Government participates in short term debt markets by

Jesse Choi, CEO of Sunwah Innovations and director of Sunwah Vietnam talked about Vietnam's market entry opportunities and strategy The webinar received around 100 participants including experts and representatives of corporates, startups, universities, incubators and accelerators, venture capital firms, and business associations from Vietnam and neighbouring countries and territories including Cambodia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China, and Hong Kong. Vietnam has seen significant improvements in developing a dynamic and open business environment. In the post-pandemic period, the country stands firm as one of the most attractive destinations in the Southeast Asian region for foreign investors and businesses including venture capital firms and startups. Realising an increasing need from overseas startups and supporting organisations to explore and gain footholds in the market, Sunwah Innovations organised the Vietnam Market Entry Opportunities and Strategy webinar. It was … [Read more...] about International webinar on Vietnam’s Market Entry Opportunities and Strategy

Ring road plan to transform market - Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) The government has asked the National Assembly (NA) to consider and decide on the policy for investing in the ring roads to be located in the country’s two biggest cities. Tran The Anh, sales director of Thang Loi Group, said that the land fund in inner cities is increasingly exhausted and prices are high, with investors turning to suburban real estate. “There is a thirst for houses for those living and working in Ho Chi Minh City in particular,” The Anh said. “The shifting trend of investors and individual financiers is also creating a new vitality for the real estate market in the suburbs.” One of the issues discussed by NA delegates and experts is how to exploit the land fund around the two ring roads, which will soar in value. Already in many places, the price of land in the area has increased dozens of times over. “Because the two routes will open up a vast land fund, the management of auctions of … [Read more...] about Ring road plan to transform market

Public and private sectors work together to establish a circular business economy in Vietnam, aiming towards the country's 2050 objective of net zero emissions. Photo by: Duc Thanh The conference saw the participation of representatives from the MoNRE, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP), SCG Vietnam and BeerCo Limited, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), and other international organisations and businesses, as well as the press. During the plenary session, the panellists examined the feasibility of building CE in Vietnam to achieve the net zero emission objective by 2050. They also discussed factors to be considered when implementing a circular approach in the country, taking into account lessons learnt from foreign partners and proposals for the transition to circularity. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha emphasised the importance of revamping the current linear economy in … [Read more...] about Vietnam primed for circular and sustainable advancement

From May 24 to June 30, the Vietnam Private Sector Competitiveness Enhancement Project (USAID IPSC), has organised a 5-week training course called “E-commerce – a must in Industry 4.0”, as part of its cross-cutting market expansion support package for Vietnamese businesses. At the end of the course, participants attended the event “Connecting business with domestic and international e-commerce platforms” to learn from successful, real-world experiences from e-commerce platforms including Amazon Global Selling and Shopee. According to Nguyen Thi To Uyen, head of the building business management capacity at USAID IPSC, the project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), with the support of the Ministry of Planning and Investment as the government partner. The expert also showed participants how to use analysis tools from Amazon as well as other platforms for conducting market research and store management. Lasting for five years, the … [Read more...] about USAID IPSC Project connects Vietnamese enterprises with e-commerce giants

A historic agreement The European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) started negotiations for a region-to-region free trade agreement in 2007. After negotiations were suspended in 2009, the EU decided to pursue bilateral trade agreements with the individual ASEAN member states. Negotiations between the EU and Vietnam on a free trade agreement were launched in 2010. Following the completion of technical discussions, talks were finalized in December 2015. In February 2016, the full text of the EVFTA was published. However, the official signing of the trade deal was delayed due to the pending judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on jurisdiction for the conclusion of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement. To take the 2017 CJEU opinion into account, the original deal was split into the EVFTA and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) in June 2018. Both agreements were signed on June 30, 2019 in Hanoi. The European … [Read more...] about EU trade deal offers opportunities to increase exports

Patricia Marques, general manager of Starbucks Vietnam How tough is the coffee competition in Vietnam this year and how do you expect things to pan out moving into next year for your company? Competition is up there. We have plenty of competitors and there are an enormous number of players in the market, although not necessarily competing in the same arena. Although we may all be coffee brands, some brands are more skewed towards teas or fruit drinks. So in the coffee arena, we find that there is plenty of competition and in the next few years, we will probably continue to see even more than now, considering that many international players are not yet in Vietnam. The quality of Vietnamese coffee beans can be unstable from year to year, so how do you support farmers in places like Dalat to ensure quality is up to standard? In my role, I have no participation in the sourcing or the buying of Starbucks Coffee for the world. However, as a company, we try to be as close as … [Read more...] about Starbucks CSR initiatives gather pace

Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu  speaks at the conference (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - A conference on promoting international cooperation for developing Vietnam's Halal industry was held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on June 28 in Hanoi in both in-person and online forms. The conference aimed to assess the current situation and prospect of the Halal industry in Vietnam, discuss ways to promote cooperation and take advantage of international resources to expand the presence of Vietnamese enterprises in production and supply chains of Halal products and services worldwide, and work out orientations for comprehensive and sustainable development of Vietnam's Halal industry until 2030. In his speech at the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu said Vietnam boasts great potential and advantages for developing the Hall industry, and affirmed that the Vietnamese government … [Read more...] about Vietnam eyes stronger development of Halal industry

Mindset change coming from the top at BAEMIN Some argue that the proliferation of online shopping and food ordering services has increased the demand for single-use plastic. How big a problem is this? Plastic waste is definitely among the most pressing issues that the food tech industry needs to find solutions for, besides food waste and increased carbon footprint. While people usually mention plastic waste only, I think it’s equally important to factor in other aspects of environmental challenges in the food technology industry that we face so we can come up with more solutions. Since 2020 in many parts of the world, the use of single-use and disposable food packaging has increased as some believe it to be safer and more hygienic. Users, although becoming more environmentally conscious, seldom consider using leftovers for future meals or reusing meal boxes, plastic bags, or disposable cutlery. To renovate ourselves, we need to find a better solution because packaging … [Read more...] about Mindset change coming from the top at BAEMIN

Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam is emerging as a good option for Kiwi exporters looking to diversify where they sell their goods, said New Zealand’s new site 1news .co.nz in a recent article. The article cited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand’s report prepared by the Embassy in Hanoi as saying between 2016 and 2021, Vietnam led ASEAN in terms of growth per capita. This growth rate is higher than that of other major ASEAN markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, or the Philippines Trade Commissioner Joseph Nelson said Vietnam is a "frontier market" presenting new opportunities, and challenges, to Kiwi exporters looking to diversify. "As Vietnam has come out of its COVID waves, we are seeing a really strong bounce back in the economy. GDP is expected to be between 6.5% to 7.5% next year," he said as quoted by the article. "All the markets in Southeast Asia are bouncing back quite strongly, but Vietnam definitely is the best … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s economy lures New Zealand exporters

Roads, airports, and seaports are being looked at by overseas companies in terms of investment feasibility, Photo: Shutterstock On June 16, Hoang Gia Khanh, deputy general director of state-owned railway giant Vietnam Railways (VNR), received a delegation of Austrian businesses at its headquarters who introduced new products and technology solutions aiming to seek opportunities in the local industry. The commercial counsellor of the Austrian Embassy in Hanoi said that businesses expect to intensify cooperation with VNR, specifically those in funding and upgrading projects, as well as machinery upgrading and maintenance. He added that besides official development assistance, the Austrian government also has other financial tools that can help VNR access financial resources and technologies. According to Khanh, investment demand for the industry’s infrastructure development is huge and he highly appreciates the products and technology of groups like Plasser & Theurer and … [Read more...] about Reopening increases foreign interest in transport upgrade