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Tag: Vietnam

  • Vinhomes’ shares jump 20 percent shortly after listing on Vietnam’s stock market

    Vinhomes’ shares jump 20 percent shortly after listing on Vietnam’s stock market

    Vinhomes JSC, the residential property developer of Vietnam’s biggest conglomerate Vingroup, saw its share price rise 20 percent from VND92,100 to VND110,500 ($4.85) per share in its first trading session after it was officially listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) on Thursday morning.

    The company put 2.68 billion shares on Vietnam’s main bourse HoSE, and by Thursday afternoon, its market cap jumped to more than VND296 trillion ($12.9 billion).

    This means Vinhomes is now the company with second biggest market cap on the country’s stock market, standing behind its parent Vingroup, which is currently valued at VND333 trillion.

    An initial equity offering of Vinhomes JSC, the residential property development unit of Vingroup JSC, raised about $1.35 billion in Vietnam’s biggest ever issue, sources said earlier this month.

    Existing Vinhomes investors were selling about 268 million shares, or 10 percent of the firm’s equity capital, at VND114,700 ($5.03) each, versus an indicative range of VND110,500-114,700, said the sources, who are familiar with the matter but did not want to be named as terms of the pricing were confidential.

    This eclipsed an equity offering from Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank, or Techcombank, which raised about $920 million last month.

    Vingroup JSC has been looking to raise as much as $2 billion from the listing of Vinhomes.

    Last month, Singapore wealth fund GIC came in as a pre-IPO investor and took a roughly 7 percent stake in Vinhomes for about $853 million by buying shares from Vingroup and other shareholders, sources said.

    Vinhomes’ first-quarter net profit jumped five times from the same period last year to VND3.99 trillion, and revenue surged three times to VND10.54 trillion, its financial statements showed.

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  • Hanoi approves plan for 203ha hi-biotech park

    Hanoi approves plan for 203ha hi-biotech park

    Ha Noi City’s People’s Committee has approved the adjustments of detailed planning for Ha Noi’s hi-biotechnology park in Tay Tuu, Lien Mac, Minh Khai and Thuy Phuong wards, Bac Tu Liem District.

    According to the approval, the hi-biotech park has a land area of ​​more than 203ha, including areas for the resettlement of about 1,000 people.

    The research area, located in the green belt of the Nhue River, will provide an open space, an ecological park that combines the functions of scientific research and the essential utility of the research environment.

    The Ha Noi hi-biotechnology park is being funded by Ireland’s Pacific Land Limited with a total investment capital of US$250 million for technical infrastructure and a number of service buildings, high-rise apartments and dormitories; and $800 million for specialised equipment, such as laboratory investments, research centres and universities.

    The park is to be developed into a high-tech, modern economic and scientific zone, serving research, education, development, application of experimental production and hi-tech transfers.

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  • Foreign real estate brokers expanding in Vietnamese market

    Foreign real estate brokers expanding in Vietnamese market

    In July, ERA Real Estate, a foreign broker, quietly opened five transaction points and one commercial office in the central business district of HCM City. The company now has 300 consultancy officers trained and certified in accordance with international standards.

    The broker revealed an ambitious plan to become the leading real estate distributor in Vietnam in the next five years with a network of 50 transaction offices in large cities and staff of 5,000 well-trained workers.

    To quickly adapt to the emerging market of Vietnam, the US broker decided to join hands with Eurocapital Group, an investment conglomerate which has had offices in Vietnam since 2008, to establish ERA Vietnam.

    Thanks to cooperation with the partner, the US broker, new in Vietnam, has approached high-end and luxury real estate projects developed by Vietnamese conglomerates, including Sun Group, CEO Group, MIK, Sacomreal and Kien A, and foreign developers, including Keppel Land and Sunwah Group.

    Foreign real estate brokers were once ‘the big fish in the little pond’ of Vietnam in 2006-2008, when the real estate market was ‘scorching hot’. They obtained the right to manage and distribute many large-scale projects because investors believed that foreign brokers would be more professional than Vietnamese. They included CBRE, Savills, Colliers International, DTZ, Cushman & Wakefield, Knight Frank, Coldwell Banker and JLL.

    However, later, when the real estate market stagnated, the operation of foreign brokers narrowed considerably. Aldy Vina, Setia and Coldwell Banker all withdrew from the market. CBRE and Savills are among the few foreign real estate service providers which stayed in Vietnam.

    Nguyen Khai Hoan from Khai Hoan Land said that the Vietnamese real estate market has been experiencing a difficult period with policies changing regularly and the market fluctuating all the time.

    “They have strong brands and good technology. However, the Vietnamese market is different from other markets with different conditions of material facilities and staff,” he commented.

    In such a context, Vietnamese brokers, which understand the market and follow a flexible way to approach clients, has gradually regained the distribution market. STDA alone in 2016 had 9,796 successful transactions.

    However, analysts commented that the best pieces of the cake still belong to foreign service providers which have stronger capability and experience. The services which bring high profits such as office, apartment and hotel management and leasing are managed by foreign companies.

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  • Vietnam cosmetics manufacturers face thorny path to develop organic products

    Vietnam cosmetics manufacturers face thorny path to develop organic products

    A report on the cosmetics market released by Kantar Worldpanel shows that 80 percent of urbanites buy at least one beauty care product a year, with one-fourth of consumer spending on personal care items reserved for beauty care products.

    Oriflame, the brand from Sweden, reported a growth rate of 18 percent. L’Occitane doesn’t make public its revenue, but the presence of its products at nearly all shopping malls show its prosperity.

    Multinational conglomerates with factories in Vietnam such as Unilever, Kao and P&G have been thriving with products made of natural materials from Vietnam, such as green tea, cucumber, algae, aloe, honey, ginseng, lemon and pomelo peel.

    Analysts say that though foreign brands are dominating the market segment, Vietnamese cosmetics manufacturers still have opportunities to earn money in the field because they understand the functions of Vietnamese traditional herbs and can take initiative in the material supply.

    Vo Thi Lieu, director of the Vinh Tan Technology Company, which makes skin care products from trom tree (Sterculia foetida) resin, said in the first months after the products were marketed, the company sold VND300 million worth of products and now the sales growth rate is at least 20 percent.

    The company has spent big money to import a production line from Japan meeting GMP standards, with capacity of 43 million products per annum, because it believes the natural cosmetics market in Vietnam has great potential.

    Doan Van Khanh, director of Long Thuan Private Enterprise, said the company earns VND1 billion at least from the sales of pomelo blossom essential oil through online channels alone.

    Meanwhile, Christine Nguyet, director of Skina Cosmetics, said the sales of the company were growing 10 percent monthly.

    Though business has been thriving, Vietnamese manufacturers complain that they find it difficult to scale up their production scale.

    Nguyet said Skina only has enough materials for small production scale. To expand production, the company would have difficulties because it still cannot develop organic material areas, and imports of raw materials will increase the production cost.

    Pham Minh Thien, director of Co May Company, said he harbored a plan of making high-end products such as rice bran essential oil and lotus essential oil. However, the plan is still on paper.

    “In order to make organic products, we will have to find a stable supply of organic rice bran. But it is very difficult to find supply sources,” he said.

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  • Vietnam to make $835 million on radical divestment bout

    Vietnam to make $835 million on radical divestment bout

    Drastic state divestment initiative

    The total revenue gained from state divestment activities in 2017 is expected to add at least VND19 trillion ($835.62 million) to the national budget. The above figure was calculated based on the par value of the portion of state capital that is expected to be withdrawn from 135 enterprises this year. However, the value calculated based on the price of shares on the stock exchange can go far beyond VND29 trillion ($1.28 billion).

    Among these, 26 enterprises are operating under the management of particular ministries and government bodies, 109 are local businesses, and four other businesses will be transferred to State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) for divestment.

    This is part of Decision No.1232/2017/QD-TTg approving the list of state-owned enterprises marked for divestment during 2017-2020, signed by Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on behalf of the prime minister, dated August 17, 2017.

    However, this is not the final sum that the state can raise from divestment activities in 2017.

    Le Manh Hung, deputy director of the Enterprise Development Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said that the Decision No.1232/2017/QD-TTg adopted a drastic mechanism to not only accelerate the progress, but also improve the effectiveness of the work.

    “The prime minister has allowed ministries, related government bodies, and localities to speed up the execution of divestment plans and increase the rate of divestment compared with the approved annual minimum rate based on market developments and the actual situation at enterprises. The active role of ministries, government bodies, and localities to take action is clearly highlighted,” Hung commented.

    Moreover, the number of enterprises marked for divestment in the portfolio only illustrates the minimum target. Ministries and other government bodies may increase the number of enterprises to be divested earlier than planned for each year or propose additions to the list.

    “Apparently, the ultimate principles are still effectiveness, openness, and transparency. In particular, the total revenue from divestments at the end of the period must reach the goal approved by the prime minister,” Hung said.

    A challenging plan

    Looking at the divestment plan for 2017, great pressure is being placed on the shoulders of ministries, government agencies, and localities, especially the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Construction, the Hanoi People’s Committee, and the Bac Giang People’s Committee. These government bodies are in charge of divesting state capital in quite a number of businesses (around 7-17 enterprises) in about four months.

    Moreover, during the implementation of the plan for SOE restructuring from 2011 to 2015, the speed of state capital withdrawal had always been slow and could only meet requirements in enterprises with positive business performance.

    Meanwhile, several cases of divestment failed to follow market principles and were undertaken in many other forms, such as debt clearing or debt conversion into capital contribution.

    However, from a market standpoint, these numbers are not too challenging. Quite a lot of names are drawing great market interest. Investors are also keeping their money until a more appropriate rate of divestment is announced.

    Moreover, the principles of divestment have also been well-defined in accordance with market mechanisms. It is possible to divest these businesses in instalments several times, but the rate of divestment must lie in the range of 20-36 per cent of the total capital holding.

    This is the reason why the approved number of enterprises marked for divestment each year during 2017-2020 has surpassed the announced number of 375 enterprises.

    “Allowing ministries, sectors, and localities to actively follow market signals will attract more major investors and increase the feasibility and effectiveness of each sale. Of course, completing the plan remains a remarkable challenge which requires drastic efforts from ministries, related government bodies, and localities,” Hung openly admitted.

    Also, it must be added that the implementation of the divestment plan is part of the government’s goal to open up capital flows and boost growth. Hence, discipline is significantly prioritised.

    Thus, besides the divestment plan of 2017, other divestment plans in the coming years, especially in 2018, should be gradually activated from now to sustain the pace of progress.

    Valuable market opportunity

    It should be noted that the state’s capital holdings in the remaining 375 state-owned enterprises is worth approximately VND108.502 trillion.

    The list does not include other enterprises under the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ho Chi Minh People’s Committee, SCIC, and other businesses which would perform divestments on their own as requested by the prime minister’s guidelines (Habeco, Sabeco, Central Transport Hospital…). It means the over-VND100-trillion ($4.4 billion) state-owned capital on the list to be sold in the upcoming period is just the minimum.

    It is worth saying that the first opportunity to transform and restructure the portfolio is not only significant, but also very profitable for both domestic and foreign investors who are interested in this market.

    This is the first time the government has published its investment portfolio and the proportion of state capital in SOEs to be sold. In addition, the 2016-2020 equitisation plan approved in Decision No.58/2016/QD-TTg has also been published with the book value of the recovered state equity reaching over VND296 trillion ($13.02 billion). Investors can clearly perceive the need to restructure the state’s portfolio of assets to prepare resources for replacement strategies.

    Investors, however, were not provided with sufficient data to grasp the opportunities offered during the previous bout of state-owned enterprise restructuring, as divestment activities were carried out individually without guidance from an overall portfolio.

    Also, this divestment plan is quite different from the state divestment strategies usually mentioned in 2011-2015. In this period, state-owned corporations and economic groups were forced to divest their investments into five sensitive sectors (real estate, securities, finance-banking, insurance, and investment funds), meaning the sales revenues might be kept in state-owned enterprises. These divestment activities only changed the investment portfolio of SOEs.

    However, this time, together with the promotion of SCIC’s divestment of state capital in equitised firms, the divestment of the remaining state-owned enterprises will actually change the state’s portfolio of assets. In addition, this time, the state seeks to sell its stakes to raise revenue for the national budget, which will be allocated to public investment projects in turn, whereas the revenues from previous divestments could have been held back in the enterprises and might eventually increase the proportion of state capital in the business.

    Inevitably, the distribution of asset accumulation by economic sectors will follow a direction in which the private sector will continue to expand.

    “This is one of the goals pursued by restructuring of state-owned enterprises. This is also the message that the market is waiting for,” said Nguyen Dinh Cung, director of the Central Institute for Economic Management.

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  • Aeon Mall Hai Phong Le Chan breaks ground

    Aeon Mall Hai Phong Le Chan breaks ground

    Aeon Mall Vietnam has started construction work on a mixed-use complex in the port city of Hai Phong, its third outlet in the north.

    A groundbreaking ceremony for Aeon Mall Hai Phong Le Chan was attended by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Covering 9.3ha, the mall is the sixth of its kind for Vietnam, and is scheduled to be opened in 2020. It is expected to generate about 2500 jobs.

    The Japanese company expects its mall to attract more than 13 million visitors a year, from not only Hai Phong but also nearby provinces.

    The groundbreaking ceremony coincided with the 63rd anniversary of the establishment of the northern Vietnamese city. “We are honoured to be one of the key projects to celebrate this occasion,” says Aeon Mall Vietnam general director Iwamura Yasutsugu.

    Aeon Mall Vietnam, which has two outlets each in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and another in the southern province of Binh Duong, plans to have a total of 20 locations by 2025.

    Its first Vietnamese outlet, Aeon Tan Phu, opened in Ho Chi Minh City in 2014.

  • E-commerce giants struggle to find profit in Vietnamese market

    E-commerce giants struggle to find profit in Vietnamese market

    Some companies have been forced to shut down due to prolonged losses. Multiple online retailers in Vietnam have been struggling to gain profits for years due to high operational costs in a competitive market.

    Tiki.vn, one of the most popular e-commerce firms in Vietnam, recently reported a VND322 billion ($14 million) loss in two years.

    The loss in 2017 of the online retailer, which sells a variety of products including clothes, household items and electronic devices, has tripled its charter capital and is seven times its loss in 2016.

    Tiki.vn is not the only e-commerce company in Vietnam that has been suffering from losses in recent years.

    Before being acquired by the Chinese giant retailer Alibaba in 2016, Lazada Group said that it has lost $334 million in 2015 the Southeast Asia market, including Vietnam. This lost is double what it posted in 2014, according to TechCrunch.

    Some local e-commerce companies like Lingo.vn, Deca.vn and Beyeu.com have also been forced to shut down due to prolonged losses.

    Challenges for online retailers

    According to experts, e-commerce is an industry which requires a long time to recover capital and gain profit, therefore the losses of these giants in the Vietnamese market is understandable. Big brands in the field such as U.S.-based Amazon and Alibaba has to go for 10 years before having profit.

    Operating cost, especially logistics costs, is one of the main reasons for the losses. As large e-commerce firms often require massive warehouses covering thousands of square meters and hundreds of staff to work in them, logistics costs account for 60-70 percent of online retailers’ revenues, said trade expert Vu Vinh Phu.

    This enormous cost can be seen from the case of Tiki and Lazada Vietnam, each has a storage of over 4,000 square meters (about 1 acres) with 300 staff in Ho Chi Minh City. It is estimated that the operating cost of one of these storages is VND1 billion (about $44,000) a month. With three warehouses in operation, the two companies spend about $2 million a year, according to local media.

    In addition, marketing also plays a part in the high costs of e-commerce companies in Vietnam. When entering the market, Lazada Vietnam invested heavily in television and online advertising to attract users and gain market share. This company used to spend up to $2 million per month for advertising programs, local media said.

    The popularity of shopping on social networks such as Facebook or Zalo is also creating challenges for big online retailers. “There is an unbalanced competition between e-commerce giants such as Lazada, Tiki and Shopee with social network sellers,” said Pham Thai Binh, head of retails at property consultancy Savills Ho Chi Minh City.

    As businesses on social networks don’t have to pay high costs of investment, item price range is lower which in turn attracts the majority of Vietnamese people, Binh said. On the other hand, famous brands have to invest a great deal in terms of staff, operating system and other relating costs, he added.

    As Vietnamese has a habit of physically “touching” a product, they often surf the Internet for prices without actually ordering from the online retailers. The lack of information and customer service tools also plays apart in the problem.

    To compete in the market, retail giants in Vietnam are under pressure of price competition which leads to a loss of profit. Under pressure from investors, many businesses sometimes accept to sell 10 or 20 percent below market price, local media said.

    Potential market

    Despite those difficulties, experts believe that there is still great potential for e-commerce in Vietnam in the future.

    In a survey of about 1,000 participants conducted by CBRE Vietnam, a commercial real estate services and investment firm, 25 percent said that they will reduce the frequency of shopping at stores. About half of participants said that they will shop online more in the future.

    In the annual survey of Vietnam’s Business Studies and Assistance Center (BSA), the number of people shopping online has tripled from 0.9 percent in last year to 2.7 this year. As young people start to participate more in online shopping, e-commerce is a potential area for retailers to exploit, which will bring many benefits to customers, said a representative of BSA.

    E-commerce is a fast growing industry as customers’ behavior change every day, said Tran Tuan Anh, CEO of the online retailer Shopee Vietnam. “This year will be the year of e-commerce as Vietnamese people are now very familiar with online shopping,” he said.

    Price will continue to be an important factor for Vietnamese customers, but product quality and service are becoming more important, he said. As more and more consumers are aware of e-commerce, the brand, service, technology and value added services such as shipping and payment will need to be improved, Anh said.

    Tran Ngoc Thai Son, CEO of Tiki, also believes that the transition from traditional to online shopping is inevitable. E-commerce, now accounts for 3 percent of the $90-billion revenue of Vietnamese retail market, will grow to a 5 or 10 percent segment in the future, Son said. However, online shopping will not be able to replace brick and mortar businesses, he said.

    “The growth rate of Vietnam’s e-commerce market is estimated at about 35 percent, which is 2.5 times higher than Japan,” said industry expert Duc Tam at the Vietnam Online Business Forum 2017.

    According to one estimate, about 30 percent of the population will be buying goods and services over the internet in 2020, with each shopper spending an average of $350 per year.

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  • Convenience stores in Vietnam quadruple in six years

    Convenience stores in Vietnam quadruple in six years

    The number of convenience stores in Vietnam has quadrupled over the last six years, according to global data analytics firm Nielsen released at a press conference on Thursday.

    “Convenience stores in Vietnam have become popular destinations for young consumers to shop and hang out, as the stores provide them with an air-conditioned environment, well-organized shelves and seating areas, high quality products and, in some stores, free Wi-Fi. It is also easier to get licenses for stores under 500 square meters, which is why retailers have been expanding to gain market share,” said Nick Miles, head of Asia-Pacific at international grocery research organization IGD last month.

    “Thanks to the rapid increase in the number of stores, modern trade has a much higher growth rate than traditional trade in Vietnam,” said Nielsen’s executive director Nguyen Anh Dung, as heard in the press release.

    The number of modern urban trade stores in Vietnam increased by 10.7 percent on-year during Q1 2018, compared to a decrease of 2.6 percent for traditional stores, according to Nielsen’s Market Pulse report, which looked at 31 fast-moving consumer goods categories in Vietnam.

    Dung also said that the number of stores which focus on beauty and health products has doubled over the last two years in Vietnam.

    “We also expect the number of small-scale supermarkets in Vietnam to significantly grow in the future,” said Dung.

    As of the end of March, Ho Chi Minh City has over 1,800 convenience stores and small-scale supermarkets, an increase of 5.1 percent compared to last year, said a Q1 report on Vietnam’s property market by Chicago-based real-estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

    Vietnam is forecast to be the fastest-growing convenience store market in Asia by 2021 with a growth rate of 37.4 percent, according to IGD, followed by the Philippines and Indonesia.

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  • Vietnam’s communist heart Hanoi gets its first McDonald’s

    Vietnam’s communist heart Hanoi gets its first McDonald’s

    Global burger behemoth McDonald’s opened its first branch on Saturday (Dec 2) in the historic heart of communist Hanoi, a conservative city renowned for its traditional – and cheap – Vietnamese staples beloved by food-obsessed locals.

    Hungry customers lined up for Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets at the Vietnamese capital’s first location overlooking the tree-lined Hoan Kiem lake, which draws millions of tourists annually to see French-era colonial buildings and sample street-food favourites like pho noodle soup and banh mi sandwiches.

    The restaurant is the first outside of the southern commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City, where 16 branches have opened since McDonald’s first came to Vietnam in 2014 to much fanfare, especially among the rapidly-growing middle class and American-obsessed youth.

    The global fast food chain received a similarly warm welcome in Hanoi on Saturday, as hungry diners crammed into the two-storey eatery for a first taste of the Golden Arches.

    For 84-year-old Tran Dinh Luyen, who fought against the US in the Vietnam War, the restaurant was a sign of warming ties with a former enemy.

    “I am happy that McDonald’s has opened a restaurant in Hanoi. It’s a very famous American brand, so it shows how far US-Vietnam relations have come,” he told after mowing down on a Big Mac with his daughter and granddaughter.

    But not everyone agreed.

    “It’s a rip-off… this fast food is for kids only, it’s not good at all,” 90-year-old Ta Xuan Huong said, espousing his love for traditional cuisine.

    Some curious tourists stopped to see what all the fuss was about, perplexed that a brand ubiquitous in the West would draw so much attention.

    “It’s kind of random to see McDonald’s opening… it’s an interesting cultural experience to see how important it is that the store is opening here,” American Dan Moore told AFP, after his wife remarked she might not have expected to find one of the most salient symbols of capitalism in the communist country.

    The one-party state has seen dizzying economic growth in recent years as it has opened its doors to foreign investment – which has included an influx of Western chains like Starbucks, KFC and Burger King.

    Growth in the fast food sector has been buoyed by rapidly rising incomes – annual per capita income has more than doubled in the past decade to about US$2,100 (S$2,692) today – especially among under-30s, who make up half of Vietnam’s population of 93 million people.

    The fast food industry in Vietnam has seen double-digit growth annually for the past five years, and the country has the highest 2017 growth in Asia-Pacific for fast food chains, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.

    Though meals can cost as much as three times the local fare, customers are still showing strong appetite.

    “Young people like to hang out in fast food restaurants as they are seen as a cool and nice place… and these customers also like the taste of the food,” Euromonitor analyst Samuel Huynh told.

  • Mumuso Vietnam accused of fraud

    Mumuso Vietnam accused of fraud

    Fashion and lifestyle goods retailer Mumuso Vietnam has been accused of selling Chinese goods as Korean products.

    The allegation surfaced on South Korean SBS News, which reported that the Shanghai-based company has been duping customers into thinking it is a South Korean store chain selling South Korean goods. The news channel also said Mumuso’s registered office in Seoul could not be found.

    Legal representatives of Mumuso Vietnam say the company registered its brand under the protection of the Korean Intellectual Property Office without any production activities there. It also has a branch in Shanghai, redesignated as its headquarters.

    Mumuso authorised its Shanghai office to take over its business activities, including production and brand management.

    Mumuso’s business in Vietnam is under a franchise contract.

    “Mumuso wants to strengthen its brand overseas before returning home, where competition is fierce,” says Mumuso Vietnam director Nham Phi Khanh.

    He admits that no Mumuso merchandise has undergone quality inspections in Korea, but is imported directly from China. “Our products meet standards and regulations set by the Drug Administration of Vietnam and the Department for Food Safety and Hygiene under the Ministry of Health.”

    Mumuso Vietnam has 27 outlets, mostly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The stores sell a wide range of goods, from cosmetics to household items, all labeled as “Mumuso – Korea”, with product information mainly written in Korean and Chinese, and prices ranging from VND22,000 (US$1). All come with a “Made in China” tag.

    The Mumuso retail concept is loosely based on that of another Chinese company Miniso, which has drawn criticism for marketing its products as Japanese.

    Meanwhile, Mumuso Vietnam has announced it intends to increase the number of its outlets in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to 80.

  • AirAsia now flies directly from Penang to Hanoi and Phuket

    AirAsia now flies directly from Penang to Hanoi and Phuket

    AirAsia is flying directly to two popular Asean destinations from Penang – bringing the popular Malaysian state closer to Hanoi in Vietnam and Phuket in Thailand. Starting from July 1, flights to Hanoi will operate four times weekly while flights to Phuket will operate daily.

    AirAsia Malaysia commercial head Spencer Lee said Penang is a great tourism hub due to its Unesco World Heritage status, vibrant cultures and beautiful architecture.

    “More importantly, its strategic location at the crossroads in the region has helped boost the growing inbound and outbound travel demand that saw seven million tourist arrivals via air travel last year,” he said.

    Lee added that the new routes will improve the tourism sector in the region. “We are positive that the latest routes will significantly contribute to the tourism sectors of all three countries to become a desirable tourism region for travellers across the world,” he said.

    Hanoi is one of Vietnam’s main cultural centres and is steeped in rich history. The capital city boasts a bustling yet laid back atmosphere with attractions easily explored on foot such as the Hoan Kiem Lake with its famous red bridge that will lead you to the Ngoc Son or Temple of Jade Mountain located on Jade Island.

    Travellers can soak up the emerald green beauty of Halong Bay that is made up of over 3,000 limestone islets and home to caves and grottos as well as fishing villages.

    The picturesque town of Sapa in the north also awaits travellers with its rugged scenery of rice terraces and lush greenery popular for mountain trails or cycling expeditions. In addition to Sapa, travellers can also opt for other parts of northern Vietnam such as Son La and Bac Ha.

    A tour around Phuket’s town will uncover many charming old world architecture.

    Meanwhile, Phuket is more than Patong’s endless beach umbrellas and Soi Bangla’s nightlife. There are several beautiful beaches, breathtaking viewpoints, and both relaxing and extreme activities to fill your itinerary.

    A winding road leads to the top of Nakkerd Hill, where the Big Buddha marble statue looks over the island. Then, move into the interior of Old Phuket Town for a walking tour of this once-neglected district.

    Also, don’t miss the islands of Phang Nga Bay. Whether paddling into lagoons within limestone cliffs on a kayak or taking a speedboat tour of James Bond Island and the village-on-stilts Koh Panyee, you’re bound to have a memorable day cruising around these dreamy islands.

  • Ringer Hut opening in Vietnam

    Ringer Hut opening in Vietnam

    Japanese fast-food brand Ringer Hut will arrive in Vietnam in the next four months.

    Vietnamese instant-noodle manufacturer AceCook has signed a franchise agreement to run the chain in Vietnam.

    Ringer Hut Vietnam will serve the original Japanese menu including its Nagasaki Champon and Nagasaki Sara Udon.

    Established in 1962, Ringer Hut has more than 750 restaurants, with Vietnam being its 15th market.

  • GrabFood deliveries kicks off in Vietnam

    GrabFood deliveries kicks off in Vietnam

    Grab Vietnam is the first ride-hailing service in Southeast Asia to expand to GrabFood deliveries.

    Starting today in Ho Chi Minh City, the service enables consumers to order food from nearby restaurants that have signed up to the new app. Merchant partners have an online storefront, and there is no minimum order requirement. The app also features promotions and recommendations.

    The roll-out follows in such cities as Hanoi, Danang, Ha Long and Nha Trang.

    “Food delivery is a natural extension of our transport offerings,” says Grab Vietnam country head Jerry Lim. “Each day, millions of people in Southeast Asia rely on ride-hailing services, while food-delivery services save them time.”

    Meanwhile, in Indonesia and Singapore, the company will also add UberEats, which runs until end of this month, to its business.

    GrabFood was launched in Jakarta in 2016, with Bangkok having a beta test last year. It is also currently in beta phase within the Singapore CBD.

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  • Vietnam’s April car sales fall 4 pct on-year

    Vietnam’s April car sales fall 4 pct on-year

    Toyota remained the leading brand last month, with sales rising 3 percent from a year earlier to 4,234 units. Vietnam’s car sales fell slightly in April, declining 4 percent from a year earlier to 20,557 units, according to data released by the Vietnam Automotive Manufacturers Association (VAMA).

    Sales in April were 2 percent lower than in March, VAMA said in a statement.

    Toyota remained the leading brand last month, with sales rising 3 percent from a year earlier to 4,234 units.

    Truong Hai (Thaco) group, the local assembler and distributor of brands such as Kia, Mazda, Peugeot and Hyundai and a significant player in the commercial vehicle segment, reported a 0.5 percent rise in group sales to 8,679 units in April.

    Ford’s sales were 47 percent lower at 1,359 units in April while Honda sales rose four-fold to 2,815 units.

    For the first four months of this year, total car sales in the country fell 2 percent from a year earlier to 79,115 units, VAMA said.

  • Adidas sees ongoing shift from China to Vietnam

    Adidas sees ongoing shift from China to Vietnam

    Factories in Vietnam produced 44 percent of Adidas footwear volume in 2017, up from 31 percent in 2012.

    The chief executive of Adidas expects a shift in its sourcing of footwear from China to Vietnam to continue although he shrugged off concerns on Wednesday about the possible imposition of U.S. tariffs on Chinese-made shoe.

    Factories in Vietnam produced 44 percent of Adidas footwear volume in 2017, up from 31 percent in 2012, while Chinese suppliers made 19 percent, down from more than 30 percent in 2012, Kasper Rorsted told a annual meeting of shareholders.

    “I’m not going to rule out that this trend is going to continue,” he said, adding: “China is still an important procurement market, irrespective of trade duties.”

    Rorsted noted that there was still a lot of uncertainty over what sectors could face new U.S. tariffs. “We might be hit by import duties but it will also apply to our competitors.”

    German rival Puma, which makes about a third of its products in China, said last month that it is working on contingency plans to move some production from China to other Asian markets if U.S. tariffs are imposed.

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