Vietnam receives foreign cargo ships on first day of Lunar New Year The STARSHIP URSA of Marshall Island Vietnam welcomed two foreign commercial vessels, STARSHIP URSA of Marshall Island and CMA CGM J. ADAMS of Malta, to ports in Ho Chi Minh City and the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau on February 12, the first day of the Lunar New Year, according to the Vietnam Maritime Administration (VINAMARINE). A representative from the authority said in the first months of 2021, the maritime industry has recorded strong growth. Despite difficulties posed by the COVID -19 pandemic, Vietnam still recorded impressive growth in trade, especially exports to Europe and America, because of the high demand from these markets. The increasingly modern and comprehensive seaport infrastructure and transport system have also created a momentum for the maritime industry’s development. The operation of deep-water seaports will promptly replenish container berth infrastructure to serve the growing demand of customs clearance In order to meet the increasing cargo transportation demand in recent times, VINAMARINE has directed sea port authorities to coordinate with State management agencies to speed up the processing of administrative procedures for ships. It has also worked with management agencies of ports and shipping companies to develop marine safety plans to allow port calls by large ships./. First dragon fruit lot exported to China in new Lunar Year Some 190 tonnes of dragon fruits were shipped to China through Kim Thanh II International Border Gate in the northern province of Lao Cai on February 12, the first day of the lunar New Year. According to the Lao Cai Border Gate Customs Sub-Department, the lot, the first to be exported to China in the lunar New Year, was worth 2.8 billion VND (121,512 USD). Departing from the Mekong Delta province of Long An, the lot was transported through the border gate in a safe manner with quick customs …
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VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS FEB. 18
Logistics sector to step up digital transformation Logistics, considered a backbone of Vietnam’s economy, is among eight sectors prioritised by the national programme for digital transformation until 2025. According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), the sector has grown 14-16 percent annually over recent years. It now gathers together some 3,000 domestic firms and 30 others offering transnational services. Of those, 89 percent are domestic businesses and 10 percent are joint ventures while the number of foreign-funded companies represents just 1 percent of the total. The VLA said the cost of logistics in Vietnam as a proportion of GDP is 18 percent, compared to 9-14 percent in developed countries. The high cost is attributable to limited sea port infrastructure and weak cost reduction efforts. Together with fierce competition, the digital economic boom, and pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic, these have made digitisation in the sector a must. Vietnamese logistics companies offer between 2 and 17 services, mostly in transport, warehousing, and fast delivery. About half apply technology in their operations. Nguyen Tuong, VLA Deputy General Secretary, said investment shortages from the very beginning, difficulties in choosing suitable technological applications, a sense of distrust in technology, and a fear of change are hindering the sector from pressing ahead with digital transformation. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Agency of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said transformation in this core sector would trigger a similar process in other parts of the supply chain. Experts have said that smart logistics involve master plans and strategies with the involvement of cloud computing technology, adding that it will be conducive to improving customer services, information flows, and automation. To reduce logistics costs, Nguyen Hoang Long, Deputy General Director of the Viettel Post Joint Stock …
VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS FEBRUARY 9
Demand for top meat drives funding Demand for top meat drives funding In the midst of the rising demand for quality pork, Vietnam has witnessed growing investment in the clean meat market. Last week, AVG Capital Partners, a private equity fund from Russia, signed an MoU with Thanh Hoa People’s Committee to develop a $1.4 billion pork processing complex in Nghi Son Economic Zone. With an area of 1,000 hectares, the complex has a designed capacity to produce five million hogs a year. It will boast 43 commercial pig farms and three hybrid pig farms, a mixed feed factory with a capacity of two million tonnes a year, as well as a slaughterhouse and processing plant with a capacity of 600,000 tonnes a year. Phong Quach, head of business development at Ipsos Strategy3 in Vietnam, said that as a general principle, any high-tech investment in agriculture is good for Vietnam. This is because the Vietnamese agricultural sector is still trying to attract more technology that can provide higher output for both the domestic and export markets. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has identified in its objectives for 2030 that it wants to strive for high-value added agricultural outputs rather than volume. Quach added, “When we take a closer look at different points in the value chain and investments, there are different dynamics in the competition depending on the node we review. The latest investment from AVG Capital Partners is a feed-farm-food (3F) investment encompassing the entire production chain. However, the output capacity of the processing facility is much higher than its supply, with 600,000 tonnes of processed meat against five million hogs a year.” This would suggest that there is still significant opportunity for Vietnamese farms to supply this facility. If AVG Capital Partners is looking to source hogs from Vietnamese farms, this would be a vote of confidence for local farming while epidemics still wreak havoc in the global …
