Day: March 18, 2024

Hanoi: The industrial real estate segment has emerged as a driver of the property market after sailing through the economic storm last year thanks to the foreign direct investment (FDI) influx, experts have said.

The investment was funneled into 16 out of the 21national economic sectors in January, of which real estate attracted the second largest amount with nearly 1.41 billion USD or 32.7% of the total FDI, up more than 3.5-fold year-on-year.

In this regard, processing and manufacturing took the lead with some 2.54 billion USD, accounting for 59.1% of the accumulative FDI and representing a year-on-year rise of 16.8%.

To lure more big projects and investors to Vietnam, the Prime Minister has assigned concrete tasks to ministries and agencies, said Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong, adding his ministry will prioritise investment attraction to science-technology, innovation, semiconductor chip and new industries.

According to the official, issues regarding infrastructure and land
remain concerns for foreign investors. Therefore, large-scale infrastructure projects should be sped up and more attention paid to the enforcement of the amended Land Law.

Industrial land lease prices are forecast to increase by 5-9% annually in the northern region, and 3-7% in the south thanks to the rising demand from industrial groups, said property consultancy CBRE Vietnam.

Ready-built warehouse rental prices are anticipated to climb by 1-4% in the next three years, it said.

The firm noted that the bright prospects are attributed to the continued expansion of foreign businesses in Vietnam and the rising registrations of new foreign investors.

Occupancy of industrial land in the north and the south stood at 81% and 92%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The total area of new industrial property sold in the north jumped 37% to a five-year high of over 800 hectares.

But it fell by 32% in the south due to the limited supply of new land, although it remained high at 500 hectares in terms of ar
ea.

In addition to the electronics and auto industries, high-tech ones such as electric vehicles, semiconductors, and green materials are also eyeing Vietnam’s industrial real estate, CBRE noted.

CBRE Vietnam Senior Director Nguyen Hoai An said semiconductors and EVs are predicted to boost the future demand, especially in the context that Vietnam is expanding its cooperation with major economies.

However, the country needs to make preparations in terms of infrastructure, human resources and quality industrial products to maximise these opportunities, she suggested.

Paul Tonkers, Deputy Director of Industrial Real Estate at Core5 Vietnam, said he believes that investors are focusing on such high-value industries as electronics and semiconductors, so industrial park developers need to restructure their services and products to serve tenants’ needs well.

Currently, not only auto component manufacturers but also most of individual investors and international organisations view Vietnam as a potential destinat
ion, he stressed.

The industrial real estate segment is expected to remain a firm pillar this year on the back of the FDI flow which is on the rise thanks to tax incentives and perfecting infrastructure./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will hold a conference in May to announce the export of chicken meat products to Islamic markets with an estimated volume of around 1,000 tonnes per month, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.

The Deputy Minister said the market of Muslim countries with a total population of around 2.2 billion people offers opportunities for a number of Vietnam’s agricultural products.

To date, Vietnamese companies have exported many products such as tra fish (pangasius), vegetables, fruits and rice to this market. However, the MARD believes that there is still great potential to be exploited.

According to the official, to export agricultural products to Muslim countries, Vietnamese products must have Halal certification. In the coming times, the ministry will focus on implementing solutions to tap this market./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Vietnamese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should better their management capacity and business strategies so as to draw capital from both domestic and foreign investment funds who are holding hundreds of billions of USD, economists have said.

The funds are able to provide SMEs with effective financial solutions, they said, elaborating instead of investing in financial tools, they are targeting unlisted companies and listed ones who are planning to withdraw their stocks from the market to engage in the firms’ management and business growth.

The funds commit at least five- to ten-year investment, experts said.

Last month, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry received a delegation of 14 world and region’s leading multi-national investment funds who came to seek investment opportunities.

Along with large funds such as VinaCapital and Mekong Capital, there is an increasing number of foreign venture capital funds expressing interest in the Vietnamese market.

However, most of the Viet
namese firms have not been well aware of the funds while their poor management and foreign language proficiency as well as limited understanding of the financial market’s potential are hindering them in seeking investment, said Tran Thanh Hai, a specialist from Bac A Commercial Joint Stock Bank.

Besides, the SMEs need to prove their capacity, technology and business vision, according to Hai. Once getting long-term capital from investment funds, they will have motive to invest in long-term values like digitalisation in management and business and automation in production./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Pham Nhat Vuong, Chairman of Vingroup and founder of Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast, on March 18 announced the establishment of V-Green Global Charging Station Development Company (V-Green).

V-Green’s mission is to invest in the development of a charging infrastructure system that provide maximum support for VinFast to expand globally and propel Vietnam towards becoming one of the world’s leaders in electric vehicle charging station density.

V-Green, of which Vuong holds a 90% stake, will operate as a global partner, spearheading the creation of a comprehensive charging network.

This move will allow V-Green to focus solely on infrastructure investment independently from VinFast, and enable the Vietnamese electric manufacturer to prioritise market expansion and sustainable development.

With its goal of developing a green ecosystem and contributing to the electric vehicle transition, V-Green will seek better access to and mobilise capital with preferential interest rates, thereby fuelling
VinFast’s rapid expansion into international markets.

In the initial phase, V-Green will directly search for land and partners to establish and expand its charging network in key markets around the world. It will also cooperate with other charging companies to provide charging services to VinFast electric vehicle owners.

In Vietnam, V-Green will be responsible for operating and managing VinFast’s existing charging network. It will additionally invest 10 trillion VND (about 404 million USD) over the next two years to build new stations, upgrade and complete its existing network.

With this threefold increase in infrastructure investment compared to VinFast’s initial plan, V-Green aims to establish charging stations nationwide and make Vietnam one of the world’s leading countries in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. After about five years of operation, depending on each market and actual fundraising capacity, V-Green may consider expanding charging services to other EV manufacturers in addition t
o VinFast.

The decision by VinFast’s Founder to establish V-Green is a strategic step to globally support and promote VinFast’s sustainable development, said Nguyen Duc Thanh, Chief Executive Officer of V-Green.

VinFast is expected to expand its operation to at least 50 countries around the world in 2024. In addition to key markets like the US, Canada, and Europe, the company is also entering into neighbouring Asian countries such as India, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines as well as the Middle East and Africa./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Washington: Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang had a meeting with Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Sarah Elleman, within the framework of Vice State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan’s recent working visit to the US.

The two sides assessed the official upgrade of the Vietnam – US relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership on September 10, 2023, as a historic milestone in bilateral ties, in which economic and trade cooperation will continue to be an important driving force, playing a pioneer role in promoting common prosperity between the two countries.

Therefore, management agencies of the two countries in general and between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam and the USTR Office in particular need to have more extensive collaboration activities to implement and realise the vision of high-ranking leaders, and set development goals commensurate with the comprehensive strategic partnership for the coming journey, they said.

Thang
spoke highly of the close cooperation between her ministry and the USTR Office over the recent past, especially in increasing the efficiency and intensifying policy exchanges on a variety of economic and trade issues through the dialogue mechanism of the US-Vietnam Council on Trade and Investment.

She reiterated the need for relevant agencies of the US Government to have a substantive voice supporting the early removal of Vietnam from the non-market economy status, affirming that recognising Vietnam as a market economy will allow Vietnamese businesses to be treated more fairly, without affecting the legal rights of the US domestic manufacturing sector.

In addition, the US recognition of Vietnam’s efforts in economic reform will motivate other economies, and create more pushes for Vietnam in improving its business and investment environment, thus helping form a stable supply chain for the import and consumption needs of US enterprises and people, stressed Thang.

In the field of trade defence, the official e
xpressed deep concern over the increasing frequency of this kind of investigations on Vietnamese exports, and suggested the US carefully consider Vietnam’s opinions in each specific case to ensure trade liberalisation, fairness, objectivity, and transparency for trade activities of the two countries’ businesses.

Regarding specific cooperation activities in industry and energy, Thang proposed the two sides promote the implementation of signed agreements, expressing her hope the US and developed countries will have specific funding packages to support Vietnam in effectively implementing energy transition. She also suggested the US help the Southeast Asian nation improve its processing capacity and protect the environment in the process of mastering and exploiting natural resources.

The Vietnamese official also had working meetings with the Presidents of the American Association of Exporters and Importers (AAEI) and the Asian American Chamber of Commerce (AACC).

US associations highly valued the development p
otential and investment and business opportunities in Vietnam, saying that many member businesses are currently interested in diversifying supply chains and expanding investment in digital trade and services, seaport development, education, and finance in Vietnam.

Thang took the occasion to invite AAEI and AACC to introduce member businesses to attend the Vietnam International Sourcing 2024 scheduled for June in Ho Chi Minh City./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Building national brands is important to help local businesses engage deeply in the global value chains and establish reputation in the world’s market, experts have said.

According to brand evaluation consultancy Brand Finance, Vietnam brand value has increased to 431 billion USD to rank 33rd in 2022 from 319 billion USD in 2019. The country climbed one place to 32nd in 2023.

A report on the implementation of the Vietnam National Brand Programme 2023 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that Vietnam continued to be a spotlight in the world’s brand development map, posting the fastest growth rate of 102% in the 2019-23 period.

Along with the growth of the nation brand, the brand value of Vietnamese businesses also increased strongly.

While brands of Vietnamese businesses were absent in the rankings of international organisations in early 2000s, the total value of the country’s top 50 brands increased by 36% to $36.6 billion in 2022.

Telecommunications, banking and food are industries with t
he most valuable and strongest brands, according to Brand Finance’s Vietnam 100 2023 report.

Banking brand value increased by 47% in 2022, proved resilient to economic headwinds battering the nation by adopting digitalisation and enhancing customer services. Bank of Investment and Development for Vietnam (BIDV) was the fastest growing brand with the value up 69% to 1.4 billion USD.

Viettel defended its title as Vietnam’s most valuable brand in our rankings for the eighth year running with a growth of 2% to 8.9 billion USD on improvement in financial performance and digitalisation effort.

According to Bui Thi Huong, executive director of Vinamilk, it is important for businesses to seek innovation and creativity based on their core values to not only continue affirm the brand value in Vietnam but also contribute actively to bringing Vietnam brand to the world.

Dang Thuy Ha from Nielsen Vietnam highlighted the remarkable success of the business community in promoting corporate brands and expanding the reach
of Vietnamese goods to international markets.

Vietnam’s strong brands are increasingly known to the world.

Still, many enterprises, mostly small and medium sized, have not paid adequate attention to building brands and invested properly for brand communication.

According to Alex Haigh, Managing Director of Brand Finance, Asia Pacific, a compelling story is the key to building the national brand and image of Vietnam. A number of factors will play roles in establishing brand, including diplomacy, economy and business environment.

Le Ba Ngoc, Deputy President of Vietnam Handicraft Exporter Association, said in brand building, it is necessary to focus on innovative, original and sustainable value.

Economist Tran Dinh Thien said that building a Vietnamese brand means creating prestige and advantage as well as conditions for Vietnamese products to easily reach the world to create national value and increase national pride./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency