The Hoa Phat Group announced on January 4 that it exported about 200,000 tonnes of steel in 2017.

Some 161,000 tonnes were shipped to the US, Canada, Australia, Malaysia and Cambodia. High-quality steel products have been favoured by foreigners.

The group also sold 79,000 tonnes of steel billets to domestic and foreign markets.

Last year, the company’s business hit a record of 3 million tonnes of steel, a year-on-year surge of 25 percent. Of the total amount, 2.2 million tonnes were construction steel, 600,000 were steel pipes, and the remainders are galvanised steel.

The Hoa Phat Group continued to affirm its leading position in the domestic market with its two main products – construction steel and steel pipes. Strong consumption was seen in the central and southern regions.

Tra Vinh: seafood exports expected to reach 352 mln USD in 2018

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh hopes to earn about 8 trillion VND (352 million USD) from exporting seafood in 2018.

The province targets a total output of 188,000 tonnes, including 113,000 tonnes from farming.

Pham Minh Truyen, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province aims to enhance the value of its seafood products while ensuring sustainable development of the local fishery sector in line with its restructuring roadmap by 2020.

In order to realise the goals, the province is taking numerous measures on the planning management, production and supplies of fries.

Supervision and management are strengthened over feed quality and veterinary drug and the environment of farms. Investments are poured into in building technical infrastructure serving aquaculture and seafood processing, while the application of science – technology in the local sector is promoted.

Priority is given to accelerating the implementation the construction and completion of infrastructure works for aquatic farming, including the 4,800ha aquaculture project in Long Vinh and Long Huu communes, the 1,170ha aquaculture irrigation project in Don Xuan and Don Chau communes, and the 2,800ha shrimp farming project in Vinh Long commune in Duyen Hai district; and the aquaculture irrigation project in Hiep My Tay and Thanh Hoa Son communes in Cau Ngang district.

The province also makes planning and develops a technical procedure for expanding hi-tech shrimp farming.

In 2017, Tra Vinh produced over 199,000 tonnes of seafood, up 27,000 tonnes from 2016, and earned 8.49 trillion VND (373.56 million USD), of which 6.8 trillion VND (299.2 million USD) came from farming.

Dong Nai takes drastic measures to maintain growth rate

The southern province of Dong Nai plans to take a myriad of measures to maintain a Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) growth rate of 8-9 percent in 2018, according to Dinh Quoc Thai, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

The province hopes to boost export value by 9-11 percent and collect over 53 trillion VND (2.33 billion USD) for the State budget in the year.

To that end, the province will focus on completing a legal framework on mobilising and using effectively resources for development investment.

The economic restructuring plan will be accelerated in tandem with shifting the growth models in all sectors and fields towards higher quality, effectiveness and competitiveness.

The locality will step up construction of socio-economic infrastructure while improving the business climate, facilitating the growth of sectors and fields, developing the domestic market, and controlling imports.

In 2017, Dong Nai led the nation in budget collection, contributing nearly 48.7 trillion VND (2.14 billion USD) to the State coffer, up 12 percent year on year.

The province’s GRDP grew by 8 percent, the local industrial production index by 8.6 percent, while export value reached nearly 17 billion USD, with a trade surplus of nearly 2.2 billion USD. 

The local per capital income hit 91 million VND (4,000 USD) in the year, almost doubling the nation’s level of over 53 million VND (23,300 USD).

The locality also led the nation in luring investment, with over 1.83 billion USD of foreign investment and 28.3 trillion VND (1.24 billion USD) from domestic investors, exceeding its targets by 83 percent and 150 percent, respectively.

The province’s industrial production value was nearly 732 trillion VND (32.2 billion USD), up 9.1 percent from 2016, of which the foreign investment sector made up of 592 trillion VND (26 billion USD).

With these remarkable achievements, Dong Nai remains among the nation’s top performers, namely HCM City, Hanoi, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Quang Ninh, and Vinh Phuc.

Agriculture contributes to country’s modernisation: PM

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highlighted the importance of agriculture and rural development to the country’s modernisation cause during a meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Hanoi on January 4. 

Assigning 2018 tasks to the sector, the PM requested stronger and more drastic transformation by developing large-scale farming, using modern technology to improve output and competitiveness, and stepping up new rural development. 

He hailed the sector for surpassing 2017’s targets with a 2.94 percent growth, more than doubling that of 2016, contributing 0.44 percent to the country’s economic growth. The import of fruits, vegetables and wooden furniture reduced while hi-tech agriculture reaped initial successes. 

The leader said more and more firms get involved in farming and many of them have succeeded. 

He also asked for strong directions to deal with violations in agriculture, forestry and fisheries as well as deforestation, and pool resources for rural development, given that a number of fishermen and those living in remote and mountainous areas are facing difficulties in wake of the recent floods. 

In food hygiene and safety, farmers were urged to set examples to protect themselves and consumers. 

About targets for 2018, he said the agricultural sector should set to grow by 2.25 percent while forestry and fisheries will expand by 6.5 percent and 5 percent, respectively. The sector’s export earnings will near 40 billion USD, and 52 districts and 37 percent of communes will become new-style rural areas. 

The ministry and localities must immediately follow the Party and National Assembly’s resolutions and the government’s Resolution No.1 under the motto of Discipline, Integrity, Action, Creativity, Effectiveness, he said. 

Statistics from the ministry showed that nearly 2,000 newly-established firms operated in agro-forestry-fisheries in 2017, up 3.8 percent annually, raising the total in the sector to 5,600. 

Also in 2017, the sector brought home 36.37 billion USD from agro-forestry-fisheries export, 4 billion USD higher than last year’s same period. Trade surplus hit 8.55 billion USD, up 1 billion USD year on year. 

Export of aquatic products hit an all-time high of 8.4 billion USD while wood and forestry shipments hit 8 billion USD. In particular, fruits and vegetables export surged 40.5 percent to 3.45 billion USD, or 2.6 billion USD higher than rice export value.  

As many as 2,884 communes were recognised as new-style rural areas, equivalent to 32.3 percent, higher than the target of 31 percent. 

Agriculture sector prevails despite disasters, can do more: officials

The agriculture sector managed to top the annual growth target despite 2017 being a year of successive extreme weather events, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Nguyễn Xuân Cường said at a review conference yesterday.

He said the sector expanded 2.9 per cent, as against the target of 2.84 per cent, thanks to favourable market conditions and product restructuring efforts.

He said 2017 was a landmark year for the sector with several new records being set as the country gradually moved away from rice as the main export product to other higher, value-added products.

Fisheries export, for example, reached a record US$8.4 billion, with wood, furniture and forestry products export following closely behind in the second place with $8 billion. Fruit and vegetable export reached $3.45 billion (a year-on-year increase of 40.5 per cent), while rice exports trailed far behind at $2.6 billion.

Total agriculture exports reached an unprecedented $36 billion, up 13 per cent compared to 2016, surpassing the Government’s original target of $32-32 billion.

According to the agriculture ministry, 2,000 new businesses in the forestry and fisheries sectors have been established, an increase of 3.8 per cent over 2016’s figure, bringing the total number of agribusinesses in the country to 5,600.

Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc reaffirmed the crucial role that agriculture plays in the economy, but added that it should increase the value of itts contribution.

“With a country of ‘three parts mountains, four parts seas, and one part field,’ with 70 per cent of the population living in rural areas and 42 per cent of the labour force based in the countryside, agriculture only manages to make up 15 per cent of the country’s GDP,” Phúc said.

Reiterating a previous caution by Party General Secterary Nguyễn Phú Trọng that the sector cannot afford to rest on its laurels, Phúc urged the agriculture ministry to deal with long-standing issues that have plagued the sector.

Wide prevalence of small-scale holdings and scattered production, deforestation or clearing of forests for “unnecessary purposes,” degrading irrigation infrastructure and low productivity were some of the shortcomings highlighted by the PM.

He said it was “highly important” that the sector shows more determination in tackling and preventing violations that culminated in EU’s ‘yellow card’ warning over Việt Nam’s illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. He said actions should be taken to ensure that the warning is lifted in the first six months of the year itself.  

This year, the sector has a growth target of 2.8-3.0 per cent, with exports of $40 billion. Agriculture production is set to increase by 2.25 per cent, forestry by 6.5 per cent, and fisheries by 5 per cent.

To achieve the targets, restructuring efforts must be scaled up with a focus on value chain development and climate change responses, the agriculture minister said.

He also called for focus on advancing new-style rural areas, with just 32 per cent of 9000 communes in the country meeting set criteria. The target for 2020 is 50 per cent, Minister Cường noted.

“Three areas must be prioritised: Promoting production, environment protection and rehabilitation, and social security and order,” he added.

PM Phúc said that in 2018, the agriculture ministry must either abolish or adjust 59 business conditions to achieve the target of alleviating 50 per cent of requirements in granting business permits.

He also asked the ministry to “reform its mindset” and set the agricultural production on the course to “hi-tech, clean, green, and smart agriculture” to “seize opportunities brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

EVN told to develop affordable green power
     
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has asked Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN) to develop green power with prices people can afford, adding that the transparency in power pricing must be improved.

Stressing the important role of EVN in power supply, Dung said at a group conference yesterday that it was critical to restructure power supply sources to meet the electricity demand for socio-economic development.

Developing green power to replace energy that produced pollution was a solution to many problems, Dung said, urging EVN to map out plans and resources to achieve this aim..

In addition, he said the group must hasten restructuring to enhance management and competitiveness.

Dung asked EVN to complete the equitisation of Power Generation Corporation No 3 in the first half of the year, and of the two remaining power generation corporations later.

Viet Nam’s electricity demand is expected to increase significantly in coming years. On average, power demand is likely to increase by 10 per cent annually by 2030.

Under national power development planning for the 2011-20 period, total power generation capacity is expected to reach 60,000 MW by 2020 and 96,500 MW by 2025.

The Deputy PM said the power sector was encountering many challenges to meet the rapidly increasing power demand as well as the requirements of environmental protection. At the same time, financial resources for new power projects was limited.

Dung said focus should also be placed on implementing major projects to meet power demand, safely operating hydro-power plants, saving natural resources and protecting the environment.

Vo Quang Lam, EVN’s deputy director general, said that the group would ensure sufficient power supply in 2018 if no unusual situations occurred.

EVN planned to produce and buy a total of 210.49 billion kWh electricity in 2018, an increase by 9.38 per cent over the previous year.

The power-loss rate would be reduced by 0.27 percentage points to 7.2 per cent.

The group also hopes to improve its ranking by the World Bank’s Doing Business report from 64th out of 190 countries and terrioties in 2017 to 60th this year.

The group also wants the Ministry of Industry and Trade to push up the implementation of power projects outside EVN and to direct Viet Nam National Oil and Gas Group, Viet Nam Gas Corporation, to ensure gas supply for producing power.

According to EVN, the group produced and bought a total of 192.45 billion kWh in 2017, up by 8.6 per cent over 2016. 

Food safety should be priority for local, export markets
     
Unsafe food is still widespread in the domestic market, causing concern among consumers, according to experts.

“Vietnamese producers do this very well for exports, but in the domestic market consumers still face risks from unsafe food,” Pham Khanh Phong Lan, head of the Food Safety Management Board of HCM City, said.

In recent years, exports of Vietnamese farm produce have increased significantly year after year.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Viet Nam earned US$36.37 billion from farm produce exports last year, a year-on-year increase of 13 per cent. Fruits and vegetables alone fetched $3.5 billion.

“To achieve these numbers, Vietnamese farm produce must satisfy international quality standards, so the country can show that it has high potential for producing safe food,” Lan said.

Producers still give priority to export products of good quality and distribute lower-quality products in the domestic market, she added.

The Government’s regulations and management policies still have loopholes for fraudulent businesses to thrive, she said.

Also, producers have had difficulties because consumers want to have both safe and beautiful products at cheap prices, she said.

Nguyen Thai Binh, director of Trung An Hi-Tech Farming JSC, said to produce safe products, producers should comply with Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGap) standards.

There is a lack of trust among consumers about safe products, he said. To win back trust, State management agencies must improve the control of the market and strictly deal with violations on food safety, he said.

Vu Kim Hanh, chairwoman of the High Quality Vietnamese Product Business Association, said experiences from many countries showed that in addition to businesses and farmers investing in production and trade and improving product quality, government agencies, business associations and scientists should offer help to producers so they can acquire food-safety certificates and promote their products at home and abroad.

This would help businesses and farmers save on costs and minimise risks when bringing goods to the market, she said.

Lan from the city’s Food Safety Management Board said HCM City had many practical programmes to develop safe food supply chains for domestic and export markets.

Developing co-operative models and supply chains towards ensuring food safety and creating favourable conditions for farmers and producers has been identified as one of the most important solutions, she added.

The co-operation model, with participation of businesses (ensuring outlets for products), cities and provinces (having land for producing safe food), and the association and the Food Safety Management Board of HCM City (for consulting, certifying and connecting farmers with businesses), will ensure a closed production chain as well as high consumption of safe food products. 

BNP Paribas offloads entire stake in OCB
     
BNP Paribas has offloaded its entire stake of over 74.7 million shares, or 18.68 per cent of capital, in Orient Commercial Bank (OCB), ending the 10-year alliance between the two banks.

The transaction was completed on December 26, but the value of the deal and buyer’s name have yet to be disclosed. The French lender is no longer OCB’s strategic investor, the Vietnamese bank has announced.

This is considered an unexpected move in the context that many foreign investors have tended to jump into the Vietnamese banking sector.

BNP Paribas purchased a 10 per cent equity stake in OCB in February 22, 2008, and raised its interest to 15 per cent in February 2009 and 20 per cent in 2011. During the 10-year co-operation, BNP Paribas provided financial and human resources for OCB.

Following the French lender’s withdrawal, foreign ownership limit in OCB has been capped at 4.98 per cent, OCB said in the statement on December 27.

In a related development, Vietcombank registered to sell nearly 19 million OCB shares on December 29, however only 13.1 million shares were bought at the average selling price of over VND13,000 (US$0.57) per share. Vietcombank collected over VND171 billion from the sale.

OCB’s shares are, meanwhile, trading on the Over-The-Counter market at some VND14,000-VND17,000 per share.

Ending September 2017, OCB’s total assets reached over VND70.8 trillion ($3.1 billion), up 11 per cent year-on-year. Its pre-tax profit was VND792 billion in nine months, surpassing its yearly target by 1 per cent.

The bank’s bad debt ratio increased from 1.75 per cent in early 2017 to 2.1 per cent in September.

TH Group sends milch cows to Russian farm
     
Viet Nam’s TH Group, famous for its TH True Milk brand, has sent 1,100 cows from the United States to Russia. The cows, which are pregnant, are known for their high milk production.

The cows are on their way to TH Group’s US$2.7 billion hi-tech dairy farm complex in Ivanovskoe and Mikhailovskoe villages, Volokolask District, Moskva Province, Russia.

The cows are of purebred Holstein Friesian (HF) breed, selected with molecular genetics technology and under genealogical management for three generations.

The milk yield of the HF cow is about 11-12 tonnes per head, per circle of 305 days, double the average milk yield of 5.5 tonnes per cow head in Russia

This is the first dairy project of Viet Nam in Russia and is also the largest agricultural project invested by Viet Nam in Russia. The farm began construction in May 2016.

TH Group is also developing a dairy farm in Kaluga Province and is considering investment in Tyumen, Bashkortostan, and is preparing for investment in the Far East. 

Petrol prices stable, oil prices increase slightly
     
The price of bio-fuel E5 was kept unchanged while diesel 0.05S and kerosene increased slightly by VND360 and VND495 per litre, respectively, in the latest regular adjustment of petrol and oil prices as of 3pm on Thursday.

The ministries of industry and trade and finance announced that the price of E5 is not higher than VND18,243 per litre and diesel 0.05S and kerosene should not be higher than VND15,529 per litre and VND14,112 per litre, respectively.

This is the first time petrol and oil prices were adjusted in 2018.

The two ministries conduct a review of fuel prices every 15 days to adjust prices in accordance with fluctuations on the world market.

In 2017, petrol and oil prices were adjusted 24 times, including nine hikes and nine drops.

Bao Viet posts $1.5 billion revenue in 2017
     
Bao Viet Group has announced total consolidated revenue of some VND31.2 trillion (US$1.5 billion) in 2017, increasing 21.5 per cent from the previous year and surpassing 8 per cent of its set target.

Its after-tax profit was also estimated to be higher than the target.

The group’s insurance sector continued to achieve a double digit growth rate. In 2017, life insurance premium rose by 25 per cent from 2016 and took the lead in the market in terms of new contracts, which were worth VND3.8 trillion.

Its non-life insurance exceeded plans with Original Gross Premium Income of VND8.5 trillion.

Its member companies introduced many insurance products in 2017, while promoting new products for individual customers through banking channels such as house building and repair loans Bao Viet Happy House, Bao Viet Happy Life and adding new services to customers using its internet banking and the Bao Viet bank card.

Bao Viet’s securities sector also enhanced its brokerage market share in 2017 with the success in consultancy of State-owned capital divestment at Sabeco.

Its fund management continued to grow in terms of total management assets, which rose to $1.9 billion, up 16 per cent from the previous year.

The group has targeted to focus on implementing brand repositioning towards sustainable development while continuing to complete information and technology infrastructure and cooperate with prestigious partners to improve management quality.

Hoa Phat produces record steel in 2017
     
Hoa Phat Group, a major industrial group in Viet Nam, produced a record volume of finished steel products – three million tonnes – in 2017, a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent, the group’s managers said on Thursday.

Of this, construction steel accounted for 2.2 million tonnes, while steel pipes contributed to 600,000 tonnes and the remaining was galvanised steel.

Last year, Hoa Phat exported some 200,000 tonnes of steel products. They included 161,000 tonnes of steel bars and rolled steel to the United States, Canada, Australia, Malaysia and Cambodia.

The increase in export volume to strict markets showed high competitiveness of the group’s steel products, especially high-quality rolled steel with code SAE1006 and SAE1008.

It was the first time Hoa Phat Steel surpassed an annual production of two million tonnes, a year-on-year surge of 20 per cent and 10 per cent higher than its plan for 2017.

In the domestic market, Hoa Phat continued to top the market share with 24 per cent. Sales in the central and southern regions grew rapidly.

Hoa Phat sold 79,000 tonnes of pig irons at home and foreign markets. It also consumed over 600,000 tonnes of steel pipes and 200,000 tonnes of galvanised steel sheets, exceeding its yearly targets for 2017.

Hoa Phat is the leading player in the steel industry in Viet Nam. Both construction steel and steel pipes of the group are leading the market, accounting for 24 per cent and nearly 27 per cent of market shares, respectively. 

VPBank aims top position by 2022
     
Viet Nam Prosperity Bank (VPBank) will target to be listed among the most valuable banks in Viet Nam by 2022, according to the bank’s CEO, Nguyen Duc Vinh.

He said that the bank was striving to fulfil its vision of becoming one of the most friendly banks to customers by putting into use technology.

Vinh said VPBank would implement its six key development plans during 2018-22. This is expected to result in outstanding growth in current sale channels, bring in new growth momentum, expand strategic relationships, achieve redesigning and digitalisation for customers, and lead to a healthy and effective organisation to attract talented people.

Last year, VPBank’s pre-tax profit was VND7.5 trillion (US$329 million), up 10 per cent from its target. Its profit in 2017 also rose by 50 per cent from VND4.9 trillion in 2016. 

Bao Viet’s brand value estimated at 108 million USD

Insurer Bao Viet’s brand value was estimated at 108 million USD by Brand Finance, an UK-based independent branded business valuation and strategy consultancy, up 19 million USD from 2016.

It makes Bao Viet the only local insurer named on the Brand Finance Top 50 Vietnamese Brands in which it was ranked No.21. 

According to Brand Finance, the total value of Top 50 brand names in Vietnam was recorded at nearly 11.3 billion USD, 68 percent of which was made up by the Top 10. 

Topping the list was Viettel with a brand value of nearly 2.6 billion USD, followed by Vinamilk with a value of 1.36 billion USD, VNPT with 726 USD million, Vinhomes with 604 million USD and Sabeco with 598 million USD.

Bao Viet posted the revenue of about 297 million USD in 2016, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the total insurance market share.

Deputy PM calls for Samsung’s support in technology transfer

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung asked the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Samsung Electronics Vietnam Company Ltd to continue providing concrete support in training and technology transfer to enable Vietnamese support industry firms to join Samsung’s value chains.

He made the request while hosting President of Samsung Vietnam Complex Shim Won Hwan in Hanoi on January 5.

Dung lauded the company’s large-scale investment in Vietnam, saying it has created jobs for hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese workers, bolstered exports and ensured trade balance between Vietnam and the RoK.

The Vietnamese Government wants Samsung and investors from the RoK to expand production and increase productivity and export value, bringing benefits to each country, he added.

He also affirmed that Vietnam and the RoK are enjoying sound strategic partnership relations, which are concretised through effective cooperation between enterprises from both sides.

The RoK is currently the second largest ODA provider of Vietnam and two-way trade as of November, 2017 was estimated at 56 billion USD, he said, noticing that Samsung has been the biggest investor in Vietnam for years.

Shim Won Hwan, for his part, highlighted that stable macro-economy is a positive sign for Vietnam and foreign investors as well.

He took the occasion to thank the Vietnamese Government, ministries and branches for addressing difficulties for his company to branch out operation in the Southeast Asian country.

There are 160,000 Vietnamese labourers working in Samsung plants and the company has carried out numerous policies to ensure social welfare in the country, he said.

DHL opens new service centre in Bình Dương

DHL Express, the world’s leading international express service provider, on Thursday, opened its new DHL Service Centre in Thủ Dầu Một, Bình Dương Province.

Located in one of the fastest growing economic industrial zones in the south, the US$700,000 centre is the newest investment made by DHL Express in Việt Nam, further bolstering the company’s network within the country.

“The establishment of the centre will not only bring convenience for many business partners and customers around the area, but also improve DHL’s capacity to handle customer shipments, resulting in a faster and more reliable service. This is also a part of our plans to further expand our trade network within the country,” said Hasan Farooq, DHL-VNPT Express Chief Financial Officer.

The DHL Bình Dương Service Centre is the 5th such facility to be opened in Việt nam, in addition to its Hà Nội service centre, south service centre, north service centre and Đà Nẵng service centre.

This latest addition allows DHL to offer earlier delivery timings and later pick-up timings for customers, by 30 minutes to one hour, as well as same-day uplift, with a direct shuttle service from Bình Dương to the DHL Express Gateway at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport.

Pepper exports expect to regain growth

Vietnam pepper exports increased by 20.5% to 214,000 tons in 2017, but the value dropped by 22% to US$1.12 billion after the export price fell 34.7% against the previous year.

Domestic price fell from VND200,000 per kilo in 2016 to VND70,000 per kilo in 2017. This is a sign of market saturation which suggests that the low price will remain in 2018 as the world pepper output is rising while pepper growing area in Vietnam is 50% larger than plan.

Local reports say climate change and extreme weather have negatively affected pepper production. Pepper output in 2018 is predicted not to go up and even decrease by 10% and the export volume will also be lower than last year.

Experts have attributed the growth of 20.5% in pepper export volume last year to the increase in world demand.  However, they also explain that the gap between supply and demand is not large and after demand is met it will hinder supply.

Experts suggests that the Ministry of Industry and Trade provide businesses with more forecast information about markets, crops and the outputs of top pepper producing countries. The Vietnam Pepper Association (VPA) should play a better role in the task.

Tran Duc Tung, a representative of VPA, says India’s increase of import duties on pepper will slightly impact Vietnam exports as the market only accounts for around 7% of Vietnam’s total pepper exports.

Vietnam pepper has been shipped to more than 100 countries and territories in the world with three largest consumers as the US, India and the UAE. Vietnam pepper has been favoured by customers for decades having made inroad into different continents.

Meanwhile, pepper growers are trending towards organic farming and sustainable agriculture to be accepted by demanding markets such as the US and EU. It is expected that Vietnam pepper exports will regain its steady growth.

Lotte comes out with new retail model in Vietnam

The Republic of Korean conglomerate Lotte is expanding its retail footprint in Vietnam with supermarket chains, department stores, e-commerce, and most recently, duty free stores.

Lee Jong Kook, president of External Relations for Lotte Vietnam, told VIR that Lotte Duty Free (LDF) has been a great success in the Vietnamese travel retail market.

Starting from the soft opening on May 8 last year, LDF held the grand opening of its store in Danang International Airport on November 1. As a major duty free operator in the central international airport, LDF breaks its own records every month and expects to reach $11 million sales in 2017.

In April 2018, LDF is going to open the second duty free store in Cam Ranh International Airport in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa. Cam Ranh Airport, a main international airport for tourists to Nha Trang, is slated to finish construction and open a new terminal in April. LDF will be the only duty free operator in the airport with a sales target of $21 million in 2018.

Kook is very upbeat about the prospects of the LDF Cam Ranh Airport store as Nha Trang is currently the most popular destination among Chinese tourists in Vietnam and the growth of this market segment will surely continue for more than five years.

According Kook, the duty free market belongs not only to the retail industry but also to the travel industry. That is why duty free business is classified as “travel retail.”

“As a travel retail operator in Vietnam, firstly we will deliver knowledge of duty free business to Vietnam. This will lead to upgrading service quality in the Vietnamese retail market. Secondly, we will try to focus on marketing to tourists so that the Vietnamese travel industry will prosper along with our business,” he added.

2017 was a successful year for Lotte Vietnam. In particular, Lotte Mart Vietnam had an excellent performance with a sales growth of 20 per cent.

“This result is realized after ten years of operations in Vietnam. We successfully completed a stable profit structure which would be ideal for any other retailer,” Lee said, adding that Lotte Mart has a total of 13 stores nationwide and will open 13 more stores, including smaller outlets.

In addition to its supermarket chain, the Republic of Korean retailer also owns and operates Lotte Shopping Plaza Vietnam, a department store located in Lotte Center Hanoi. Opened in September 2014, the store has achieved an impressive sales growth of 15.7 per cent in 2017.

Meanwhile, Lotte E-Commerce Vietnam was opened in October 2016 in order to meet the rising trend of online shopping. The year 2017 saw Lotte E-commerce settle successfully in the Vietnamese e-commerce market.

Lotte E-Commerce Vietnam has been trying to show off new life style in Vietnam e-commerce market while Lotte Shopping Plaza Vietnam continuously provides the newest commodity and service to Vietnamese clients.

In case of Lotte Mart Vietnam with experience more than 20 years in Korea and 10 years in Vietnam, Lotte has brought the best modern retail model to Vietnam. It not only enriches Vietnam's retail market with a unique retail an entertainment model but also provides Vietnamese customers a wide range of products diversification from the Republic of Korea or worldwide.

“We commit to investing more and more in the Vietnamese market and also promote national brands to a new level, not only in Lotte Mart Vietnam, but also expand to oversea markets like the Republic of Korea or South East Asia in near future,” he said.

Strong belief in national development in 2018

Vietnam welcomes the New Year 2018 with positive signs for national development with higher goals and firm advancement toward international integration.

Vietnam earned US$31 billion from exported garments and textiles last year, up 10% from 2016. For the first time Vietnamese garments and textiles were exported to China. The sector aims to increase export revenue to US$33.5 billion this year. 

Vu Duc Giang, President of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association, said “Production should be on a par with technological development, trademark promotion, and international marketing. We have to establish our trademark to develop a stable and effective garment and textile industry. With a clear vision and the state’s incentive policy, businesses will be motivated to invest in this sector.”

Vietnam’s agricultural exports earned a record US$36 billion in 2017. Many products were exported to demanding markets, which opens opportunities for this year. The Ministry of Industry and Trade predicts that 2018 will be a positive year for Vietnam’s economy.

In Ho Chi Minh City, people welcomed the New Year with expectations of developing a smart city through incentive policies. Nguyen Cao Dung of Hoc Mon district says “I hope Ho Chi Minh City will make progress this year. The National Assembly has given the city special mechanisms to attract more skilled workers.”

Quang Ninh province will host National Tourism Year 2018. Local people believe the event will make Quang Ninh more attractive to tourists and promote its world-class entertainment destinations.

PM gives go-ahead to Vinacomin restructuring project

The Prime Minister has adopted a project to restructure the Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) from now until 2020.

The restructure will cover the mergers, dissolution, and reorganization of 6 companies and 4 management boards.

According to Vinacomin General Director Dang Thanh Hai, by last month the group had 106,000 employees, nearly 5,000 less than at the beginning of the year. In 2018 the group’s total salary payment will drop but per capita salary will increase.

The group will downsize its staff to less than 100,000 people by the end of 2020 and will recruit more coal miners to about 4,000 people. 

Vinacomin has planned to raise productivity and salary as two inseparable matters, he notes.

Anam Electronics Vietnam expands with second factory in Ha Nam

Anam Electronics of the Republic of Korea (ROK) has begun construction of an electronic factory covering an area of 100,000sqm in Dong Van IV-Viglacera Industrial Zone in northern Ha Nam province.

This is the second Anam Electronics plant to be built in Ha Nam after their initial factory in the province was established in Dong Van II Industrial Zone in Duy Tien District.

Wholly owned by the ROK, Anam Electronics specializes in the designing, manufacturing, and selling of electronic audio products in the Republic of Korea. The company supplies products to leading audio manufacturers in Japan and the US such as Harnam Kardon, Denon, Marantz, JBL, and Yamaha.
Since it began operations in Ha Nam in 2014, Anam Electronics has expanded its production area to 3 times its original size with a total investment of US$77.5 million.

Kim Tae Soo, managing director of Anam Electronics Vietnam, said the company's investments will be focused on improving the quality and quantity of its products and has set itself the export target of reaching US$300 million by 2020.

Hanoi craft villages earn more than VND20 trillion in 2017

The sales generated by traditional craft villages in Hanoi are estimated at more than VND20 trillion for 2017, according to the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

Villages reporting the highest turnovers include Son Dong wood carving village with VND2,850 billion, La Phu with more than VND1,300 billion, and Phung Xa with over VND1,200 billion.

The average monthly income for a labourer in these craft villages is approximately VND4-5 million.

Hanoi has 297 craft villages spread across 23 districts and towns, including 11 villages manufacturing lacquer, ceramic, and porcelain products, 20 fabricating hats, 83 weaving bamboo and rattan crafts, and 51 villages involved in processing agricultural products.