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Tag: Vietnam

  • US direct flight fare around $1,000

    US direct flight fare around $1,000

    A one-way ticket from Vietnam to the U.S. will cost around $1,000 and be available on the Vietnam Airlines website in a few days, the carrier has said.

    There would be a reduced number of passengers to lower the aircraft’s weight to ensure no fuel stops are needed, CEO Le Hong Ha told reporters Tuesday.

    On the Boeing 787 and Airbus 350 planes Vietnam Airlines uses, this means a maximum of 210-220 passengers instead of the full complement of 300, he said.

    The 2.2 million Vietnamese-Americans in the U.S. would be the main targets in the future, he said.

    The Vietnam-U.S. direct route would not be profitable for five to 10 years, but it is better to fly to sustain cash flows, he said.

    Passengers allowed to enter Vietnam from the U.S. now amid Covid-19 are experts, businesspeople and high-skilled workers.

    The first regular direct flight to the U.S. will leave HCMC in the evening of November 28, achieving a dream conceived nearly two decades ago.

    It will arrive in San Francisco 13 hours and 50 minutes later.

  • Vietnam Airlines direct flight to US takes off next week

    Vietnam Airlines direct flight to US takes off next week

    National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines will operate its first regular direct flight to the U.S. on November 28, achieving a dream conceived nearly two decades ago.

    The flight will depart from HCMC in the evening and arrive at San Francisco 13 hours and 50 minutes later, CEO Le Hong Ha said at a press briefing Tuesday.

    The return flight will leave San Francisco on the evening of November 29 (U.S. time) and arrive in HCMC on December 1, 16 hours and 40 minutes later.

    The wide-body aircraft Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will be used for direct flights.

    Initially, there will be two flights a week and this can be increased to seven when the pandemic situation is under control, Ha said.

    Vietnam Airlines thus becomes the first Vietnamese carrier to operate a regular flight route to the U.S.

    In 2003, the airline had been directed by the Ministry of Transport to begin direct services to the U.S. by 2005. However, concerns over profitability had kept the carrier from implementing the plan until now.

    The national flag carrier is also studying the possibility of other direct routes to the U.S., including flights between Hanoi and HCMC to Los Angeles or Houston.

    The U.S. has one of the most stringent aviation standards in the world. There are around 20 airlines operating routes between Vietnam and the U.S.

    “We needed to prepare hundreds of kilograms worth of paperwork to meet the U.S. requirements,” Ha said.

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  • Vietnam gold prices reach another year’s peak

    Vietnam gold prices reach another year’s peak

    Vietnam’s gold prices hit another high this year of over VND61 million ($2,677.51) per tael as global prices soared to a five-month high.

    Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) sold its gold for VND61.1 million per tael Tuesday morning, up 0.49 percent from Monday. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.

    DOJI sold its gold at VND60.9 million, up 0.33 percent.

    This means there is now a VND9.8 million gap between Vietnamese, and the global gold rate.

    Gold prices are now at $1,862.81 per ounce after rallying to a five-month peak in the previous session, as concerns over broadening inflationary risks kept bullion’s safe-haven appeal intact in the face of a stronger U.S. dollar and elevated bond yields.

    Some analysts anticipate further increases, while others remain conservative about the $1,870 resistance.

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  • Holiday train tickets in low demand

    Holiday train tickets in low demand

    Train ticket demand for the upcoming Lunar New Year Holiday is plunging due to fear of Covid-19 contagion as thousands of new cases nationwide are confirmed each day.

    Saigon Railway Station in HCMC opened its ticket sales for Tet 2022, the biggest annual holiday which falls in early February, but its nine counters were seen with few inquirers.

    Viet Truong, 37, showed up at 7 a.m., anticipating a large number of customers as what happened in previous years.

    “I got the tickets in only 20 minutes, while in previous years I had to wait the whole morning.”

    Tet tickets are being sold for five routes: four North-South routes and one HCMC-Da Nang route, while in previous years there were 20 routes.

    After two hours of opening sales, over 1,500 tickets were sold, which is the lowest in recent years.

    Hundreds of seats were still available as of lunchtime, even though tickets are being sold at a 10-15 percent discount in the first 10 days.

    Vietnam recorded over 8,200 new Covid-19 cases on average in each of the last seven days, with over 1,200 in HCMC alone.

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  • Gold prices hit 15-month high

    Gold prices hit 15-month high

    Vietnamese gold prices are now at a 15-month high and, as always, well above global rates.

    The Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) sold bullion at VND60.75 million ($2,682.23) per tael Saturday morning, up 0.75 percent from Friday. A tael equals 37.5 grams or 1.2 ounces.

    This made them around VND10 million or 19.7 percent higher than global prices.

    A spokesperson for SJC said that the gap is widening because Vietnamese prices are becoming less dependent on global rates and relying increasingly on domestic supply and demand.

    Global rates have risen by 5.26 percent to $1,864.74 per ounce since Nov. 4, bolstered by deepening fears of inflation and reassurances from major central banks that interest rates would remain low for the time being.

    Traders are taking profits after an incredible run, Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago, told Reuters.

    Societe Generale analysts forecast gold prices to average $1,950 an ounce in the first quarter of 2022, given the “renewed commitment from the Federal Reserve to support the economy while letting inflation printing higher”.

    Gold consumption in the third quarter fell by half year-on-year to 3.3 tons as jewelry stores closed due to Covid-19 restrictions, according to a report by the World Gold Council.

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  • VietinBank pioneers online foreign exchange services

    VietinBank pioneers online foreign exchange services

    VietinBank has launched FX Online 24/7, allowing customers to perform transactions at any time, anywhere on platforms VietinBank eFAST and VietinBank Ipay.

    VietinBank focuses on innovating its system to improve FX services. Just by taking some simple steps on a smartphone or a laptop with an internet connection, without having to go to the bank, customers can perform FX transactions online with VietinBank for different currencies.

    Corporate customers can buy and transfer foreign currency online within business hours.

    Corporate customers or individual customers can sell foreign currency online from foreign currency accounts and receive Vietnamese dong into their accounts anytime, including weekends and holidays.

    With a multi-level authorized matrix, VietinBank eFAST can meet the diversified demand of customers for authorization. The system provides security methods meeting the State Bank of Vietnam’s requirements including OTP verification and keypass token verification.

    VietinBank is offering a promotional campaign for corporate customers using the service “Customers sell foreign currency online 24/7” through VietinBank eFAST platform. Customers are offered 20 preferential points with USD/VND transactions; 50 preferential points with EUR/VND and 0.5 preferential point with JPY/VND. There are also special offers for other currency pairs.

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  • Vietnam supplier resumption to reboot Japan auto industry

    Vietnam supplier resumption to reboot Japan auto industry

    The resumption of auto part factories in Vietnam is set to contribute to the recovery of Japanese automakers struggling with a supply shortage due to Covid-19.

    The three Vietnam factories of Japan’s Furukawa Electric, which make wire harnesses for cars, are expected to soon return to full capacity.

    Factory floors “have returned to a position where they can respond to requests from a client,” Furukawa Electric President Keiichi Kobayashi said.

    The fourth Covid-19 wave has forced most southern companies to operate under restrictions, but since October, utilization rates at all three factories in Ho Chi Minh City and Ben Tre Province have been recovering steadily.

    Vietnam was the source of about 40 percent of Japan’s wire harness imports last year, with pandemic restrictions having forced Toyota Motor and seven other Japanese automakers to cut September production in half compared to a year earlier.

    Yazaki and Sumitomo Electric Industries also restoring production at their Vietnamese plants could further help support a production comeback in Japan’s auto sector.

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  • Adidas, Reebook supplier in HCMC faces worker shortage

    Adidas, Reebook supplier in HCMC faces worker shortage

    Footwear maker PouYuen Vietnam, the largest employer in HCMC, faces a shortage of workers after 6 percent quit due to Covid-19 restrictions and resultant problems.

    The Taiwanese company, a supplier to Adidas and Reebok, has sought the city’s support for finding new workers, according to the HCMC Media Center.

    Its plant, situated in Binh Tan District, was among many required to scale down production during the third quarter as the fourth wave of Covid hit HCMC.

    When the city lifted restrictions on October 1, workers who had left for their hometowns returned to work, with more 47,000, or 87.4 percent of the number that left, back as of Nov. 8, it said.

    Around 77.4 percent of workers are fully vaccinated.

    The American Apparel & Footwear Association, which represents more than 1,000 brands, in July urged the U.S. government to quickly provide vaccines to Vietnam to enable its apparel and footwear industries to resume production.

    Vietnam is the second largest supplier of apparel, footwear and travel goods to the U.S., accounting for a fifth of all imports, it said.

  • Vietnam Internet economy to expand 31 pct

    Vietnam Internet economy to expand 31 pct

    Vietnam’s Internet economy is expected to grow by 31 percent this year to $21 billion this year despite little or no contribution from the online travel market.

    It is set to reach $57 billion by 2025 after growing at 29 percent a year, according to the e-Conomy Southeast Asia 2021 report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Co.

    This means Vietnam will draw level with Malaysia this year and exceed it by 2025.

    It is now only below Indonesia ($70 billion) and Thailand ($30 billion) among the six major economies in Southeast Asia.

    It added eight million new digital consumers between the start of the pandemic and the first half of this year, 55 percent of them from non-metro areas.

    “Stickiness of adoption remains high as digital consumption has become a way of life,” the report said, pointing out that 97 percent of the new consumers are still online.

    The value of the online travel sector is set to plunge by 45 percent this year, but other sectors are headed for double-digit growth, led by e-commerce at 53 percent.

    Digital merchants are becoming tech-savvy and likely to become even more so in the future.

    Thirty percent of them said they would not have survived the pandemic if not for digital platforms.

    Digital financial services are also becoming critical enablers, with 99 percent of digital merchants now accepting digital payments.

    The country saw deal values in the Internet economy quadruple year-on-year in the first half of the year to nearly $1.37 billion from 89 deals.

    “Vietnam remains a very attractive innovation hub with more incubators, accelerators, and innovation labs than most other markets in the region,” the report said.

    The latest deal saw a group of investors led by insurance company AIA invest $258 million in e-commerce company Tiki.

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  • Two more river bus routes proposed for HCMC

    Two more river bus routes proposed for HCMC

    Ho Chi Minh City’s District 7 has proposed to municipal authorities that two new river bus routes be established to connect it with downtown District 1.

    A private company will invest and operate the two routes on Saigon River for five years, with a total price tag of nearly VND260 billion ($11.5 million), District 7 authorities proposed.

    The No. 3 route will run 13 kilometers from Bach Dang Wharf to Mui Den Do with a total time of 56 minutes. There will be 11 stations. A boat will have 50 seats.

    The No. 4 route will run over 13 kilometers from Bach Dang Wharf to the Phu My Hung urban area. A boat will have 40 seats.

    Authorities of District 7 said both routes would help take advantage of the waterways as the city strives to recover its economy following the fourth Covid-19 wave, the proposal read.

    HCMC is operating the No. 1 route from District 1 to Thu Duc City. The No. 2 route from downtown to District 8 is pending operation.

    River buses are part of the city’s efforts to reduce traffic congestion.

    With 110 rivers and canals covering 1,000 kilometers, the city needs over VND21 trillion to develop this network in the next 30 years, according to its Department of Transport.

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  • Airfares lowest in five years

    Airfares lowest in five years

    Domestic airfares are at their lowest levels in five years as demand remains low. Hoa of the central Quang Nam Province said: “I had to pay only VND370,000 ($16.37) for a flight from Chu Lai (in the central provinces of Quang Nam) to HCMC, a rate I have not seen in the last five years.”

    Hoa in Hanoi said a return ticket between the capital and Phu Quoc Island is now around VND1.1 million while even several years ago the cheapest fare was only VND1.5 million.

    Thu, who runs a travel agency in Hanoi, said a one-way ticket for a flight between Hanoi or HCMC to some central provinces now costs VND314,000-450,000, the lowest in five years.

    “But the number of passengers is still very small, except on key routes like HCMC-Hanoi, HCMC-Da Nang and Hanoi-Da Nang.”

    Surveys by VnExpress found that fares from HCMC to the Central Highlands town of Da Lat and the central town of Nha Trang are VND358,000, and to some other destinations are VND483,000.

    Vietjet Air sells a one-way ticket for a flight between HCMC and Hanoi at VND544,000, and Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways at VND1.1-1.8 million, down 15-20 percent from a year ago.

    Carriers said they have yet to attract many customers because people are still worried about the Covid-19 threat and the stringent air travel requirements.

    A Vietnam Airlines spokesperson said: “We have resumed flights on 38 domestic routes and six international one. The number of passengers is still low, but flights between HCMC and Da Nang, and between HCMC and Hanoi are 80 percent full”.

    Vietjet said it would resume flying on 48 domestic routes by Nov. 30. It currently offers free rapid Covid tests for passengers departing from HCMC and Hanoi.

    Recently the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam proposed the resumption of international flights to 15 countries and territories in four phases between now and July.

    Vietnam closed its doors to foreign tourists and canceled all international flights in March last year to contain Covid, since then allowing entry only for Vietnamese repatriates and foreign experts and highly-skilled workers.

  • Over 130,000 investors enter stock market

    Over 130,000 investors enter stock market

    More than 130,000 new investors opened stock trading accounts in October, including 129,750 local investors, according to the Vietnam Securities Depository.

    129,200 of the local investors were retail ones.

    At the end of October there were over 3.86 million accounts. The number increased for a third straight month amid news of government economic stimulus of around VND800 trillion ($34.78 billion).

    The benchmark VN-Index rose to a new peak of 1,456.51 points on Friday, led by energy stocks, though trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange dipped slightly to VND26.14 trillion.

    The government targets having 3 percent of the population participating in equity markets by the end of this year and 5 percent by 2025 under its Scheme for Restructuring Securities and Insurance Markets, which it finalized in early 2019.

  • Vietnam’s VinFast eyes over $200 mln capital investments in California

    Vietnam’s VinFast eyes over $200 mln capital investments in California

    VinFast said Friday it will make over $200 million in capital investments and place its U.S. headquarter in California as part of its plan to expand operation in North America.

    VinFast, the automobile arm of Vietnam’s largest conglomerate Vingroup, became the country’s first fully-fledged domestic car manufacturer when its gasoline-powered models built under its own badge hit the streets in 2019.

    It is aiming to debut in the U.S. with two battery-electric SUVs and inaugurate 60 showrooms across the country next year, the company said.

    VinFast has said it will keep an eye on the possibility of a manufacturing facility in the U.S.

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  • Soaring demand delays iPhone 13 delivery in Vietnam

    Soaring demand delays iPhone 13 delivery in Vietnam

    A global chip shortage and rising demand is delaying iPhone 13 delivery in Vietnam, with distributors reporting shortages in the Pro models.

    “We do not currently have the iPhone 13 Pro Max model you have ordered and you might have to wait until next month at the earliest,” a salesperson with a smartphone distribution chain in Vietnam told Thuy Linh, who is planning a smartphone upgrade.

    Linh, an English teacher in Hanoi, has tried several stores in Hanoi but the 128-gigabyte option is either out of stock or does not have the color she wants.

    The model she desires is available in the unofficial market, but prices are around 20 percent higher, the 28-year-old teacher said.

    Duc Anh, who works for a marketing company in HCMC, is also finding it difficult to get his hands on the latest Apple smartphones. Several stores have informed him that it would take weeks until the next delivery.

    “Gold and Sierra Blue models are not available in most of the shops I’ve contacted. Some have pushed up prices so I am waiting for the market to cool down.”

    The most expensive iPhone 13 models, Pro and Pro Max, are in short supply in Vietnam as the ongoing global chip shortage hampers Apple’s production.

    Apple is expected to cut its iPhone 13 production by as many as 10 million units this year due to the global chip shortage, Bloomberg reports.

    Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted last week that chip shortage and supply chain problems related to Covid-19 have cut sales by $6 billion in the last fiscal quarter.

    But another reason for the delay in delivery in Vietnam is the high demand, distributors say.

    The supply of iPhone 13 in Vietnam only meets half of the customers’ orders, according to estimates by CellphoneS. The company has only received 20 percent of the total it has ordered from Apple.

    “Demand has risen by 50 percent compared to the same period last year, and it does not seem to have been affected by the pandemic,” a media representative for the company said.

    CellphoneS estimate iPhone 13 sales to rise 50-60 percent over that of iPhone 12 in the same period last year.

    FPT Shop, with over 700 outlets nationwide, saw sales of iPhone 13 in the launching week double that of iPhone 12 last year, and the same percentage is likely to be maintained throughout the last quarter, a representative said.

    The iPhone 13 Pro Max, the biggest and most expensive of the four new models, accounted for 72 percent of iPhone 13 sales in October, the company said.

    Sierra Blue and Gold are the most sought-after colors for the Pro Max and the Pro models at FPT Shop, which explains the shortage, industry insiders say.

    They also say that the large number of incentives that Apple is offering users this year is motivating more buyers to go to authorized stores instead of buying them from stores that pick up the devices in other countries and sell them in Vietnam.

    Apple accounted for around 7 percent of the smartphone market share in Vietnam in the second quarter, ranking fifth behind Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, according to Counterpoint Research.

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  • Bamboo Airways signs $2-bln deal with Safran, GE

    Bamboo Airways signs $2-bln deal with Safran, GE

    Bamboo Airways has signed a EUR1.73-billion ($2 billion) deal with France’s Safran and the U.S.’s General Electric for aircraft engines and equipment.

    The Vietnamese carrier on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with Safran and GE to purchase equipment for 50 narrow-bodied Airbus A321neos and 30 wide-bodied Boeing 787-9s.

    Safran makes high-class airplane seats and other cabin equipment.

    Bamboo Airways currently operates seven A320neos and 5 A321neos.

    “We are looking forward to developing a strong relationship with Bamboo and being part of its future growth,” Alexandre Ziegler, Safran’s senior executive vice president of international and public affairs, said in a statement.

    The deals were signed in the presence of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and French Prime Minister Jean Castex during the former’s working visit to France from Nov. 3-5.

    Earlier low-cost Vietnamese carrier Vietjet also signed an agreement with Safran.

    The two parties had an existing $10-billion deal for engines and engine maintenance, and it has been expanded to cover more aircraft engine deals and a number of other aspects such as seats and interiors.

    Vietjet operates a fleet of 90 aircraft.

    Safran is a global technology company with interests also in the defense and space markets, 76,000 employees and annual sales of 16.5 billion euros ($19.15 billion).