“Big fish” eye domestic retail market cautiously

 Photo from Internet

Secretary General of the Vietnam Retailers’ Association (VRA) Dinh Thi My Loan believes that big international retailers have not arrived in Vietnam because they are evaluating the market thoroughly to jump in at a suitable time.
Vietnam officially opened its retail market to foreigners a year and a half ago. Contrary to all predictions, big retail groups have not landed in Vietnam. For instance, Wal-Mart and Carefour have stayed outside Vietnam, even though analysts agree that Vietnam is a retail market with great potential.
According to Loan, there are many reasons. The global economic crisis has made foreign investors cautious about penetrating Vietnam’s retail market. Also, Vietnam’s market has always been listed among the top 10 most attractive emerging retail markets, but indices like purchasing power and infrastructure condition force foreign investors to wait for a good time to enter the market.
“This means that foreign investors are still taking no action and awaiting a reasonable moment to penetrate Vietnam’s market?” asked a Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam journalist in a recent interview with Loan.
She responded that “No, they are not taking no action. They are learning and seeking to understand Vietnam.”
Loan believes that many foreign investors will join the market in the time to come, because Vietnam has one of the world’s most attractive and potential markets.
Over the last 1.5 years, Vietnam’s retail market has changed dramatically, especially in strong development of modern retailing modes. Besides supermarkets, which are now familiar to Vietnamese people, other modes of modern retailing such as shopping centres, shopping malls, specialized shops and online shopping have also developed rapidly.
Loan pointed out that, despite big difficulties during the global economic crisis, Vietnam’s retail industry still obtained the very encouraging growth rate of 16 percent, not counting price increases.
She explained that domestic retailers have been readying for fierce competition when foreign retailers arrive. Saigon Co-op Mart, for example, has been trying to expand its network, planning to set up retail points in the north. Meanwhile, northern retailers like Hapro and Citimart have also been expanding their networks southward.
Loan admitted that the shortage of suitable retail premises remains the biggest problem for domestic retailers. It is now very difficult for small enterprises to locate a space, because all of them have high prices.
Not only small enterprises, but even large leading retailers like Saigon Co-op, Hapro and Nguyen Kim, according to Loan, are facing such problems in locating retail spots.

Vietnam’s first private credit information center debuts

July 19, 2010, 8:16 PM (GMT+7)


HANOI – PCB Investment Joint Stock Co. on Friday launched Vietnam’s first private credit information center designed to facilitate access to credit information for the private sector in the country.
With the facility in service, people and private businesses can gain access to credit information at more than 20 commercial banks.
PCB was formed in 2007 by 11 Vietnamese commercial banks including Asia Commercial Bank, ABBank, VietinBank, Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), DongA, Techcombank, Vietcombank, Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), Vietnam International Bank (VIB) and VPBank.
The company, which has total chartered capital of VND50 billion, is 70% owned by the 11 banks while their strategic Italian partner CRIF S.p.A holds a 20% stake under an agreement signed on the same day. To hold such as stake, CRIF has pledged to supply equipment and technology for PCB to provide international standard credit information for customers.
The deal between PCB and CRIF comes after nearly two years of negotiations and with the assistance of International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank.
PCB plans to sell the remaining 10% stake to another strategic partner.
The Government and the central bank earlier this year issued documents to build a legal framework for credit information service in Vietnam.
Vietnam has over 86 million people and 480,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) but only 5% of people and 30% of SMEs have credit transactions with banks due to lack of information.
“This is a low ratio while in Thailand and Malaysia it ranges from 70% to 80%,” said PCB chairwoman Le Thi Kim Nga.
Carlo Gherardi, chief executive officer of CRIF, said the credit information center was expected to give necessary information for individuals and SMEs and help banks better manage and prevent risks.
CRIF, established in 1988, has credit information centers in Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.
With 51 commercial banks Vietnam will have a maximum of two such centers, excluding the Credit Information Center under the central bank, according to Government Decree 10.

The Saigon Times Daily

National Brand: Interesting stories on Vietnam

Jul 16th, 2010

At a round table discussing on “Development of National Brand” sponsored by Tri Viet Education Research and Development Centre and Saigon Media in Ho Chi Minh City, experts and entrepreneurs, local and foreign, focused on relationship between economy-businesses, culture-history-human being, the role of mass media and public awareness, the State and concern parties.
Interesting stories
Mr. Luong Van Ly, Director General of DNL Company (HCMC) believed that like a person, a Nation has its own soul and characteristics to be respected and in relations with other nations. Development of national brand likes establishment of personality and the stories to be recounted. The problem is who will recount the stories.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nam, Director of FPT group recalled a story: FPT tried to sign a contract with a Japanese partner. The Japanese entrepreneur was a very difficult person. Mr. Nam invited the Japanese partner to Vietnam and brought him to Ha Long Bay. The Japanese guest was deeply impressed by natural landscapes, the images of buffalo and rice field. The hard-to-please businessman was fully convinced and signed the contract in place. He later decided to live and work in Vietnam.
According to Ms Ton Nu Thi Ninh, former Vice Chair of Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly, if a nation has a high sense of its value, it has made a big step in developing national brand. However, there must be also the recognition by the world. When the two things are assured, national brand of Vietnam can be lasting and developing.
National brand is the asset of the whole people and country, to develop national brand, the government must mobilize all social strata, businesses of famous brands, to contribute their parts to national brand. The State has a key role but not unique role, cannot control everything but needs the cooperation of the people, organizations and associations, with the consensus of the whole society. Development of national brand does not depend only on enterprises but also specific persons in the society such as a friendly pedicab driver, a charming boy selling tourist gifts, a hospitable shop keeper, all of them contributing the national brand.
Historian Duong Trung Quoc said that Vietnam itself is already a brand. How to maintain and develop the brand, it needs the role of the State, the government. National brand is not a natural product. It requires fuller research on how Vietnamese brand was established.
On his part, Mr. Phan Chanh Duong, lecturer of Fulbright program, said that national brand should be built on the pride of the people regarding their homeland. In other countries, national brands are founded on ordinary consumers’ goods, closed to daily life such as leathered shoes, briefcases, watches, garment.. of high quality recognized world-wide and images of businesses are closely connected with the national brand.
Misunderstanding on Vietnam be dismissed
The world lacks information on Vietnam. There are difficulties in calling for investments in Vietnam. Misunderstanding on Vietnam still exists. It is difficult to introduce Vietnam at round table talks. By visiting Vietnam, foreign partners can be convinced. Therefore, Vietnam must recount success stories to the world, the fight for national independence, the peaceful construction and the development into a modern industrialized economy.can be convinced. Therefore, Vietnam must recount success stories to the world, the fight for national independence, the peaceful construction and the development into a modern industrialized economy.
Mr. David Keen, Director of Keen Media Company, a successful consultant for Bhutan brand, said that outsiders could not understand Vietnam. It could be due to incorrect approach. Misunderstanding must be dismissed otherwise Vietnam would miss the opportunity.
Ms. Morvarid Kaykka, Design Bridge Company, said that the stories must be recounted correctly, if they are recounted differently with what tourists witness in place, it would be a disaster. She told a story of Mozambique, it was described to outside world as a country of poverty, diseases and unsafe country. Consequently, it failed to attract tourists, depriving the country of big profit from tourism, while Mozambique has wonderful beaches. She reminded that each country should promote its own values. For instances, Vietnam should promote its national slogan: Independence, Freedom, Happiness.

1st year Student Report : Brand Analysis "Ninomaxx" (2)

1st year Student Report : Brand Analysis "Ninomaxx" (1)

1st year Student Report : Brand Analysis "Hanosimex" (4)

1st year Student Report : Brand Analysis "Hanosimex" (3)