Diesel dropped 2.3% to VND21,630 ($0.92) per liter while gasoline prices remained unchanged Wednesday afternoon.
Kerosene fell 4.2% to VND21,800 per liter. Mazut decreased by 2.8% to VND13,360 per kilogram.
Global gasoline and oil prices gained 0.5-6.6% between the last and this adjustment.
RON95 gasoline dropped 0.53% to over $92 per barrel, while diesel fell nearly 4.3% to $109.71.
Mazut lost 6.6% to an average of $371.15 per ton.
The monthly income of people in jobs averaged VND6.7 million (US$283.8) last year, up 16%, from 2021, the General Statistics Office said Tuesday.
Incomes rose in all sectors as growth was broad-based.
The biggest rise, of 17.6% and equivalent to more than VND1.1 million, was in industry and construction.
It was followed by services (15.4%, VND1 million) and then agriculture-forestry-fisheries (9.8%, VND448,000).
Salaried employees received an average of VND7.5 million, up 15.1% and equivalent to VND992,000. Male employees averaged VND8 million, 14% higher than that of their women colleagues.
Employees in urban areas earned VND8.4 million, 23% higher than that of their rural peers whose income averaged VND6.9 million.
Last year the number of unemployed people of working age was nearly 1.07 million, a decrease of more than 359,000 from 2021, for a jobless rate of 2.32%.
There was a sharp increase in the number of underemployed and laid-off workers in the final months of 2022 as many factories, especially in the garment and textile, footwear and wood processing industries, had no orders due to the global economic meltdown and high inflation.
The office said this situation could persist through the first quarter and even the beginning of the second quarter of this year.
Coca-Cola Vietnam set a world record for the largest Vietnamese Tet meal table with the participation of 1,000 multi-generation families in Ho Chi Minh City on January 8.
The meal was recognized as a record-setting event by the World Records Union (Worldkings). This record honors the tradition of family reunions over Tet meals and conveys the message that Tet may change, but the magic remains.
A total of 436 tables were arranged into the shape of two Coca-Cola bottles at Hoa Lu Stadium. More than 3,000 people from 1,000 Vietnamese families were seated around the tables to enjoy a Tet party with various traditional dishes and share memories of family reunions.
After two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Coca-Cola’s Tet event has returned, highlighting the meaning of family reunion that Coca-Cola wishes to bring to Vietnamese consumers.
Leonardo Garcia, General Director of Coca-Cola Vietnam and Cambodia, said: “Coca-Cola has been part of millions of Vietnamese family dinners for almost 30 years. We know how important the Tet reunion meal is for Vietnamese. This year, with the Timeless Magic Table event, we bring back the memories of old Tet family meals with an ice-cold Coke, because we know those meals can connect family members of all generations, something that never changes.”
Also in this event, Coca-Cola together with partner Al’s Fresco set the record for “The organization that gives away 1,000 pizzas to serve the most families in the same event in Vietnam.”
The World Records Union officially recognized the record (Worldkings).
Proud to be part of the Tet meals of millions of Vietnamese families, Coca-Cola strives to preserve and promote the values of friendship and community every Tet season.
This year, Coca-Cola Vietnam has supported more than 5,400 underprivileged people across Vietnam with a total value of VND5.3 billion to help them celebrate Tet. This was achieved thanks also to the contribution of the community, the companion of associations, unions, strategic partners of the company as well as local authorities.
Early on, Coca-Cola launched a campaign to contribute VND15,000 to the Vietnam Red Cross Tet Fund each time consumers interacted with the brand on its website. Coca-Cola and Vietnam Red Cross have supported 3,000 underprivileged people across the country through “0 VND Tet Market.”
Under the campaign, more than 4,000 chung and tet cakes will also be sent to students, homeless, and self-employed people in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, who cannot return to their hometown to celebrate Tet.
In addition to the partnership with Vietnam Red Cross, this year, Coca-Cola has continued its tradition of handing out Tet gifts to families and disadvantaged people in the neighborhood of its factories. The program is supported and accompanied by the local People’s Committee, Women’s Unions and Departments of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to present 2,400 Tet gifts to underprivileged people and families in 13 provinces and cities.
Priceline Pharmacy will receive commissions from the sale of insurance products to the 3.9 million members of its customer loyalty program.
The loyalty program, Sister Club, is one of Australia’s largest, providing rewards for money spent in Priceline’s health, beauty and pharmacy stores. Its intended clientele are women and it is promoted by Priceline owner Australian Pharmaceutical Industries as a ”key marketing differentiator”.
Under a five-year deal with global insurer ACE, travel, accident-protection and health insurance products will be promoted to Sister Club members via electronic and direct mail.
Priceline would receive commissions on sales, said Robin Moore, ACE corporate communications manager for Australia and New Zealand. ACE will manage telesales, customer service and claims.
A similar deal struck in 2011 with life insurer AIA ended this year. API declined to say how much revenue that agreement had delivered.
A spokesman said API was confident that the insurance offering, Priceline Protects, ”enhances … our members’ experience”.
Under the deal, ACE has no authority to sell or use Sister Club data for any other purpose than insurance products.
”It is important to note that members can opt out of receiving offers regarding Priceline Protects at any time,” the spokesman said.
Australian Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim said that when people signed up to a customer loyalty program they should read the privacy policy to find out how the business would use their information, who else would see it and how it would be stored.
”Businesses that are covered by the Privacy Act are required to comply with several principles when handling personal information, including information collected for a loyalty card scheme,” he said. ”For example, companies are required to have a publicly available statement or privacy policy that tells people how they handle personal information.
”There are also rules about when businesses can share your personal information with others.”
Telecom giant MobiFone reported a decline in profits and revenues in 2022, and said they fell short of targets.
At a review meeting on January 5 the company said revenues fell to VND28.329 trillion (US$1.18 billion), and profits to VND2.71trillion.
They had been VND31 trillion and VND4.96 trillion in 2021.
The bright spot in the business last year was that data revenues increased by 27%.
In April it had launched MobiFone Pay e-wallet and Mobile Money e-money.
With the telecom market saturated and revenues on a downtrend, the company this year eyes new businesses such as digital finance, digital health and digital education, chairman Nguyen Hong Hien said.
Bamboo Airways has announced the founding of Bamboo Airways Cargo in an effort to develop a larger network of affiliates in Vietnam’s sparse aviation ecosystem.
Hanoi-based Bamboo Airways Joint Stock Company (BAC) is launching with a charter capital of VND20 billion ($833,000), 75% of which has been contributed by Bamboo Airways, the carrier said Wednesday.
The remainder belongs to three other individual shareholders.
Bamboo Airways named its vice chairman Doan Huu Doan as chairman of the new BAC, while Bamboo Airways deputy general director Nguyen Khac Hai will be BAC’s new CEO.
Bamboo Airways is present at 21 out of 22 airports in Vietnam, and at other major airports in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
In September 2022, Vietravel Airlines said it would cooperate with HCMC-based Asean Cargo Gateway Joint Stock Company to launch an air cargo service, contributing 51% and 49% of the capital, respectively.
Vietravel Airlines CEO Vu Duc Bien has noted that the region’s air cargo market lacks carriers and therefore carries immense untapped potential.
Vietnamese garment and textile producers were overwhelmed with export orders in the first half of 2022, but things unraveled in spectacular fashion after mid-year as the global economy slumped.
“2022 was an unprecedented year,” Le Tien Truong, chairman of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex), said, referring to the export market. “In the past 25 years I have never seen the market change so suddenly, in just one month.”
Textile and garment exports were worth $22.3 billion in the first half of 2022, seeing a year-on-year rise of nearly 18% and a trade surplus for the industry of $8.9 billion, up 32%.
After nearly two years of social distancing, consumers in many countries appeared to have an “overbuying” mentality, which resulted people buying more than usual.
Fearing slow delivery due to supply chain bottlenecks during the Covid pandemic, distributors increased orders to meet the high demand in recovering economies.
But the “overbuying” did not last long because of geopolitical instability, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and other factors, such as surging inflation in many countries worldwide. People, especially in Vietnam’s export markets such as the U.S. and the European Union, spent less on non-essential products such as garments.
By the end of June many garment firms’ inventories increased by 50% to reach levels not seen even during the pandemic. The market showed signs of slowing in August, and began to decline in September.
The fourth quarter is usually the peak production season, but in 2022 the market plummeted as orders tumbled.
The director of a garment company with 1,200 employees in HCMC’s Binh Chanh District said there were lots of orders in the first half of the year and workers had to work overtime, but the situation reversed in the second half.
“We were forced to reduce seasonal workers, and stop some production lines because there were no orders,” he said.
Workers were furloughed, he said. The gloomy market with few orders and lower prices resulted in a large amount of inventory. Instead of bulk orders like in the first half, buyers placed smaller orders with tight delivery schedules.
To provide jobs for workers and avoid mass layoffs, garment and textile producers had to accept small orders, reduce selling prices and diversify export markets.
Production slowed down in the last quarter, but due to the high growth in the previous three quarters, the textile and garment industry still reached the export target of $44 billion, up 10% against 2021.
The U.S. was still the largest importer of Vietnamese garments and textiles for the year with orders of more than $18 billion, followed by South Korea with $4.2 billion, and Japan and China with around $4 billion each.
The market situation changed suddenly in the middle of the year, but Vinatex managed to realize its consolidated profit target of VND1.090 trillion ($45.4 million) in 2022.
However, there are difficulties ahead for the industry. “Demand for garments in 2023 will still be weak, at least the first quarter will not be positive,” Truong said.
Vu Duc Giang, chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said orders from the end of 2022 to the first quarter of 2023 decreased by 25-27% due to weakened global demand. Many businesses are currently receiving orders equivalent to 70-80% of their production capacity.
Businesses could shift production to lower value items and accept smaller orders, he said. Nguyen Huu Tuan, human resources director of Thanh Cong Textile and Garment Co., said to safeguard the jobs of more than 5,000 workers and retain customers, it is accepting orders at low prices, sometimes even below breakeven.
The garment and textile industry foresees one of two export scenarios in 2023: Exports could fetch $47-48 billion if the market recovers in the second half of the year, but otherwise it has to settle for $45-46 billion.
SJC gold price dropped 0.15% to VND67.2 million per tael Thursday morning.
Gold ring price gained 0.28% to VND54.35 million per tael. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.
Global spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,856.11 per ounce, aided by a softer dollar, while market participants braced for U.S. jobs data that could influence the Federal Reserve’s policy trajectory.
“Gold has had a good start to the year, helped by a weaker dollar and expectations that the Fed might slow its pace of rate hikes. Recession risks and central bank buying should also support bullion this year,” said Brian Lan, managing director at Singapore-based dealer GoldSilver Central.
“If the jobs data reflects that the rate hikes have taken a toll on the economy, then dollar might weaken further and benefit gold.”
Bullion is seen as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties, but higher interest rates tend to weigh on non-yielding gold.
Military-owned telecommunications giant Viettel Group earned pre-tax profits of VND43.1 trillion ($1.8 billion) in 2022, the highest growth recorded since 2017.
The profits rose 3% from 2021. The group’s consolidated revenues increased by 6.1% to VND163 trillion.
Viettel said telecommunications continued to be its main source of revenue, as the company remained the largest mobile telecommunications service provider in Vietnam, with a market share of 54%.
Viettel’s telecommunications service revenue growth rate was 1.5 times higher than the world’s average.
Last year, Viettel’s foreign investment for the first time reached nearly $3 billion. Meanwhile, it remitted home nearly $500 million, the highest amount in the last five years. By the end of last year, it had repatriated nearly 70% of its total investment abroad.
The digital solutions and services provided by Viettel also had a breakthrough when revenues from information technology solutions surged by 58%.
SJC gold prices gained 0.3% to VND67.2 million per tael Tuesday afternoon.
Gold ring prices shot up 0.8% to VND54.3 million per tael. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.
Global spot gold was up 1.2% at $1,846.08 per ounce jumped more than 1% to a six-month high on Tuesday on technical trading, while investors looked forward to minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting for more cues on its rate-hike path, Reuters reported.
“We’re seeing a slight bid for gold. But, with liquidity very low this time of the year, it appears to be technical buying as opposed to fundamentally driven,” said Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index.
Minutes from the Fed’s December policy meeting are due on Wednesday. The Fed raised rates by 50 basis points in December after four consecutive increases of 75 basis points each.
“I doubt the minutes will pack as much of a punch as the Fed’s December meet had, but traders will look for confirmation of the lower terminal Fed rate expressed in the median dot plot and that could support gold,” Simpson added.
Gold is considered a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties, but higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding gold as it pays no interest.
Starbucks plans to open its 100th store in Vietnam in the second quarter of this year, a decade after first coming to the country, and keep expanding further.
The U.S. chain now has 87 outlets in seven localities, 50 of them in Ho Chi Minh City.
It has over 800 staff and 200 coffee “masters” it has trained.
It is among the few foreign players to remain in the competitive Vietnamese market, but its number of stores is modest compared with some local chains such as Highlands Coffee (592 stores) and The Coffee House (154).
Its Vietnam general manager, Patricia Marques, told reporters Tuesday the chain sees new opportunities in localities such as Binh Duong and Quy Nhon provinces.
Vietnam is forecast to have 5,200 coffee chain stores in 2025, according to U.K.’s Allegra World Coffee Portal, which means huge competition for chains seeking to expand.
Already some chains are scaling down. Last month PhinDeli closed some stores at prime locations while food company KIDO divested from TTV, the operator of the Chuk beverage chain.
But on the other hand, Highlands and Phuc Long continued to open new outlets.
The Coffee House plans to reopen its Signature stores this year, while Passio Coffee, after 15 years of selling mostly takeaway products, is now opening at more locations and offering on-site services.
New players such as Katinat, Phe La and Cheese Coffee are also in the mix.
Finding a suitable location is also a challenge, Marques said, pointing out that while in Thailand property developers often seek partnerships with major brands before they start building malls, in Vietnam this is not the case.
Starbucks posted record global revenues of US$32.3 billion in financial year 2022 (ending October 3), a 11% growth.
It eyes 10-12% growth this year.
Several Vietnamese fruits have found their way to major markets in China and the U.S. in 2022, opening up the door for Vietnam to send more high-quality produce overseas.
After four years of negotiation, Vietnam finally exported its first batch of fresh durian to China for the first time in September The fruit came from the central highlands province of Dak Lak.
In October alone, durian exports to China surged 4,000% year-on-year to $50 million, according to Vietnam Customs. It exceeded dragon fruit as the top fruit exported to China.
China has so far approved 113 codes for durian farming and packaging areas in Vietnam, up from 76 in September. The figure is set to increase as there are still 300 codes awaiting approval.
“If China approves all of these codes, Vietnam will have an abundant durian supply to China,” said statement by the Plant Protection Department at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Durian prices in Vietnam have nearly doubled year-on-year to VND70,000-90,000 per pound in southern provinces.
“Durian has become a new rising star replacing dragon fruit exports to China,” said Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit & Vegetables Association (VinaFruit).
He added that thanks to Vietnamese trade agreements and protocols with China and the latter’s relaxing of Covid-19 policies, durian and other Vietnamese fruits are easily exported to China.
This all stands in stark contrast to last year when hundreds of fruit containers were stuck at Vietnam’s northern border gates due to Covid-19.
Agriculture, forestry and seafood exports surged 11.8% year-on-year to $49.04 billion in the first 11 months. Agriculture alone accounts for more than 42% of that figure, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Vegetables and fruits are among Vietnam’s top eight biggest agriculture export items, along with coffee, rubber and rice.
Grapefruit in November became the seventh fruit officially exported by Vietnam to the U.S., one of the most difficult markets globally.
Industry insiders say that Americans consume about 12 million tons of fruit a year, but domestic supply accounts for only 70% of demand.
Vietnamese exporters have been trying to take advantage of this opportunity. Exports to the U.S. surged 18% year-on-year in the to $240 million in the first 11 months. This is a quadruple from the total figure of $59 million in 2015.
Other fruits that have also found the way to the global market include lime and pomelo shipments to New Zealand starting from November 15, 2022. This country has already been buying mango, dragon fruit and rambutan from Vietnam.
Nguyen said that now that more Vietnamese fruits have found their way to overseas, it is even more important that buyers’ demands are met in terms of farming and delivery.
“Whether these markets and opportunities last is up to the farmers and the exporters.”
Ngo Tuong Vy, CEO of exporter Chanh Thu, warned that China is not yet a sustainable market for Vietnam as some regions are still struggling with Covid-19 and their safety measure policies are unpredictable.
The agriculture ministry has set a surging $5 billion target for fruit exports by 2025, up from last year’s $3.1 billion forecast.
The number of house and apartment transactions in the north and the south in 2022 fell to the lowest level in 5 years, according to report by real estate agencies.
The report said that the apartment market in Ho Chi Minh City and in some southern provinces has been on the decline throughout the year.
In the first two quarters, nearly 14,000 new apartments were put up for sale, and some 75% were sold. In the third quarter, 1,250 apartments went on the market, and the absorption rate dropped to about 52%.
In the fourth quarter, 100 new apartments were sold, the lowest number for the year. Furthermore, the number of units sold during the peak sales season at the end of this year was far below the expectations of investors.
According to Batdongsan, this is an unprecedented situation in the pre-Tet period over the past 5 years. The period before Tet (Lunar New Year holidays)is the peak time for yearly real estate transactions. Many businesses have already increased discount rates to 40-50%, but the liquidity has not shown any improvement. Tet falls in late January 2023.
According to a market report by real estate services provider DKRA Vietnam, the apartment market showed that 1,385 units were sold in HCMC in the first quarter of this year, down 68% compared to the previous quarter. The liquidity improved in the second quarter, but weakened in the third quarter.
In August, in the primary market, only 177 apartments in the city were sold, the lowest number in three years, and down 4.6 times against July. The absorption rate in December was around 20%, the lowest in three years.
Over 200 apartments were sold in November in HCMC and southern provinces, dropping nearly 90% against the same period last year.
In the south, just four houses were sold in August, down 23 times against July, and down over 70 times compared to April.
In the secondary market in the south, many apartment and house investors have offered high discount rates to cut their losses, but liquidity has remained low in the second half of this year, according to VnExpress’ observation. The housing market remained quiet in December.
In the north, housing liquidity has also decreased sharply this year.
According to Savills Vietnam, in Hanoi, some 4,000 apartments were sold in the first quarter, while sales dropped 45% in the second quarter against the previous one, and decreased 10% in the third quarter.
In the third quarter, 299 semi-detached houses and villas in Hanoi were sold, down from 666 units in the first quarter.
Nguyen Van Dinh, president of the Vietnam Association of Realtors, said since the second quarter, the real estate market in the north has decelerated due to the impact of the credit tightening policy.
The market’s absorption rate in the third quarter decreased 66.5% against the first half of the year, and the number of transactions dropped over 50% against the same period last year.
The cash flow has slowed down in the real estate market, causing a marked decrease in liquidity, Dinh said.
Batdongsan’s southern regional manager Dinh Minh Tuan explained that transactions were frozen because some investors and buyers had difficulty accessing bank loans, while others were shocked at increasing interest rates. This situation has caused people to delay purchases in the short term while they assess the market.
Many well-off people are hesitant to disburse money, expecting housing prices to fall further and discount rates to increase in the coming time, Tuan said.
Vietnamese vendors have sold nearly 10 million products on Amazon this year, totaling an export value over 45% more than 2021, according to a report by the American e-commerce giant.
During the pandemic, there were “thousands” of Vietnamese vendors on Amazon, and their top-selling products were in the categories of kitchen ware, home appliances, garment and textile and healthcare.
Several Vietnamese brands such as AnEco (maker of compostable garbage bags), Lafooco (cashew exporter), Sunhouse (home appliances manufacturer) and HMG (3D card manufacturer) have been hailed by Amazon for succeeding in their e-commerce initiatives and creating jobs for locals.
Nguyen Le Thang Long, deputy director of An Phat, which makes AnEco products, said that sales through Amazon have surged nearly five times from 2021.
Phung Minh Thuy, founder of HMG, said that her company receives hundreds of orders through Amazon each day.
Vietnam ranks fifth among the top 10 markets globally in terms of e-commerce and retail sales growth at 19%, behind the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Brazil, according to market research firm eMarketer.
Vietnam’s e-commerce exports revenue is set to rise 20% annually between 2021 and 2026, according to consultancy firm AlphaBeta.
With a strong national policy to support exports, abundant production capacity, and rapid development of e-commerce, Vietnam is at a golden stage for online exports to take off, said Gijae Seong, managing director of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam.
Vietnam consumes nearly 50 tons of gold jewelry each year, with 80% absorbed by HCMC, according to the Saigon Jewelry Association (SJA).
The country imported more than 1,000 tons of gold in the 1991-2012 period.
Businesses have not been allowed to import raw gold since May 2012, but consumption of the precious metal has still increased stealthily every year, said SJA.
In recent years, the export turnovers of Vietnamese gold jewelry have stood at $20-30 million per year.
The jewelry is mainly exported to Asian and European markets such as Germany, Denmark and France.According to the World Gold Council, Vietnam’s demand for gold bars, coins and jewelry ranks first in Southeast Asia.
Vietnam gold companies churn out more than 11 million gold products weighing over 40 tons, thanks to an industry that employ over 38,000 jewelers, according to SJA.
However, the ban on importing raw gold has caused difficulties for gold companies because there are differences between gold prices in international and local markets.