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Tag: Vietnam

  • Co-working spaces taking off in Vietnam

    Co-working spaces taking off in Vietnam

    Co-working spaces remain in the initial stages of development in Vietnam and are concentrated primarily in major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.  Hanoi now has around 14 co-working projects providing more than 7,000 sq m while HCMC has around ten projects with nearly 7,500 sq m for lease, according to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), a leading global real estate services firm.

    The most common sizes are from 300 sq m to 800 sq m and they tend to be located in the CBD or CBD-fringe districts or in new urban areas like the west of Hanoi or in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 2.

    “Globally, we are seeing demand growing at 10-15 per cent each year,” said Mr. Alex Crane, General Manager of C&W Vietnam.

    “APAC, and Vietnam in particular, is still in the early stages of co-working spaces becoming familiar and adopted.”

    Development of co-working spaces in Vietnam has been evidenced by the opening of more and more locations and especially the expansion of investors such as UP and Toong in Hanoi and Dreamplex in Ho Chi Minh City.

    UP now has two locations with nearly 1,400 sq m, Toong has three locations in Hanoi and one in Ho Chi Minh City with a total area of roughly 3,800 sq m, and Dreamplex has two locations in Ho Chi Minh City with over 3,700 sq m.

    According to Mr. Crane, there will be a further integration of co-working spaces into corporate real estate as CEOs are constantly looking to reduce real estate costs and co-working spaces offer a flexible, cost effective solution.

    “The rise of co-working spaces coincides with the number of millennials in the workforce and the working habits of Generations Y and Z will continue to impact how developers and multinational occupiers plan and use their commercial space,” he said.

    Co-working spaces are attractive to individuals, freelancers, startups and small companies mainly in the fields of technology and communications, who need flexibility as well as networking opportunities.

  • Vietnam fish exporters aim to crack Europe

    Vietnam fish exporters aim to crack Europe

    The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) is showcasing Vietnamese seafood products at the Seafood Expo Global, which is being held in Brussels, Belgium, from Tuesday to Thursday. In a 264sq.m. booth, the association introduced Viet Nam’s seafood specialties, including tra fish (known as pangasius), shrimp, tuna and tilapia fish, as well as cattle fish, octopus and dried seafood products, all of which come from 25 Vietnamese seafood producers and exporters.

    The pavilion attracted foreign businesses, which shared experiences in trading aquatic and seafood products.

    In the context of a pangasius crisis in Spain and the Carrefour supermarket chain ceasing to sell Vietnamese pangasius, VASEP and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a press conference at the exhibition to provide clear information about Viet Nam’s pangasius processing and exports to European partners.

    In his interview with Vietnam News Agency correspondents, VASEP general secretary Truong Dinh Hoe said the press conference aimed to create a correct information channel to deal with the communication crisis on pangasius, targeted at increasing exports of Vietnamese aquatic and seafood products to Europe.

    Alfons van Duijvenbode, a Dutch consultant, said European consumers have a bad impression of Vietnamese pangasius due to false information on social media.

    In recent years, the consumption of Vietnamese pangasius has fallen in the EU, meanwhile other fish have maintained or even increased sales volum, he said.

    He suggested the Vietnamese aquaculture industry interact more with consumers to provide them exact information about the products.

    Head of Vietnamese Trade Office in Belgium Nguyen Canh Cuong said that the office had worked with local partners such as Foreign Trade Association to provide information to Belgium businesses and consumers.

    Also at the event, Viet Nam held other trade promotion activities, including a dialogue for shrimp value chains and a programme for visitors to try Vietnamese seafood.

    Seafood Expo Global, the largest of its kind globally, drew the participation of over 1,600 exhibitors from 77 countries and territories this year.

    It is expected to attract more than 26,000 visitors and exporting and trading enterprises from 144 nations and territories.

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  • Workplace by Facebook changes how enterprises communicate

    Workplace by Facebook changes how enterprises communicate

    Many companies in Viet Nam, such as FPT Group, BIDV, Bao Viet Life Insurance or Hoc mai online education portal, are using Facebook Workplace. Participants heard this at a workshop to share success stories of Workplace, an enterprise social network for daily work and internal communication, across Vietnamese companies in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

    They all said Workplace helped in improving communication, business exchange and interaction between members, and subsequently helped boost productivity and save time and money for companies.

    FPT CEO Hoang Viet Ha said most FPT employees were young and did not like to use email for work. Workplace was easy to use, fast to deploy and had a friendly interface.

    “It brings employees closer because it creates a friendly working environment. It helps increase communication between members, build internal culture and reduce email costs,” Ha said.

    Following six months of operation, Workplace has become an essential part of the FPT Group. Several employees and working teams rely on Workplace to solve their problems. Some 22,600 users and 3,000 active groups create between 7,000 and 8,000 posts daily and there are some 7,400 active users per week, according to Ha.

    Nguyen Thi Thu Hoa, Bao Viet Life Insurance Company’s head of MIS Department, said her company used to send up to 5,000 SMSes daily to insurance consultants. By using Workplace, the number of SMSes was reduced to 50 daily.

    “Workplace is a dedicated and secure space for companies to connect, communicate and collaborate. Organisations of all sizes can use familiar Facebook features such as newsfeed, groups, messages and events to get work done,” Ramesh Gopalkrishna, head of Workplace, APAC at Facebook, said.

    “More than 14,000 businesses are using Workplace on every continent, including Antarctica. We are excited to see more Vietnamese businesses incorporate Workplace into their organisations to transform internal culture and communications, which will help drive greater efficiency and productivity among their employees,” Gopalkrishna added.

    The Viet Nam Government Portal recently agreed to trial Facebook Workplace for their 200-strong workforce.

    Workplace by Facebook is a dedicated and secured communication platform helping companies internally connect, communicate and collaborate at work. This platform utilises familiar Facebook features such as newsfeed, groups and messages to help teams get things done.

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  • Vietnamese consumers the most socially-conscious in Asia-Pacific

    Vietnamese consumers the most socially-conscious in Asia-Pacific

    Vietnamese consumers are the most socially-conscious in Asia-Pacific according to the Corporate Sustainability Report from Nielsen released on April 26. The report indicates that up to 86 per cent of consumers in Vietnam are willing to pay higher prices for products and services that come from companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impacts, compared to 76 per cent of consumers in Asia-Pacific.

    After Vietnamese, Filipino, Indonesian and Chinese consumers are the most socially-conscious in Asia-Pacific, with 85 per cent, 83 per cent, and 80 per cent of respondents, respectively, stating a willingness to pay extra for products and services that come from companies who demonstrate their commitment to having a positive impact on society and the environment.

    According to Mr. Rakesh Dayal, Head of Consumer Insight at Nielsen Vietnam, in the last couple of years, people have witnessed some of the negative impacts of adverse weather conditions and pollution on Vietnam’s living and business environments.

    Therefore, it would be difficult to find consumers who do not show concern for environmental and societal issues nowadays.

    In small and big ways, consumers are trying to be responsible citizens, and they expect the same from corporations.

    “Committing to sustainability might just pay off for consumer brands,” he said. “Integrating sustainability into their business models and objectives helps society and, at the same time, raises goodwill toward their brands.”

    He added that companies with strong reputations can outperform others when it comes to attracting top talent, investors, community partners, and, importantly, consumers.

    The survey indicates that the top sustainability factors influencing the purchasing intentions of Vietnamese consumers are high-quality products (79 per cent), products known for their health and wellness benefits (77 per cent), and products made with fresh, natural and/or organic ingredients (77 per cent).

    Moreover, products known for their high standards of safety carry quite similar weight with consumers in Vietnam (76 per cent).

    “Finding opportunities to bridge health benefits and the ingredients that support the claim is a powerful and impactful way to connect with consumers,” Mr. Dayal advised.

    Equally important among consumers in Vietnam is brand trust. Seventy-five per cent of Vietnamese consumers indicate they would buy products from a brand or company that they trust.

    When it comes to purchasing intentions, a commitment to the environment has the power to sway product purchases for 62 per cent of consumers in Vietnam.

    Commitments to either social values or the consumer’s community are also important, influencing 61 per cent and 62 per cent of respondents, respectively.

    “We are seeing a change in the hierarchy among drivers of consumer loyalty and brand performance,” Mr. Dayal observed.

    “Commitments to social and environmental responsibility are surpassing some of the more traditional influences for many consumers. Consumer-goods brands that fail to consider this run the risk of falling behind.”

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  • Indian cars cheapest, French most expensive in Vietnam

    Indian cars cheapest, French most expensive in Vietnam

    For many Vietnamese, Indian cars prove to be the best choice. The products are described as ‘unprecedentedly low’ with the import price of VND84 million, CIF, not including tax.

    A GDC report shows that in January 2017, Vietnam imported 5,425 cars, worth $97 million, an increase of 120.8 percent in quantity and 92 percent in value compared with the same period last year.

    The report showed the sharp increase of 233 percent in imports form ASEAN with 3,408 cars imported, accounting for 62.8 percent of less-than-nine-seat imports, which were mostly from either Thailand or Indonesia. These included 1,585 cars from Thailand, worth $31 million, an increase of 55 percent in quantity and 209 percent in value.

    The number of cars from Indonesia increased unexpectedly to 1,823, worth $35 million. Only one car came from the market last year, worth $10,000.

    From January 1, 2017, the tariff on CBU less-than-nine-seat cars from ASEAN was cut from 40 percent to 30 percent.

    A car dealer said the import volume increased sharply because domestic automobile manufacturers have stopped making some car models in Vietnam, such as Fortuner and Civic, but import them from ASEAN to sell domestically.

    The public is more concerned with the appearance of a new source of supply – India. 1,006 cars from India docked at Vietnam’s ports in January, with the average price of $3,708, or VND84 million only. However, Indian imports cannot enjoy preferential tariffs like products from ASEAN.

    In mid-2016, the average import price was VND160 million. The figure decreased to VND100 million in late 2016 and then to VND84 million in January 2017.

    Contrary to all predictions, the most expensive imports are the ones from France, not from Germany or the UK, which produce many luxury brands.

    Only six CBU cars from France were imported to Vietnam in January 2017, worth $342,000, which means the average import price was $57,000, or VND1.3 billion.

    In Vietnam, the products of two French brands – Renault and Peugeot – are distributed.

    Meanwhile, 27 cars from the UK came in January, worth $1.349 million, and 146 cars from Germany, worth $7.624 million, which meant the average import price was $52,220 for British cars and $49,998 for German cars.

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  • Google offers support to tourism SMEs

    Google offers support to tourism SMEs

    Smartphone adoption in Vietnam is now at 72 percent and the same as in the US, but a far higher proportion of Vietnamese travelers use smartphones to research hotels and travel than people in the US do, according to Google’s 2016 Consumer Barometer report.

    The proportion of people using smartphones for researching hotels in Vietnam stands at 48 per cent, much higher than the US’s 18 per cent, while 42 per cent research overland travel compared to 25 per cent, and 37 per cent research flights against 18 per cent in the US.

    “The key to current and future success for travel businesses lies in getting mobile right,” Ms. Ha Lam Tu Quynh, Head of PR & Communications at Google Asia Pacific, told a recent conference on “Solutions for the Development of Vietnamese Tourism Businesses” in Ho Chi Minh City.

    Vietnam welcomed 10 million tourists last year, a 26 per cent increase from 2015, and the industry contributed 6.6 per cent of GDP, with the target for 2017 being 10 per cent of GDP.

    The conference heard tips and tools to help over 30 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam’s travel industry win on mobile.

    “Mobile has transformed the way we live our lives,” Google noted in the report. “It’s speed and convenience has changed everything from shopping to entertainment. Mobile has also changed the way we travel. Tourism in the past used to mean paper maps and hefty guide books, but now you can carry all the information you need in your smartphone, not to mention all the stages of booking flights and hotels before you step on the plane.”

    In the mobile world, time is money so slow sites or apps lead visitors to head elsewhere. A study by DoubleClick revealed the stark finding that 53 per cent of consumers will abandon a site if it takes longer than three seconds to load.

    Businesses can also receive good support from Google via consultancy sessions with accredited Google Developer experts or discounts from Google’s special deals with market-leading website designers.

    Mr. Trinh Quang Chung, Head of Google Industry, said “every Vietnamese business is an online business now, because that’s where consumers are spending an increasing amount of their time.

    For any travel business looking to attract consumers in mobile-first Asia, not being present on mobile, or offering a slow and inconvenient experience means giving competitors who are set up well an immediate advantage.

    Mobile helps Vietnamese small businesses find customers across oceans without needing to hop on a plane themselves – which is why we’re offering a range of tools and programs to help Vietnamese businesses make the most of mobile.”

  • Online shoppers use mobile phones more than computers

    Online shoppers use mobile phones more than computers

    Nearly 54 percent of online shoppers visited trading websites on mobile phones, higher than those accessing by desktop.

    The data was created from a survey of more than 27,000 client websites of Bizweb, an online commercial solutions platform.

    The results showed that 53.8 per cent of online shoppers visited trading websites on mobile phones, higher than those accessing by desktop (41.3 per cent), with the rest using tablets.

    For mobile phones, iPhone was the most popular device, accounting for more than 30 per cent.

    Mobile phones have become popular tools for shopping, meaning businesses and shop owners risk losing more than half of potential customers if the do not ultilise this channel, heard the meeting.

    In order to avert the situation, businesses need strategies to maximise sale opportunities on mobile channels, said Tran Trong Tuyen, CEO of DKT Technology JSC.

    Pham Thong, marketing director of Lazada Viet Nam, said that revenue from orders on mobile phones accounted for 70 per cent of Lazada’s orders.

    Thong said that there has been a shift of consumer habits. “The majority of young people are accessing the Internet by mobile phones”.

    Therefore, the development of e-commerce on mobile phones was indispensable, opening up opportunities for enterprises, said Thong.

    However, the Lazada representative also pointed out challenges that businesses might encounter such as services, tools and even the knowledge of the salesman about trading on mobiles.

    “Therefore, to succeed when selling on phones, businesses need to invest and have appropriate strategies for development,” he advised.

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  • Gloria Jean’s Coffee leaves Vietnam

    Gloria Jean’s Coffee leaves Vietnam

    Australia’s Gloria Jean’s Coffee Vietnam has closed its last coffee shop in Ho Chi Minh City, in the Phu My Hung urban area of District 7, after ten years in Vietnam. It arrived in Vietnam in 2007 under a franchise license secured by the VietLifestyle JSC.

    The ten-year deal saw the master franchisee launch coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, each involving investment of $200,000.

    VietLifestyle had aimed to open a further 20 locations over the next two years, offering espresso-based, chocolate-based, and cocoa-based drinks to young people, expats, and foreign tourists familiar with the brand.

    The master franchisee was to achieve this in part through sub-franchising the concept and providing operational, marketing, management, and business development support.

    A slowdown hit a few years ago, however, when its prime corner location on Dong Khoi Street in Ho Chi Minh City closed, partly because of high rents.

    Other locations then began to disappear. By the end of last year, only two stores remained: one on Cong Truong Quoc Te in District 1 and the Phu My Hung outlet in District 7.

    Gloria Jean’s was founded in Australia in 1996 with the ambition of being the most loved and respected coffee company worldwide.

    The chain currently has more than 900 outlets in 39 markets worldwide, including more than 400 in Australia.

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  • Vegetables exports bring in $8.2 million per day

    Vegetables exports bring in $8.2 million per day

    Export turnover for vegetables has reached $857 million this year up to April 15, an increase of 30 per cent year-on-year and bringing in $8.2 million to Vietnam each day. Vegetables are therefore Vietnam’s third-highest agricultural and aquatic export, after seafood and coffee.

    Growth in vegetable exports is faster than for aquatic products (7.8 per cent) and coffee (21 per cent), with the gap in export turnover narrowing.

    Vietnamese fruit and vegetables can now be found in many countries and regions such as the US, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and EU countries like Germany and the Netherlands.

    The largest market, however, is China. According to the latest figures from the General Department of Vietnam Customs, exports of fruit and vegetables to Vietnam’s northern neighbor reached $512 million, accounting for 73 per cent of total export value.

    Mr. Nguyen Huu Dat from the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Vegetables and Fruit Association (VINAFRUIT) said this is a positive result for Vietnam’s vegetable exports and is supported by a number of factors.

    The first is the results of the Vietnamese Government’s trade promotion and market expansion efforts, with fruit and vegetables beginning to gain a foothold in fastidious markets like the US, Japan, South Korea, and the EU.

    “Although the value of export turnover to these markets is not large, meeting their high requirements increases the prestige of Vietnam’s fruit and vegetables,” Mr. Dat said.

    He added that high demand among international customers is a good opportunity for Vietnam’s exports in the time to come.

    He emphasized the role of scientists, the business community, and producers and farmers in efforts to diversify products and product quality and promote Vietnam’s brand.

    Total vegetable turnover stood at $2.45 billion in 2016, up 33.6 compared to 2015.

  • Yellow Cab Pizza Vietnam to open in suburb district

    Yellow Cab Pizza Vietnam to open in suburb district

    The Philippines’ Yellow Cab Pizza is about to open its first restaurant in Vietnam.

    The chain, owned by Max’s Group, which is rolling out franchised eateries across Southeast Asia, will launch in Ho Chi Minh City.

    But instead of debuting in the CBD suburb, District 1, as most international brands have traditionally done, Yellow Cab Vietnam has chosen the suburban area of Hau Giang street in District 6.

    Yellow Cab Vietnam

    Rapidly rising retail rents in District 1 are the most likely reason for the location chosen. While it is attractive to open the first store in District 1, the rent is now likely to cost as much as four times that of neighbouring districts.

    Good locations are becoming increasingly rare with so many international and local brands competing for the same space. However, it is expected that Yellow Cab will open in the CBD once it has tested its model and offer on Vietnamese consumers.

    “When F&B chains enter Vietnam, they will enter with multiple unit commitment, so eventually they must have stores outside of District 1,” commented Sean Ngo, CEO of VF Franchise Consulting.

    He said in District 6, there would be less competition from similar products and services in these non-central districts, and providing brands like Yellow Cab more opportunities in their early days in the city.

    Yellow Cab Vietnam will open 12 stores in the country within five years under a partnership between Max’s Group and Blue Star Food Vietnam.

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  • Vietjet offers millions of promotional tickets for “Free Summer, Fly for FREE”

    Vietjet offers millions of promotional tickets for “Free Summer, Fly for FREE”

    To celebrate the coming summer, Vietjet launches its most outstanding campaign ever – “Free summer, Fly for FREE” from April 25 to June 15, 2017, offering one million promotional tickets priced from only HKD0 within the golden hours 13:00 – 15:00 at www.vietjetair.com together with some very interesting activities.

    During the campaign’s first week, Vietjet will run a three-golden-day promotion from April 25 to 27, 2017. This applies for all Vietnam domestic and international routes from Vietnam to Hong Kong, Seoul and Busan (South Korea), Kaohsiung, Taipei, Taichung and Tainan (Taiwan), Singapore, Bangkok (Thailand), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Yangon (Myanmar) and Siem Reap (Cambodia) with travel period between May 15, 2017 and December 31, 2017 (excluding national holidays).

    The promotional tickets are available for booking within the golden hours from 13:00 to 15:00 at www.vietjetair.com or at www.facebook.com/vietjethongkong (just click the “Booking” tab). Payment can be easily made with debit and credit cards of Visa, MasterCard, JCB, KCP and American Express.

    Especially from May 8, 2017 to June 4, 2017, participants of the “Free Summer – Fly for FREE” game at Vietjet’s microsite: freesummer.vietjetair.com will have the chances of winning a weekly award of 5 free return flights, each flight with 5 free tickets for a five-person group and a grand award of a free package tour to an optional destination.

    Also, all customers successfully booking tickets at www.vietjetair.com with instant payment within the golden hours (13:00-15:00) from May 8, 2017 to June 15, 2017 will also have the chances to join the lucky draw for the gifts of mobile phone top-up cards and air ticket promotion codes (*) at www.summerwin.vietjetair.com. Besides, the summer campaign will feature a series of activities including interactive games, amazing performances by Vietnamese and international celebrities, “Vietjet Bikini” challenge at some domestic airports and onboard Vietjet flights, which are expected to “heat up” the coming summer.

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  • Vietnam in gradual shift to exporting more roast and ground coffee

    Vietnam in gradual shift to exporting more roast and ground coffee

    A decade ago most of the country’s coffee exports were semi-processed beans. The TNI King Coffee Factory that recently opened in Vietnam’s southern province of Binh Duong is the latest player to join the race to ship more finished coffee products from the world’s second-biggest producer.

    With an investment of $15 million, the factory aims to produce 9,000 tons of roast and ground coffee and nearly 20,000 tons of instant coffee annually for export, according to Le Hoang Diep Thao, director of TNI Corporation and the co-founder of Trung Nguyen Coffee. She has also helped build five plants for Trung Nguyen, one of Vietnam’s biggest coffee makers.

    TNI Corporation, which has recently gained a foothold in China’s online market for instant coffee and plans to start distribution through a supermarket chain there, did not give the size of its annual green bean demand for the new factory.

    But to reach the targeted annual output, the Binh Duong-based facility will need at least 13,000 tons of green beans for roast and ground coffee and another 50,000 tons for the instant variety, according to a Vietnamese coffee expert at a European firm based in Ho Chi Minh City.

    TNI’s factory will have to compete with 200 plants already in operation or which will be going into operation this year and the next, before the government puts a stop to new coffee processing plants in 2020 to ensure quality.

    In December 2016, India’s Tata Coffee said it will set up a freeze dried coffee plant in Vietnam to expand its market. In mid-January 2017, Tin Nghia Coffee Co began construction of a $28 million instant coffee plant in the southern province of Dong Nai, which is slated to open in early 2018.

    Demand for raw materials from the new plants will eat into exportable green bean stocks in Vietnam, the world’s largest exporter of semi-processed robusta beans, which has seen a smaller harvest this season due to adverse weather.

    “Demand is rising about 10 percent a year, and with a higher ratio of bad-quality beans from the last harvest due to bad weather, Vietnam may face shortages in the third quarter,” said the expert, who declined to be identified by name, referring to the three-month period starting this July.

    Top exporter Intimex expects the supply crunch to emerge in May or June, citing Vietnam’s fast export pace in the first months of 2017.

    Smaller harvest

    Vietnam’s 2016/2017 output has dropped 8 percent to an estimated 26.7 million bags (1.6 million tons) due to high temperatures and dry conditions brought by El Nino, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in its December 2016 report. One bag contains 60 kilograms of beans.

    Green coffee bean shipments are forecast to drop 13 percent from the previous 2015/2016 season to 23.5 million bags due to smaller output and more beans being used for domestic consumption or processed for export, the USDA said in its latest report.

    As such, green beans accounted for 90 percent of Vietnam’s total export volume, while roast and ground beans and instant coffee – or finished products – made up the rest. Vietnam’s crop year lasts from October through September.

    The forecasts mark a slow change to the country’s coffee export structure. Five years ago, finished products made up only 2 percent of Vietnam’s coffee shipments, the government said.

    Exports of roast and ground beans in the current 2016/2017 season are projected at 550,000 bags, unchanged from 2015/2016, but above the 457,000 bags shipped in the 2014/2015 season, based on the USDA report. The forecast volume represents 2 percent of Vietnam’s total projected shipments.

    The USDA also forecasts instant coffee exports to remain steady at 2 million bags, which shows a surge of 56 percent from the 2014/2015 season, while it said domestic consumption of roast and ground coffee would rise nearly 10 percent from the previous season to 2.5 million bags.

    Consumption of green beans in Vietnam is estimated at 2.87 million bags, up 9 percent from a year earlier, the USDA said.

    Vietnam does not publish breakdowns for its coffee exports.

    The Vietnamese government has plans to raise the output of roast, ground coffee and instant coffee to 25 percent of total output by 2020, while the output of instant coffee alone will increase to 5.83 million bags by 2030 from the 255,000 tons targeted for 2020.

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  • Startup community lends a hand to women entrepreneurs in Vietnam

    Startup community lends a hand to women entrepreneurs in Vietnam

    Woomentum will launch its first event in Ho Chi Minh City to connect women-founded startups and investors.

    Woomentum, a Singapore-based startup community and crowdfunding platform, will launch its first event in Vietnam this month to support female entrepreneurs and their startups, by connecting them with investors and consultants.

    “CrowdFundHer Live!” will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on April 25 at Dreamplex 2, 195 Dien Bien Phu Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh District.

    The fourth CrowFundHer Live! event held in Singapore in June last year. Photo courtesy of Woomentum

    The fourth “CrowFundHer Live!” event held in Singapore in June last year.

    Six women-founded startups chosen for the event operate in different sectors including education, Internet of things, lifestyle, hi-tech agriculture and fintech. This is a chance for them to showcase their work and vision to investors, seek funding and see how experts respond to their products.

    Each of them will have eight minutes to present their projects and convince investors to back them. Woomentum will also facilitate discussions between the startups and interested investors.

    Guests include Adrian Tan, director of Vietnam Innovative Startup Accelerator (VIISA), Ngo Thuy Ngoc Tu, co-founder of YOLA Language Center, Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Vice President of the Vietnam E-commerce Association (VECOM), Violet Lim, CEO of Lunch Actually, and Michael Blakey, managing partner of Cocoon Capital, a renowned investor in UK.

    Woomentum had organized four “CrowdFundHer Live” events in Singapore with support from Bloomberg, Google, the Hub Singapore and other organizations.

    Thanks to such events, which drew 600 attendants, 23 tech startups have received S$200,000 ($143,200).

    For the upcoming event in Vietnam, Woomentum will work with the Vietnam E-commerce Association, Startup Vietnam Foundation, Mat Bao Corporation, Baker McKenzie, Citylinks, VnExpress, among others.

    Startups with Mouna Aouri (sitting), CEO of Woomentum. Photo courtesy of Woomentum

    Startups with Mouna Aouri (sitting), CEO of Woomentum.

    Founder Mouna Aouri said Woomentum will make its official debut in Vietnam this summer, offering opportunities for startups with female founders to approach new knowledge, access capital and receive valuable feedback to create better products. The April event will also allow members of the startup community to share their ideas.

    She said Woomentum wants to work as a bridge to link Vietnamese startups with investors, entrepreneurs and consultants in Southeast Asia and more importantly, to connect male and female entrepreneurs.

    Women are the emerging power of the economy in Asia, she said, adding that once they get access to technology and a good environment, female entrepreneurs will become an undeniable force.

      Program  
      6:30 p.m.

    7:00 p.m.

    7:30 p.m.

    9:30 p.m.

    9:30-10:30 p.m.

     Opening

     Exchange of startups, investors and Vietnamese entrepreneurs

     Fundraising

     Presentation of startups and results

     Entertainment

    Click here for tickets.

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  • Vietnam’s bank seeks $700 mln via stake sale to foreign investor

    Vietnam’s bank seeks $700 mln via stake sale to foreign investor

    Saigon Commercial Bank expects further talks with two potential investors from China and Indonesia as it plans to sell more than half of the bank at par value. Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank, Vietnam’s fifth largest by assets, is in talks to draw an investment of at least $700 million by selling a controlling stake to a foreign investor.

    As the first Vietnamese bank granted government approval to seek such foreign investment, the lender plans to sell more than half of the bank at par value through the issuance of new shares, Chief Executive Officer Vo Tan Hoang Van was quoted as saying.

    “We’re really looking for a partner who would not only put money into the bank but also has the same vision about this market,” Van told Bloomberg. “”More importantly, they need to help our clients to complete their real estate projects so that we can solve the bad debt issue in a shorter time.”

    Saigon Commercial Bank slashed its bad debt ratio to 0.68 percent by the end of last year from 7.25 percent in 2012, the lender said at its April 18 shareholders’ meeting.

    Van said the bank has been in talks with banks, equity funds and insurance companies from China, Indonesia, Norway, and Taiwan over the stake sale. It expects intensifying negotiations with two potential investors from China and Indonesia.

    The bank plans to submit its stake sale plan to the central bank for approval early next year and close the deal in mid-2018, he said.

    The Vietnamese government currently sets a 30-percent cap on total foreign ownership in banks.

    Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told in January that he plans to raise the cap in banks to accelerate restructuring Vietnam’s banking system.

    The government established the Vietnam Asset Management Company in 2013 to deal with bad bank loans, mostly incurred due to a slowdown in the country’s real estate market in the early 2010s.

    State Bank of Vietnam’s data showed the bad debt ratio was cut to 2.46 percent of total loans in November last year, from 17.2 percent in September 2012.

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  • Appetite in Europe, Philippines may boost Vietnam’s 2017 rice exports

    Appetite in Europe, Philippines may boost Vietnam’s 2017 rice exports

    Vietnam’s global rice export ranking this year is expected to remain unchanged, trailing behind Thailand and India. Preferential import taxes in Eastern European countries and an extended rice supply agreement with the Philippines may help boost Vietnam’s rice exports this year by around 9 percent to 6 million tons, a U.S. Department of Agriculture attache said.

    The 2017 forecast, up from the 5.5 million tons shipped last year, leaves Vietnam’s global rice export ranking unchanged in third place, trailing Thailand and India, according to USDA projections.

    Vietnam can benefit from preferential import duties in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan after the Vietnam-Eurasia Economic Union Free Trade Agreement came into effect in October 2016, the USDA attache said in a report released on Tuesday.

    It also cited a rice trade agreement renewed in January, under which Vietnam can supply up to 1.5 million tons annually to the Philippines from 2017-2018.

    Rice exports to China, the biggest buyer of Vietnamese rice, are also expected to stay strong, now that China has approved 22 Vietnamese export firms, the report said.

    In a separate report released on Wednesday, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization also forecast Vietnam’s rice exports this year to jump 11 percent from 2016 to 6.9 million tons, citing demand from the Philippines and China.

    Exports slow

    Despite a positive outlook, Vietnamese export businesses said rice sales to eastern European countries have not been made easier because countries such as Russia often require high-quality grain.

    “There may be preferential import duties, but the cost to process rice and keep it pest-free would be higher than paying the import tariffs,” a Ho Chi Minh City-based exporter told VnExpress International.

    Asked about the Philippines, he said there were mixed reports, with some saying Manila was going to buy soon, while others said the National Food Authority, the country’s logistics agency in charge of importing rice, has not finalized any purchasing plans.

    Vietnam’s first-quarter rice exports fell 17.5 percent from a year ago to 1.29 million tons, extending a decline seen since May 2016, even though demand from China, Singapore and the Ivory Coast pushed March shipments alone to 550,700 tons, the highest monthly figure in a year, Vietnam Customs data shows.

    China is projected to import 5 million tons of rice in the 2016/2017 marketing year ending June 2017, up 4 percent from the previous year, a USDA report said in January.

    China bought 1.74 million tons of Vietnamese rice in 2016, down 17.5 percent from the previous year, based on customs data. The statistics did not include an estimated 1.5 million tons sold across the land border, according to a Vietnamese industry analyst.

    Shipments to the Philippines last year plunged 65 percent from 2015 to 396,000 tons, based on customs data.

    Vietnam is projected to export around 5 million tons this year, the Vietnam Food Association has said. Last year, the Southeast Asian nation shipped 4.8 million tons, the lowest since 2008, due to rising competition and growing production in key regional buyers, as well as higher stocks in Africa.

    In 2016, rice slipped to the third-biggest earner among Vietnam’s agro-exports, after seafood and fruit.

    Thinner stocks

    With rising exports expected in 2017, Vietnam’s stocks could drop to 1 million tons at the year-end from 1.42 million tons last year, the USDA report said, adding that output and domestic consumption would remain steady.

    Vietnam’s 2017 milled rice output is projected at 28.1 million tons, 0.7 percent up from last year due to higher yields, and domestic consumption and residual would edge up 0.4 percent to a combined 22.8 million tons.

    While per capita consumption has been easing thanks to rising incomes, there is “higher use of rice in home-made animal and aquaculture-feeds, and growth in the food processing sector, especially in the beer and rice wine industries,” the report said.

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