heavy losses, said economist Nguyen Tri Hieu.

    According to a government decree that took effect on March 31, 2017, Vietnamese citizens can bet on international football games and horse and greyhound races. Only those above 21 years old are allowed to gamble and bookmakers have to be at least 500 meters away from schools and other public venues for children. The minimum bet value is VND1,000 (4.42 cents) and the daily maximum limit is VND1 million ($44).

    Bookmakers will have to meet strict charter capital requirements: VND1 trillion ($44.2 million) for horse racing and soccer and VND300 billion ($13.2 million) for greyhound racing. It is planned that one soccer betting provider will be selected for a five-year trial phase through a bidding process.

    On Thursday, Vietnam’s National Assembly approved a new law that allows locals to bet on sports events. The law is based on the 2017 government decree. Under the new law, betting will be allowed for other sports when the government approves a decree proposed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The new law will not come into effect until next year.

    Vietnamese are known for their love of gambling. It is estimated that they spend at least $800 million a year on gambling overseas, mainly in Macau, Singapore and Hong Kong.

    Official figures show that Vietnamese citizens spent $13 billion on the lottery between 2011 and 2015, driving an average 12 percent gain in annual revenues of lottery companies over that period, according to Nikkei.

    The Tuoi Tre report quoted a source from the Ministry of Culture and Information as saying that for now, “It is unclear when soccer betting will start.”

    Lees ook:

  • Internet streaming one up on traditional TV in Vietnam

    Internet streaming one up on traditional TV in Vietnam

    Industry insiders say local Over-The-Top service providers should act together instead of against each other. Vietnam is seeing a trend of people switching from traditional TV to over-the-top (OTT) media services which allow them to watch movies and other shows on the internet.

    In a recent survey done by Kantar Media Vietnam, an information and consultancy group, 84 percent of the respondents aged 15-54 said they use the internet every day. In Hanoi, people spend 229 minutes each day on the internet, almost an hour and a half higher than the time for TV, which is only 145 minutes, the survey found.

    A significant 45 percent of respondents in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, the central city of Da Nang and southern Can Tho said they watched video on demand (VOD).

    Vietnam is one the leading countries in the online video trend, with 90 percent of the respondents saying they watch online videos every week, said market research firm Nielsen.

    “People nowadays want to watch what they want, whenever and wherever they want,” said Bui Huy Nam, CEO of state-owned cable TV provider VTVCab, adding that this trend makes the transition from traditional TV to OTT inevitable.

    YouTube remains the largest OTT service in the country, with 87.3 percent of respondents in the Kantar Media survey saying they use this website frequently to watch videos online.

    Local sites such as PhimMoi.net [New Movie] and ZingTV rank second and third with 28.9 percent and 26.4 percent respectively, the report said.

    With such a large market demand, local OTT providers are adopting different strategies to eke out an advantage in this tight race.

    National broadcaster VTVCab is looking to work with internet service providers to provide free content to users, earning revenue from advertisements. The company’s ambition is to create a platform where users can share their own video content.

    FPT Play, a cross-platform application which allows users to watch TV shows and movies online, is focusing on improving its content by working with strong media production companies in the country.

    While there is strong competition between legal OTT providers, they also need to fight the battle with illegal ones. Illegal content makes up about 95 percent of OTT services in Vietnam, said Ngo Thi Bich Hanh, vice chairwoman of media firm BHD.

    “There is an intense competition between OTT firms in the country. It’s a competition between local firms and between them and foreign providers,” Hanh said.

    To ensure the success of OTT services in Vietnam, local businesses need to cooperate on a shared platform, said Nguyen Thanh Lam, director of the Department of Radio and Television Communication and Electronic Information. “They should not go alone in this market,” he added.

    Echoing Lam, Le Quang Minh, director of the VTV24 News Center, said that working together will keep OTT businesses from “hitting the bottom.”

    “We want local OTT providers to sit down together to create a sustainable market which is strong enough to compete with the leading video streaming services in the region and in the world instead of racing against each other,” Minh said.

    A study by OTT provider Muvi estimates Southeast Asia market revenues reaching $650 million a year in the next three years. On the global scale, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and Youtube have a total of 2 billion subscriptions, taking 40 percent of the world’s OTT market share, the study said.

  • Vietnam bank loans up 6.16 pct in 5 months

    Vietnam bank loans up 6.16 pct in 5 months

    Bad debts accounted for 2.18 percent of total lending at the end of the first quarter of 2017.

    Vietnamese banks’ total loans at the end of May were 6.16 percent larger than at the end of 2017, the State Bank of Vietnam said on Monday.

    Bad debts accounted for 2.18 percent of total lending at the end of the first quarter, it said in a statement.

    Vietnam aims to keep toxic debts ratio under 3 percent of total loans, while the central bank has said it targets credit growth at 17 percent this year.

    Lees ook:

  • Vietnam poised to build on IT outsourcing gains

    Vietnam poised to build on IT outsourcing gains

    Apart from skills and adaptability, low staff turnover in the sector makes the country more attractive to tech giants.

    Vietnam continues to be a favored outsourcing destination for multinational companies even as the current leader, India, experiences some hiccups.

    A recent article in the Forbes magazine said in its title that Vietnam was a “small but mighty powerhouse” for IT outsourcing.

    It said giant technology companies like Intel, IBM, Samsung Display, Nokia, and Microsoft continue to invest in Vietnam’s growing tech workforce.

    The author of the article, Anna Frazzetto, Chief Digital Officer and Senior Vice President at Harvey Nash, which has a decade plus of outsourcing experience in Vietnam, said, “technology specialists in Vietnam are comfortable with quickly becoming a natural extension of global clients, ready to challenge norms and bring innovative ideas to the table.”

    Another major factor that makes Vietnam attractive is the tendency of people to stay on in the country, unlike IT professionals in India, Malaysia and other countries who are ready to move to other countries for jobs that pay well.

    While the relative lack of fluency in English is a growth constraining factor, Vietnam’s investment in education, and the extra attention it pays to nurturing knowledge and talent in science and math is a positive aspect that will help Vietnam build on its outsourcing potential, she said.

    These positive factors have meant that business process outsourcing (BPO) is growing fast in Vietnam. In 2017, consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)’s “Spotlight on Vietnam” report also indicated that BPO was among the country’s most five promising sectors to invest in.

    Also last year, the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA) said the country’s BPO industry has grown 20 to 35 percent annually over a decade.

    A Global Services Location Index report in 2017 by A.T Kearney consulting firm said Vietnam has jumped five places to sixth for countries with great financial attractiveness, availability of highly skilled people and good business environment. The five countries above Vietnam were India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and Brazil.

    Dinh Thi Quynh Van, general director of PwC Vietnam, said in a Voice of Vietnam report earlier this year that Vietnam’s BPO was following a similar growth trajectory to that of India and the Philippines.

    But she said Vietnam’s BPO workforce should stay innovative to meet ever-increasing demand in the market.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Lift non-tariff barriers on car imports, Thailand tells Vietnam

    Lift non-tariff barriers on car imports, Thailand tells Vietnam

    Thailand wants Vietnam to lift non-tariff barriers on its completely built-up car units (CBU).

    Earlier this year, the Vietnamese government had stiffened inspections on all CBUs, which are completely assembled units ready to export.

    The new restriction requires CBUs to pass environmental and emissions tests done by a Vietnamese laboratory.

    However, Vietnam lacks the laboratory facilities to handle a large number of cars, and the move could be a new measure to block car imports.

    Vietnam Register is currently the only car testing facility. The agency will test select a car from a shipment at random. The whole process will take about two months, a long time for a shipment to be passed.

    Somchai Harnhiran, Thailand’s deputy minister of industry, said the country’s automotive industry has lost 80 percent of its car exports to Vietnam. He said both governments will discuss this topic further in the future and hopes “for a good sign from both countries.”

    It is also reported that shipments of cars to Vietnam have been stalling for over six months.

    Thailand’s auto makers have reported that around 4,590 units were exported to Vietnam in the first quarter of this year, while the country’s annual target is 65,000 units.

    Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Trade Negotiation Department, said that the country will continue to revisit this issue at every upcoming meeting with Vietnam and will propose mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs) at the Joint Trade Committee meeting in August.

    She explained that MRAs will allow Thailand to inspect its cars before shipping them to Vietnam.

    Vietnam has yet to agree on the MRAs.

    Among 922 imported cars since the beginning of June, 564 cars were from Thailand, according to General Department of Vietnam Customs.

    Beside Thailand, Vietnam has this year imported cars several other countries including China, Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Spain.

    Lees ook:

  • Vietnam’s May auto sales slip 0.7 percent year-on-year

    Vietnam’s May auto sales slip 0.7 percent year-on-year

    Vietnam’s total vehicle sales edged down 0.7 percent to 23,065 units in May from a year ago, the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) said on Monday.

    Sales by VAMA member-manufacturers edged up 2 percent to 22,374 units in May from the year-ago period, including commercial vehicles, passenger cars and special-purpose vehicles.

    Vietnam’s Truong Hai Auto Corp, which assembles sedans, trucks and buses, led the sales in May, followed by Toyota Motor Corp.

    May sales of passenger cars by VAMA members climbed 20 percent month-on-month, while commercial vehicle sales dropped 18 percent and special-purpose vehicles slumped 40 percent, VAMA said in a report.

  • Vietnamese stocks fall after 8 sessions of gain, Thailand extends rise

    Vietnamese stocks fall after 8 sessions of gain, Thailand extends rise

    Vietnam shares fell on Tuesday after eight consecutive sessions of gains, while Thai shares rose for a second straight day on the back of energy and consumer staples stocks.

    Broader Asian markets were choppy as the historic U.S.-N.Korea summit started in Singapore amid hopes that it could pave the way to ending a nuclear stand-off on the Korean peninsula.

    The fixation with the summit is as much about whether the two sides will strike a deal as it is about what would comprise a deal, Mizuho Bank analysts said in a note.

    “It appears that the term ‘de-nuclearization’ must be thrown into the mix somewhere, but strictly with wiggle room for both parties… and in return, the United States may offer some conditional reprieve on sanctions with sunset clauses,” Mizuho Bank said.

    Vietnam shares fell as much as 3.3 percent, snapping eight sessions on gains, with Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) down 4.5 percent and Vingroup JSC 3.5 percent lower.

    Malaysian shares were down for a third straight session, declining as much as 0.4 percent. Malayan Banking Bhd declined up to 1.3 percent and was headed for a third straight session of fall.

    CIMB Group extended its fall into a third session with a drop of up to 1.8 percent.

    An analyst said there is no immediate catalyst for the local market to see an upward trend as investors are still evaluating the policies of the new government.

    Investors are taking profit on whatever strengths they can find, said the analyst, adding that: “If the (U.S.-N.Korea summit) goes well, it could lead to slight optimism in the local market.”

    Thai shares rose as much as 0.7 percent as convenience stores operator CP All PCL gained 2.2 percent, while PTT PCL rose nearly 2 percent and PTT Exploration and Production PCL added 1.9 percent as oil prices edged higher.

    Indonesian financial markets are closed until June 19 for Eid Al-Fitr, while the Philippines was closed on Tuesday for Independence Day.

    Lees ook:

  • Vietnam importing bitcoin diggers in large numbers

    Vietnam importing bitcoin diggers in large numbers

    It is illegal to use cryptocurrency in Vietnam, but that has not stopped the import of large numbers of bitcoin diggers.

    From the beginning of this year until June 10, 3,664 mining systems were shipped to Ho Chi Minh City, according to the municipal Customs Department.

    Of these, over 3,000 systems were purchased by four companies, with one of them, just eight months old, getting almost 2,300, the department said.

    A total of 6,400 cryptocurrency mining systems have been imported in the first four months of the year.

    The Ministry of Finance recently proposed that the government bans the import of these machines, saying that the rigs were being used to try and create new currencies and forms of payment that were difficult to regulate.

    It referred to an alleged fraud in April, when dozens of people descended on the headquarters of Vietnamese IT firm Modern Tech in Ho Chi Minh City demanding refunds from the company for the cryptocurrencies it claimed to represent.

    Investors said this company, which has only 9 staff members, scammed VND15 trillion ($650 million) from them in a cryptocurrency ponzi scheme.

    As legislators debated the legal framework of Bitcoin in a National Assembly session on June 6, deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue called for more research on this new form of currency.

    “The Government is directing the Ministry of Justice and the State Bank of Vietnam to research the experience of other countries in handling Bitcoin so we can come up with an appropriate policy,” the deputy PM said.

    Vietnam imported over 9,300 cryptocurrency diggers last year, which were mostly distributed in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

  • Vincom Retail to expand business this year, masively

    Vincom Retail to expand business this year, masively

    Vincom Retail plans to open 30 more shopping centres in Vietnam this year, increasing its mall network to 200 by 2021.

    To fund the plan, the retail subsidiary of Vingroup will raise US$500 million.

    The first of the new malls to open will be Vincom Center Landmark 81 and Vincom Center Lieu Giai in Hanoi.

    Other malls will be launched around Vietnam under Vincom Plaza and Vincom + formats.

    Vincom Retail launched an IPO last October. Its total revenue last year was VND4455 billion (US$195 billion), up 17 per cent year-on-year.

    It currently operates 51 shopping malls across Vietnam.

  • As plastic sector booms, Vietnamese firms are easy prey

    As plastic sector booms, Vietnamese firms are easy prey

    Major Vietnamese plastics firms are being taken over in a big way by foreign firms from Thailand, Japan and South Korea.

    In April, Thai business conglomerate Siam Cement Group (SCG) acquired over 50 percent of shares in Binh Minh Plastics (BMP), a big player in Vietnam’s plastics industry. Previously, SCG had already poured in $121 million to acquire seven other Vietnamese plastics firms, according to a report.

    Japan is also gearing up to conquer Vietnam’s plastics sector. Japan-based Sekisui Chemical has become a strategic partner in Tien Phong Plastics, acquiring 25 percent of the company’s shares last year, and Japan’s Meiwa Pax Group has paid $16.5 million to buy HCMC-based packaging firm Sapaco.

    South Korea firms have also jumped into the fray, with packaging firm Dongwon Systems acquiring over 97 percent of Tan Tien Plastics in 2016. Tan Tien is a frontrunner in Vietnam’s packaging industry, and a major partner for several big companies operating in Vietnam, such as Unilever, Ajinomoto, Trung Nguyen or Vinamilk.

    Vietnam has become a ripe destination for foreign firms because the plastics industry has been booming. For the last 3 years, it has grown by 15-17 percent each year.

    In 2016, Vietnam housed over 2,000 firms in the country. The annual per capita consumption of plastics in Vietnam is around 41 kilograms, according to Vietnamese securities firm Vietcombank Securities. That number is projected to increase to 45 kilograms per person in 2020, according to the Vietnam Plastics Association.

    “Vietnam’s plastics sector has great potential to grow,” said Kubo Hajime, a management board member of Sekisui Chemicals.

    Vietnam’s cheap labor and material costs is also an advantage, economist Dinh The Hien said. He said the fact that Vietnam is part of several trade agreements, most notably the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, helps.

    Vietnamese plastics firms lack the necessary capital, technology and high-skilled labor required to compete in an increasingly tougher market, said Ho Duc Lam, President of Vietnam Plastics Association.

    “Another problem for Vietnamese plastics firms would be high production costs, which leads to high prices,” he said.

    Vietnam needs to focus more on targeting the right customers with the right products to compete, an unnamed representative of a Vietnamese plastics firm said.

    “We would also need to invest more in technology and machinery to upgrade our assembly chains, thus increase our product quality and reduce production costs,” he said.

    Last year, the plastic sector recorded an export value of over $3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 17.6 percent.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Collectivize, industrialize, Vietnam farmers urged

    Collectivize, industrialize, Vietnam farmers urged

    Instead of working individually, Vietnamese farmers should band together and become “industrial workers,” an expert says.

    Dang Kim Son, former director of research with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said at the Vietnam Economic Forum on Tuesday that farmers need to join forces to take Vietnamese agriculture to the next level, applying advanced technology and engaging in large scale production.

    He said farmers need to work together under a co-operative system where their combined produce is sold by one representative organization, which will give them greater control over both input and output, Son said.

    Vietnam also needs to establish a research institute that provides data helping farmers to focus on cultivating the most productive fruits, he added.

    One of the downsides of Vietnamese agriculture is that produce quality is not guaranteed, said Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

    “When farmers industrialize agriculture, manufacturing costs will be lower and produce quality higher,” Hai said.

    Technology, especially blockchain technology, should be applied in farming, said Vu Truong Ca, CEO of Lina Network.

    He said a standardized supply chain should be applied in growing fruits to yield higher value, Ca added.

    Other experts at the forum reiterated what they’ve been saying for many years now, that Vietnam needs to reduce export of raw produce and focus more on processing produce after harvest.

    With 90 percent of exports being raw material, the country’s produce value will continue to be low, said Nguyen Quoc Toan, acting director of the Department of Processing and Market Development of Agricultural Products.

    “Produce like lychee have short cycles, so we need to improve processing before exporting,” Toan said.

    Vietnam’s agriculture export-import turnover reached $17.5 billion last year, an increase of 16 percent from 2016. Vegetable, fruits and cashew each account for 20 percent of total agriculture produce exports, while coffee makes up 19 percent, according to Vietnam Customs.

    Lees ook: