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Tag: Vietnam

  • Vietnam leads in phone e-commerce growth

    Vietnam leads in phone e-commerce growth

    Vietnam is the fastest-growing market in South East Asia in terms of mobile e-commerce growth, says the latest report on Southeast Asia’s 2017 e-commerce status by iPrice.

    In the past 12 months, mobile phone usage in Việt Nam has grown on an average of 19 per cent, accounting for 72 per cent of the overall e-commerce Web traffic. In comparison to other Southeast Asian countries, Việt Nam enjoyed the steepest growth at 26 per cent.

    However, in absolute terms, Indonesia is leading mobile e-commerce, with 87 per cent of the traffic coming from mobile phones. Meanwhile, traffic via personal computers is less than 30 per cent in all countries in the region.

    Việt Nam is also the leader in website conversion rate, which measures the percentage of website visitors that turn into customers, with a conversion rate of up to 65 per cent, closely followed by Singapore and Indonesia.

    Meanwhile, with the low use of credit cards (except in Singapore), e-commerce merchants are offering more payment options to reach out to shoppers.

    In Việt Nam, 86 per cent of merchants offer online payment, while cash on delivery is offered by more than 80 per cent of the players. Besides this, in both Việt Nam and Thailand, almost 50 per cent of the merchants offer offline point of sales.

    This is due to the popularity of online to offline e-commerce models, such as Thế giới di động (Vietnam Mobile World), FPT Shop and Nguyễn Kim, the report said.

    However, due to lower gross domestic product per capita (US$6,880) compared to other countries in the region, Việt Nam has the lowest basket size, with an average order value of just $23.

    iPrice’s data was collected from over 1,000 e-commerce players operating in the six largest Southeast Asian markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Việt Nam.

     

  • Vietnam talks trade promotion in tough markets

    Vietnam talks trade promotion in tough markets

    Trade promotion in Việt Nam is facing many difficulties as many importers, such as the US, China, Japan and the European Union, were now protecting their own farm production.

    Trần Văn Công, deputy director of the Agro Processing and Market Development Authority under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), made the statement at a trade counsellors’ meeting in Hà Nội on February 8 to discuss strategies for enhancing farm exports.

    The agricultural sector targeted a growth rate of about 3 per cent and export revenues of US$40 billion in 2018.

    The quality and food safety standards in these countries have become stricter. As a result, it took more time, five to seven years on average, for Việt Nam to negotiate with them to open markets for farm produce, according to Công.

    Công said in 2018, the agricultural sector would work to enhance market analysis and forecast capacity to ensure smooth consumption of farm produce and increase the marketing of key Vietnamese products in big and potential markets.

    It would also tighten links with domestic and foreign agricultural businesses, remove technical barriers and solve payment difficulties for exports to Africa and the Middle East.

    Agricultural Minister, Nguyễn Xuân Cường, said that as Việt Nam’s farm production had surpassed demand, the task was to maximise global markets and produce farm products of the highest quality.

    Trade counsellor in Japan, Tạ Đức Minh, said Japanese people highly valued many Vietnamese farm products, particularly mangoes and bananas.

    The shipment of the first chicken meat to Japan also proved that Vietnamese products satisfied the demanding market. However, he noted, export prices were still high, especially for fruits, since they spoiled easily and shipment costs were high. He asked for solutions to reduce shipment cost in order to boost Vietnamese products’ competitiveness.

    Meanwhile, trade counsellor to Australia, Nguyễn Hoàng Thuý, said the opening of the southern market was a long and difficult process. For example, it took up to 12 years for lychees to enter this market. Therefore, she said, it was necessary to hasten negotiations.

    She said there was a need for better co-ordination between the ministry and the trade office to promote negotiations.

    Minister Cường also asked trade counsellors to not only promote trade, but to also provide more information on technology, culture and market trends, which he said was crucial for the agricultural sector to expand markets.

    Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoàng Quốc Vượng asked the MARD to co-operate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s departments in expanding markets and organising exhibitions.

    Vượng asked trade counsellors to provide information regularly. They should also regularly share market information with each other.

    He said they should also study new technologies and help introduce them to Vietnamese firms handling agricultural products.

    Aquatic exports

    On the sideline of the trade counsellers’ meeting, Trade Counsellor to Russia Dương Hoàng Minh said that more Vietnamese businesses may soon be allowed to export aquatic products to Russia this year after a Russian working group made a fact-finding tour of Vietnamese exporters.

    Minh said Việt Nam’s trade office in Russia had earlier held a working session with local agencies. The move was made after Việt Nam was given a “yellow card” warning by the European Commission last September for failing to fight illegal fishing, which could lead to a drop in aquatic exports to the EU and other markets.

    The counsellor said exports to Russia had encountered difficulties since the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which it is a member, limited aquatic product imports.

    Currently, only 21 Vietnamese companies are allowed to ship products to Russia. However, he said there were more than 500 Vietnamese businesses eligible to export to the EU and other demanding markets at present.

    Therefore, the trade office of Việt Nam in Russia has worked with the MARD to persuade Russian agencies to lift barriers to Vietnamese aquatic products.

    It also invited relevant agencies of Russia and the EAEU to make fact-finding tours to Việt Nam in an effort to have more companies be allowed to ship aquatic products to these markets, Minh added.

    In 2017, Việt Nam exported $2.2 billion worth of goods to Russia, up 35 per cent year on year. Commodities with high export growth included vegetables, fruits, cashew nuts, textiles-garments, wood products, machinery and spare parts.

    The counsellor said the Vietnamese trade office in Russia will now focus on helping businesses boost shipments to capitalise on the Việt Nam-EAEU Free Trade Agreement.

    It will also continue working to understand regulations and commitments in the World Trade Organisation and free trade agreements, as well as possible trade barriers.

     

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  • Vietnam paper imports up last year

    Vietnam paper imports up last year

    Việt Nam imported US$682.1 million worth of paper products last year, a year-on-year increase of 10.86 per cent, reported the Việt Nam General Department of Customs.

    In December 2017 alone, Việt Nam imported $58.8 million worth of paper products, down 10 per cent compared to November, the first drop in three consecutive months.

    Vietnamese paper products are mainly imported from China, accounting for 42 per cent of total turnover, reaching $285 million in 2017 and increasing 19.95 per cent against 2016. The second largest import market was Thailand with $91.1 million, up 9.35 per cent compared to the previous year, followed by the Republic of Korea and Japan with $59.5 million and $50.3 million, respectively.

    In addition to these markets, Việt Nam also imports from other markets such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia, as well the United States, Germany and Singapore.

    In general, last year, the import turnover of paper products from all markets grew significantly, compared to 2016 and accounted for 72.2 per cent.

    Particularly, imports from the German market increased sharply. Although Germany is not the main import market, it accounted for only 0.7 per cent of the country’s total import turnover; compared to 2016, this result increased 1.3 times. Besides, imports from Indonesia and Japan were also up sharply, rising by 33.16 per cent and 19.09 per cent, respectively.

    In contrast to markets with strong increases, imports from Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong decreased 12.01 per cent, 10.4 per cent and 1.26 per cent, respectively.

     

  • Vietnamese taxi company sues Grab for unfair business practices

    Vietnamese taxi company sues Grab for unfair business practices

    HCM City People’s Court commenced trial looking into the suit initiated by the local domestic taxi operator Vinasun against the popular ride hailing service, Grab, on accusations of unfair business practices.

    Vinasun, once a dominant player in taxi transport in the southern region, has seen its market share gradually eaten away by Uber and Grab as they continue to gain popularity, especially as the number of smartphone users in the country rises.

    Vinasun claims the ‘illegal operations’ of Grab in Việt Nam are to blame for the company’s falling revenues in 2016 and 2017 – a VNĐ40 billion (US$1.756 million).

    Trương Đình Quý, deputy director-general of Vinasun, based their complaint on the trade law and government’s Decree 37 issued in 2006, which clearly states that the duration of total promotion deals in a year must not exceed 90 days and each promotion programme is not to last beyond 40 days. In addition, businesses that want to hold promotion events must register with the municipal or provincial commerce department.

    Quý alleged that in recent times, exploiting the pilot window that the transport ministry granted for software-based transport services, Grab has conducted “rampant” promotion deals and discounts, akin to the practice of “dumping” of manufactured goods.

    Vinasun also claimed that the company needs to observe 13 regulations, while Grab only has to follow three, creating unfair competition in the field of passenger transport.

    “Industry 4.0 apps are an inevitable trend. However, being just an app-based ride hailing service, Grab has disrupted the taxi transport sector, causing several implications to State management activities in tax collection and ensuring social security for those work for Grab,” Quý said.

    “In addition, Grab drivers themselves are encountering difficulties when the company collects up to 25-28 per cent from the taxi drivers’ earnings as commissions. Even more concerning, Grab Việt Nam reported charter capital of VNĐ40 billion while they claimed they turned a loss of VNĐ938 billion, which earned them special supervision by the finance ministry,” Quý said.

    Quý said that the company has prepared for the case over the last year and is ready to fight against Grab and Uber to the end in a “legally transparent” manner.

    Grab’s lawyers, on the other hand, contended that Vinasun’s allegations are baseless and that their software solution has actually created fair grounds for competition between conventional taxi operators. They also argued that Vinasun’s evidences and methods of loss calculations are all questionable. On these grounds, Grab asks the court to either suspend the lawsuit or reject Vinasun’s case entirely.

    The trial yesterday morning attracted a crowd of taxi drivers from Vinasun and Mai Linh, another well-known taxi company in the country, anxiously awaiting the outcome that could determine the course of their futures.

    Former supreme judge Phạm Công Hùng said that the outcome of the case depends on who has the weightier evidence in court.

    “With that being said, I fully support Vietnamese businesses’ wanting to take matters to court if they see their interests have been violated. This is a totally civilised way of settling business disputes,” Hùng said.

    This is the first time the increasing tension between conventional taxi operators and their app-based counterparts took to the fight to the courtroom, all while Vietnamese lawmakers seek to construct appropriate legal tools to effectively regulate these emerging services.

    A new draft decree is in the works, which would require Grab and Uber offices in Việt Nam to register for licences as an enterprise doing ‘electronic business’ and transport cars must have easily identifiable logos on both front and back windows.

     

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  • 2018 rice export to hit 6m tonnes

    2018 rice export to hit 6m tonnes

    Việt Nam’s rice export volume in 2018 is expected to increase by 400,000 tonnes from 2017 to reach 6 million tonnes, due to increased demand from Southeast Asia, especially from the Philippines, with China expected to be the country’s largest rice market.

    The Vietnam Food Association (VFA), in a report earlier in January, said countries in Southeast Asia will import a large amount of rice from Việt Nam, helping boost the country’s turnover this year.

    The VFA said Indonesia will import rice from Việt Nam and Thailand again in 2018 to increase reserves, as Indonesia’s rice price has been rising, almost double the floor price.

    Similarly, the National Food Board of the Philippines approved of up to 250,000 tonnes of imported rice to offset declining inventories, due to unfavourable weather in 2017.

    These developments are encouraging for Việt Nam’s rice export market, said the VFA’s report, with export price of 5 per cent broken rice rising to US$400 per tonne from $390.

    Domestic rice price also increased, with the average price between to $267 to $293 per tonne as of January’s end, having increased by $13 to $15 per tonne from December 2017’s price.

    According to the VFA’s data, throughout 2017, the country exported 5.7 million tonnes of rice worth $2.54 billion.

    As mentioned by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s 2018 world rice production forecast, issued late 2017, the main factor behind this year’s rice trade expansion is increased output from Việt Nam, Pakistan and Myanmar, three of the world’s top six rice exporting countries.

    The USDA’s report stated that though 2017 global rice output fell by 20 per cent from 2016’s number, as a result of weak outlook for grain products, long, heavy rainfall and spring floods and other unfavourable weather, meaning there should be positive signals from traditional rice importing markets in Southeast Asia in early 2018.

    In Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, whose rice crops were heavily influenced by harsh weather, demand for rice imports will also increase in 2018. Rising import demand is supported by increased purchasing power in Africa and the Middle East, while China continues to be a leading importer of rice from neighbouring regions.

    As such, Việt Nam will witness an increase in revenue from rice exports to several large consumer markets.

    According to the Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in early January 2018, the Mekong Delta’s rice producers harvested 860,000 hectares of rice, with an average yield of 5.3 tonnes per hectare.

    Nonetheless, problems remain for national rice production, the majority of which stem from farmers’ ignorance.

    Talking to Vietnam News Agency during a late 2017 agricultural conference in the Mekong Delta, Võ Tòng Xuân, former vice rector of Cần Thơ University and rice expert, emphasised growing competition in global rice markets.

    Xuân warned that Việt Nam needs to find ways to make its rice exports stand out if it wants to achieve export targets.

    Regarding export rice quality, he was convinced that since rice merchants often mix different batches from different farmers into one large batch, there is virtually no way to completely track the origin of any batch.

    Without clear origin, there are no certain product quality controls, and no major national rice brand for Việt Nam, Xuân added.

    He suggested issuing contracts between rice farmers and processing plants for sustainable production, via agricultural co-operatives instead of relying on middlemen.

    Xuân also said that there remain regulations acting as barriers to small and medium enterprises from entering the rice market. Exporting low quality rice and fragrant rice without a brand name is becoming increasingly difficult for Việt Nam, especially in finding niche markets to sell several thousand tonnes.

     

  • Vietnam, Cambodia’s bilateral trade surged 30% in 2017

    Vietnam, Cambodia’s bilateral trade surged 30% in 2017

    Bilateral trade between Việt Nam and Cambodia last year surged 29.7 per cent against the previous year to nearly US$3.8 billion, the General Department of Customs reported.

    Of the total, Việt Nam’s export turnover to this market was $2.77 billion, rising 26.1 per cent against the previous year. Vietnamese key export goods to Cambodia last year included steel and iron products ($521 million, up 69.7 per cent year-on-year) and oil and petrol ($375 million, up 30 per cent year-on-year).

    Meanwhile, Việt Nam’s imports from Cambodia reached $1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 40.6 per cent, mainly with timber and wood products ($214 million, up 16.9 per cent), cashews ($168 million, up 46 per cent) and rubber ($138 million, up 64 per cent).

    The leaders of Việt Nam and Cambodia have agreed to enhance the comprehensive co-operation between the two nations and raise the bilateral trade value to $5 billion. Việt Nam is currently the third largest trade partner and the fifth largest foreign investor in Cambodia.

    According to the Asia-Pacific Market Department, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, trade across the border of the two nations has become easier, contributing to making Cambodia the 16th largest export market of Việt Nam.

    In recent years, the economic co-operation between the two nations has seen strong development. Statistics showed that the two-way trade between Việt Nam and Cambodia jumped from only $184 million in 2001 to $3 billion in 2016.

    Major export products of Việt Nam to Cambodia included steel, fertilisers, garments, machinery and plastic products.

    The two countries also expect to soon sign agreements on avoidance of double taxation, border trade and labour co-operation along with a memorandum of understanding on transport cooperation strategy for 2017-25 with a vision to 2030, which will help advance the trade relationship between the two sides to higher levels.

     

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  • Vietnam’s auto imports in record drop in January

    Vietnam’s auto imports in record drop in January

    Some 1,000 cars worth US$94 million were imported to the Vietnamese market in January, reports the General Statistics Office.

    This marks a record drop of 86.2 per cent in volume and 38 per cent in value compared to the previous month.

    The drop comes after auto businesses, including Toyota Motors Vietnam and Honda, stopped importing autos due to the government’s Decree 116, which tightens control over quality, technical safety and environment protection of imported autos.

    Speaking at the government’s monthly press conference on February 2, minister and chairman of the Government Office Mai Tiến Dũng, said a number of embassies and organisations had sent letters to the Prime Minister proposing him to direct relevant ministries and sectors to reconsider the decree.

    Dũng said the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association had submitted four letters of recommendation to the government to remove difficulties, saying that the provisions in the decree were inappropriate.

    Meanwhile, several associations, such as Japan Business Association in Việt Nam, and foreign direct investment joint ventures have repeatedly proposed the government to delay the implementation of Decree 116 by at least six months.

    Dũng said there were three major issues arising out of the decree troubling auto businesses and organisations.

    The first is that the importers must obtain a Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) certificate issued by authorities in the exporting country. Dũng explained that VTA was not a certificate of the State body but of authorised agencies or associations of the exporting countries, which aimed to ensure the origin, quality and value of the vehicle.

    Such authorised agencies and associations will also be responsible for recalling the vehicles if they have faults during the production process. This is to ensure the rights and interests of automakers and consumers alike, Dũng said.

    As for the second issue, Dũng said the decree states that the inspection agency will randomly select one unit of each batch to check. The check will be conducted on every batch of imported autos. This regulation will prove to be more costly and time-consuming in testing vehicles. And it is the customer who will have to incur the cost as businesses will ensure their profit.

    Dũng said the government was considering the issue.

    The third problem posed by Decree 116 is that it requires automakers to have a testing route of 800m, with minimum 400m straight, before rolling out the vehicles in the market. According to automakers, this condition will require them to pay more, including registration fee, cost of land and cost of building testing routes.

    Dũng said Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc had assigned the Government Office and relevant ministries and sectors to consider the above-mentioned problems. The recommendations would not only ensure the government’s demand on domestic auto production but also the country’s implementation of international standards that Việt Nam was committed to, Dũng said.

    Decree 116’s regulations are being evaluated as a technical barrier for auto importers to overcome. Dũng, however, said all countries were applying necessary measures to ensure the quality of imported products as well as the rights and interests of consumers.

    Further explaining the issue, Dũng said a batch of BMW autos previously imported to Việt Nam was found with a lot of problems related to procedure and origin of the vehicles, in addition to the fact that they were used cars. “If we do not check them carefully, the consumers will be the most vulnerable,” he said.

     

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  • Saudi Arabia to temporarily suspend Vietnamese fish imports

    Saudi Arabia to temporarily suspend Vietnamese fish imports

    Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has decided to temporarily suspend the import of fish and shrimps from Việt Nam.

    The ban, effective from March 1, is in accordance with the regulatory procedure for fish and other aquaculture export establishments of SFDA, according to a note published on the Saudi Aquaculture Society’s website.

    The decision came after a delegation of several regulators, including SFDA, Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Saudi Aquaculture Society conducted an inspection tour last month to 24 Vietnamese facilities that exported to Saudi Arabia.

    The delegation found that only nine facilities met the hygiene requirements of Saudia Arabia.

    The suspension will be in place until the facilities complied to Saudi Arabia’s requirements.

    This is one of the most serious actions by Saudi Arabia against Vietnamese exporting firms.

    The Việt Nam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on January 30 also announced the SFDA’s notice about the temporary ban.

    The notice said that Saudi Arabia was instituting the emergency measure to prevent the introduction of white sport disease and acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease into the country.

    The Việt Nam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point urged relevant agencies to raise appropriate measures to tackle this problem.

    SFDA has also temporarily suspended the import of aquaculture products from Bangladesh and Myanmar and farmed fish from India, according to Saudi Aquaculture Society.

     

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  • UniFriend Vietnam plans to expand in Ho Chi Minh City

    UniFriend Vietnam plans to expand in Ho Chi Minh City

    Korean childrenswear brand UniFriend Vietnam is planning expansion into Ho Chi Minh City via franchising.

    After opening three stores in Hanoi towards the end of last year, the brand is seeking franchisees and agents to sell its products in Ho Chi Minh City and other cities.

    Targeting children under 12 years old, UniFriend opens stores on main streets and department stores.

    All stock is manufactured in Indonesia or Vietnam.

    Founded in 2002, UniFriend now has more than 100 stores in Korea and other markets, including China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

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  • Net profit slumps 92 per cent for GS Retail, raise questions

    Net profit slumps 92 per cent for GS Retail, raise questions

    GS Retail, which runs South Korea’s GS25 convenience store chain, is facing questions over its profitability after it posted contracted numbers in its earnings last year.

    According to its regulatory filing, GS Retail logged KW30.9 billion (US$28.4 million) in operating profit last year, down 19.3 per cent from 2016. Its net profit also skidded to KW10.7 billion, a  dive of 92.4 per cent.

    It has had slumps in its core business of convenience stores, which account for 70 per cent of its earnings.

    GS Retail last year posted KW1.57 trillion in sales from its convenience stores, up 6 per cent from 2016. The number of GS25 stores also increased from 12,199 to 12,429 last year.

    Despite this growth, the operating profit at its convenient stores declined by 6 per cent to KW37.1 billion during the same period. Per-store sales also shrank by 9 per cent.

    Saturated market

    Analysts say GS25’s weakening profitability is related to the saturation of the domestic convenience store industry.

    There are about 40,000 convenience stores in Korea. Between them, the main players – GS25, CU run by BGF Retail and 7-Eleven run by Lotte affiliate Korea Seven – have more than 30,000 outlets. This means there is one convenience store to every 1250 Koreans.

    Meanwhile, at the start of the year the government hiked the minimum wage rate by 16.4 per cent to KW7530, which is expected to add extra burden on franchise owners.

    Also, GS Retail has seen poor performance for its health and beauty products store chain. It has been the sole operator of Hong Kong-based Watsons in Korea since February last year.

    GS is hoping its earnings deadlock will be broken by its hotel and leasing subsidiary Parnas Hotel. This runs the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas, the Intercontinental Seoul Coex and other hotels and malls in Seoul. It is also in charge of leasing Parnas Tower in Gangnam.

    Parnas Hotel logged KW75.4 billion in sales last year, up 15 per cent. Its operating profit also improved to KW17.1 billion, up 141 per cent as the leasing rate at Parnas Tower rose to 98 per cent.

    As part of its efforts to diversify revenue sources, GS Retail signed a memorandum of understanding with internet company Kakao last month for the development of a chatbot for the retailer.

    The company has also opened its first convenience stores outside Korea – in Vietnam’s commercial capital, Ho Chi Minh City, last month.

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  • Starbucks opens first coffee store in Danang

    Starbucks opens first coffee store in Danang

    While the Hilton hotel complex is still under construction in Da Nang, there was a queue all morning despite chilly weather when Starbucks Vietnam opened an outlet on the site on Saturday.

    Queue outside Starbucks on the cafe’s opening day at the unfinished Hilton Da Nang.

    On the ground floor of the unfinished building, it is the US coffee chain’s first outlet for the tourist city. Hilton has not yet released an opening day for its riverside hotel in Da Nang.

    Starbucks Vietnam GM Patricia Marques says the chain has further plans for this, its fifth year. It opened its first store in Ho Chi Minh City in February 2013 and this is its 35th outlet. It also has cafes in Hanoi and Hai Phong.

     

    To mark its fifth anniversary, Starbucks Vietnam is offering special prices with extra points under its Starbucks Rewards program.

    The company has also re-introduced its Starbucks Reserve Da Lat coffee, which first made an appearance in 2016.

  • Vietnam’s culture, tourist sites introduced at Brussels Holiday Fair

    Vietnam’s culture, tourist sites introduced at Brussels Holiday Fair

    Several Vietnamese companies have introduced Việt Nam’s cultural features, natural landscapes and cuisine to visitors at the 60th Brussels Holiday Fair that is being held in Belgium’s capital city from February 1 to February 4.

    At the event, representatives from Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier, have provided visitors with information on its inbound and outbound flights, especially air routes from Belgium and other European nations to Việt Nam.

    Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Vương Thừa Phong took the opportunity to promote the image of the Vietnamese land and people to Belgians and other international partners.

    Nguyễn Thị Dung Hạnh from the Gvietnamtravels Company said that this time her company was offering tours designed to fit the requirements of each group of customers and cater to all services, from visa application to buying flight tickets.

    According to her, Belgium is a promising market for Vietnamese travel agencies.

    At the event, several Belgian companies have also introduced their attractive tours to Việt Nam.

     

    Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent quoted Willy Somers, a representative of Belgian Lauwers Tourism Company, as saying that his company had introduced to its customers many tours from north to south Việt Nam that could be completed in 12 days to 15 days.

    He said the company’s customers have booked all the tours to Việt Nam departing next month.

    According to the plan, the company will conduct tours to Việt Nam throughout 2018, and this proves the Vietnamese market is interested in Belgian customers.

    Việt Nam welcomed nearly 13 million international tourists in 2017, up 29.1 per cent compared with the previous year, of which 1.9 million tourists were from Europe, including more than 29,000 Belgians.

    The 60th Brussels Holiday Fair is taking place from February 1 to February 4 in Brussels. This is a good opportunity for tour operators, airlines, hotels and tour operators in Belgium, as well as foreign partners to seek partners and business opportunities.

     

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  • Massive expansion action by Phoenix Lava in Vietnam

    Massive expansion action by Phoenix Lava in Vietnam

    Thailand’s steamed-bun chain Phoenix Lava has erupted in Vietnam, opening with four stores in Ho Chi Minh City.

    Its flagship store is in District 3 with the other outlets in Districts 1 and 5,  and one in the Vinhomes Central Park development in the Binh Thanh district.

    Inspired by Japanese-style lava buns and cakes, Phoenix Lava offers seven flavours for its phoenix-shaped buns – Uji tea, bamboo charcoal, chocolate, durian, cheese/bacon, pork and salted duck egg.

    Founded in 2013, the company has six branches in its homeland.

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  • Vietnam property sales rise in January

    Vietnam property sales rise in January

    The domestic property market reported more sales in January compared to December 2017, according to the Ministry of Construction’s Housing and Property Market Management Department.

    It said that in January, Hà Nội had 1,650 transactions, an increase of 13.8 per cent and HCM City had 1,900, a rise of 8.6 per cent over December’s figures.

    In Hà Nội, many housing projects have been completed and offered with attractive trade promotion programmes. The offerings are in the high- and mid-end segments and are located in convenient places. There are many kinds of area and payment methods can be flexible, the department said.

    Some projects had many sales in January, including Season Avenue, Hà Đông; An Bình City-Bắc Từ Liêm; Sunshine Riverside Tây Hồ and Romance Plaza, Hà Đông.

    Average offered price of an apartment in January rose 0.14 per cent against the December price. Of which, the price surged 0.17 per cent for high-end apartments, 0.05 per cent for mid-end apartments and 0.56 per cent for affordable apartments.

    Price of house on land had an increase of 0.24 per cent compared with December.

    Liquidity on the HCM City property market also increased in January. High- and mid-end apartment segments reported many sales.

    Customers paid attention to apartments having one or two bedrooms and price at about VNĐ1 billion (US$44,000) per unit, but the supply was low.

    Projects reporting many transactions included New City Thủ Thiêm, District 2; Saigon Intela-Bình Chánh District; and Melosa Garden, District 9.

    Average selling price increased 0.24 per cent for apartments and 0.81 per cent for house and land.

    The price declined 0.05 per cent for high-end apartments, but rose 0.33 per cent for mid-end apartments and 0.53 per cent for affordable apartments.

    The department said that by January 20, the value of the property inventory stood at VNĐ25 trillion, a drop of 19 per cent from the previous month.

    The value of property inventory in January was VNĐ5.27 trillion in Hà Nội, VNĐ19 billion lower than the value in December.

    In HCM City, the property inventory was VNĐ4.62 trillion, a fall of VNĐ47 billion.

    According to the State Bank of Việt Nam’s report, total outstanding loans in the property sector reached VNĐ446.36 trillion in the third quarter of 2017, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 2.1 per cent.

    Resort property

    The department also had a report on development of resort property, the hot spot on the property market.

    In the report, the Ministry of Construction appraised 71 “condotel” and “officetel” projects that have been built nationwide since 2015. .

    Meanwhile, provincial and municipal authorities have given licences to develop many more projects.

    However, many difficulties have arisen over investment, construction, trading and management of operation for those projects, the department said.

    Therefore, the ministry has proposed that the Prime Minister direct ministries to solve them.

     

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  • Vietjet IPO wins prestigious award for “Best Vietnam Deal” in 2017

    Vietjet IPO wins prestigious award for “Best Vietnam Deal” in 2017

    Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (HOSE: VJC) has received the “Best Vietnam Deal” award from Asia’s leading publication, FinanceAsia, for its IPO held early 2017.

    The prestigious award not only highlighted Vietjet’s highly successful IPO but also the airline’s subsequent performance for the rest of the year, which boosted the position of Vietjet in particular but also Vietnam-based companies on the global capital market in general.

    The presentation ceremony for the FinanceAsia Awards, one of the world’s leading awards for the regional finance industry, took place at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong on January 31, 2018. Mr. Chu Viet Cuong from the Vietjet Board of Directors represented the airline to receive the coveted award.

    Leading “a series of successful deals” in 2017, Vietjet’s US$164 million IPO was professionally conducted, involving the consultation of world-renowned law firms and financial institutions for a period of nearly 800 days (due on the listing date, February 28, 2017), and following all the international IPO standards Regulation S.

    Earlier, Vietjet was also awarded for “The IPO Deal of the Year 2017” and named “The Company with Best M&A Information Disclosure” at the M&A Awards 2016-2017 Vietnam as part of the Vietnam M&A Forum 2017 in Vietnam.

    The airline’s 2016 annual report also received a Platinum Award in early 2017 at the Vision Awards 2016 organized by the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP) which ranked Vietjet fourth out of all awardees from the Asia Pacific region and 11th out of 100 worldwide participating businesses. Themed as “the flight to the future”, the 150-paged annual report received top scores for sub-categories, including First Impression, Letter to Shareholders, Report Financials and sustainable development programs.

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