A study by Google and Temasek, a Singaporean holding company owned by the Government of Singapore, said Vietnam’s internet economy is the largest relative to GDP in terms of gross merchandise volume in Southeast Asia this year. The gross merchandise volume (GMV) traded over the Internet in Vietnam was 4 percent of GDP. The study encompasses ride-hailing, e-commerce, online travel and online media.
In second place was Singapore with 3.2 percent, according to the study which covered Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Indonesia’s digital economy had the fastest absolute growth and looks set to reach $100 billion in 2025.
In the last few years online businesses have been booming in Vietnam, with last year the digital economy growing by more than 25 percent, a rate that can be sustained for the next two or three years, according to the Vietnam E-Commerce Association.
It said online sales are set to hit $10 billion by 2020, accounting for 5 percent of total retail sales.
According to a report by Financial Times last April cited Bain, a U.S.-based global management consulting firm, as estimating that Southeast Asia had 200 million digital consumers, or people who bought goods or services online, out of an adult population of 405 million. Vietnam, with a population of 93.7 million, accounted for 35 million.
Vietnam’s youthful population is among the keenest users of mobile devices in the region, while the country’s consumers spend more time online than most of their neighbors, several studies have found.
Research firm Nikkei has estimated that, Vietnamese spend nearly 25 hours online per week, on a par with or just behind Singapore and the Philippines.
In the ride-hailing sector, many players are expanding investments. Vietnam recently saw new entrants such as local firm FastGo, GoViet, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s Go-Jek, and Aber.
Current market leader Grab has expanded to offer GrabFood and GrabCar Business, the latter targeting the corporate sector.
But experts say Vietnam and many other countries in the world face a slew of challenges in the digital economy such as upgrading the skills of the workforce and adapting to rapidly changing technologies.
Lotte Rental Co. – a South Korea’s leading car rental firm has teamed up with domestic mobility startup Easi6 Inc. to launch a ride-hailing service in Vietnam, a market of high growth potential due to its large population of nearly 100 million.
Easi6 is the operator of the mobility platform TADA. Launched in Singapore in July, TADA has quickly grown to become the city state’s No. 2 ride-hailing service after industry leader Grab. With 18,000 registered drivers, it has reached 100,000 cumulative passengers in just three months of operation.
According to a report by By Yong Hwan-jin and Kim Hyo-jin on Pulse News, Lotte Rental entered Vietnam in 2008 and has established itself as a major player in the country’s car rental market. Under the alliance, Lotte Rental will provide the cars necessary to roll out TADA’s ride-hailing service.
Vietnam is the third-largest market in Southeast Asia, with a population of over 95 million. Lured by the country’s growth potential, Singapore’s Grab and Indonesia’s Go-Jek have also expanded their services in the country.
Lotte Rental plans to leverage its partnership with TADA to spur its business across Southeast Asia. It will also ramp up its car and bus rental services in Thailand, a market it entered last year.
Lotte Rental now commands a full lineup of mobility offerings. With Lotte Rent-a-Car, it boasts the biggest fleet capacity in Asia. It also launched Korea’s first car-sharing service GreenCar and the country’s largest used car auction site Lotte Auto Auction.
Earlier this year, it became the first in the industry to process long-term rental deals entirely online, including the final document signing stages. The company claims the new service now allows customers to review and sign up for rental plans in less than five minutes.
Just few days ago, Enterprise Rent-A-Car – the US’s biggest car rental company has officially offer its services in Vietnam. On the website of Rent-A-Car at https://enterprise.vn/en/ is now opening for rental services, with vehicles of five to 29 seats. The prices range from US$34.19 (VND800,000) a day for a Suzuki Vitara to US$111.33 (VND2.6 million) per day for a Samco bus.
Heavy rains have been forecasted for the southern provinces from tonight, November 23, as a tropical depression off the Philippines has strengthened into a storm that could land in Vietnam during the weekend.
According to the Vietnam National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, at 4 am on November 23, the storm was 450km away from the southern region with a wind speed near the eye of the storm of 75km/h. In the next 24 hours, the storm will move in the south-west-west direction at the speed of 10km per hour.
In the following 24-48 hours, it will move to the west and may land in the south-central coast and the southeastern region before weakening into a tropical depression. It is forecasted that the storm will be in the southeastern region with the wind speed of 40km per hour at 4 pm on November 25.
From November 23 to 26, provinces from Thua Thien-Hue to Binh Thuan and the Central Highlands will have up to 50cm of rainfall. Flashflood and landslide warnings have been issued from November 24 to 27 for those who live along the rivers from Quang Tri to Binh Thuan provinces.
Meanwhile, Bui Cao Phap, vice chairman of Phuong Dong Commune, said on November 22 that 20 people had been killed in landslides and flash floods caused in Nha Trang City after heavy rains poured in due to tropical depression Toraji. Dozens of houses have also been destroyed.
Phuong Dong Commune Chairman Dang Loi said they were evacuating 500 households who lived by the hills as the commune might be hit by the new storm and more flash floods and landslides are forecasted.
Khanh Hoa Province has nearly 1,000 vulnerable locations with 280,000 people and 44,000 fish cages. The authorities are also in a hurry to evacuate the locals out of danger zones.
For half his life, Mychal Tu Nguyen, a 44-year-old Vietnamese-American living in Saigon, has been teaching basketball to youth and adults, and since 2010, has been the CEO of the Vietnam Basketball Academy and Vietnam Sports Academy.
“I chose to return to Vietnam because I wanted to learn more about my culture and heritage,” Mychal says. “When I decided to stay and live here about eight years ago, I wanted to give back something that I thought would help in a positive way, and basketball was something that I’m very good at.”
“I have a great deal of knowledge about this kind of sport, and so I can share and pass it on to the people of Vietnam,” he adds.
His goal is to educate parents about the positive benefits of having their children involved in sports and other extracurricular activities. He combines this with academics to develop one of his primary goals: the model student athlete.
Mychal Tu Nguyen
This led to his decision two years ago to launch the Vietnam Youth Basketball League where players learn the value of sportsmanship, teamwork, a positive attitude, and respect for others during competition.
The Vietnam Basketball Academy, also founded by Mychal, provides training at local and international schools with the aim of developing the schools’ basketball programs.
Though participation in the sport has grown over the past decade, more and more Vietnamese, including boys, girls, men and women, have been joining the sport in recent years.
At basketball courts in HCM City, many people can be seen wearing imitation NBA replica jerseys and trying to mimic their favorite player’s moves.
With his desire to give back to the community, Mychal has also developed The Coaching Skills Program to help young players who want to become a coach.
In the program, Mychal shares his coaching experiences and challenges, including dealing with parents, meeting players’ expectations, and managing the passion that many players bring to the game.
Ultimate goal
“With my desire to contribute to society, I want to become a mentor and teacher for the sports community. We’re fortunate to have someone in Vietnam who can help encourage students participate in sports while teaching them the values that go with being a model student athlete,” says Mychal.
“However, I still face some difficulties. It’s easy to understand that when you change your environment of living or working, you have to try to adapt to your surroundings due to differences. I try to immerse myself in the culture and overcome its differences.
“The difficulty I face does not lie in the training of students in sports skills, but rather educating their parents about the benefits of my programs and what my community youth basketball leagues are all about,” he says.
“A lot of parents who have seen foreign coaches or trainers are skeptical about my academy and how I can help their child because of my height,” Mychal says. “I’m an Asian man and not tall, so some may think I’m not an ideal coach for the sport.”
“The parents, however, change their bias after watching our first basketball lesson and seeing how well their child responds to our training. So they feel comfortable that my academy is the perfect fit for their child to flourish and have fun, and help them develop basketball skills.”
Under Mychal’s guidance and leadership, the programs have been very successful. Over the past six years, his teams have won four local championships and one international “friendly” championship.
This year Mychal became the first head coach in Vietnam to lead two international high schools to the championship of two different contests in the same season. In 2014, he was awarded the Junior NBA Vietnam “Coach of the Year” prize.
Basketball’s future
Mychal’s success demonstrates his passion for sports training and desire to help students become more active. But what really drives him is personally witnessing the benefits his students receive when they are physically active.
The students’ stress levels decrease and they develop stronger social skills. They also overcome shyness and anxiety, and become more confident, vibrant and charismatic.
The students, Mychal says, are more able to communicate in a positive manner with their teammates, parents, teachers and coaches.
“I hope that everyone who wants to play will have free access to a basketball court so they can enjoy the game and develop the passion that I have for this wonderful sport. And one day, we hope Vietnam will be able to field a men’s and women’s Olympic basketball team for the Olympic Games.”
To help the growth of the sport in the country, Mychal feels that certain issues need to be addressed.
More basketball facilities across the country should be developed so that people have an opportunity to learn and play the game, he says. In addition, highly qualified coaches, players, skills trainers, and certified strength and conditioning experts are needed.
“We need more professionals who are willing to pass on their basketball knowledge and passion in a positive and patient manner to Vietnamese players,” he said. “We need to continue to develop our local and overseas Vietnamese players who play in the domestic pro leagues, while also welcoming and helping foreign imports adapt to living and playing basketball in Vietnam.”
“Slowly but surely, parents are starting to see the many benefits of having their child participate in sports. Some of those benefits include learning how to work as a team to accomplish a certain goal, being able to socialize with others, learning how to communicate positively while respecting others, knowing what it takes to be a leader, and learning about maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle,” he says.
To improve the professionalism of basketball in Vietnam, Mychal believes that local referees need to continue to take part in domestic and international professional training so they can become internationally certified and recognized in the sport.
After Landslides Kill 13, Leave 4 Missing in South Central Vietnam, 2 storms brewing in the western Pacific.
Why Vietnam should be worried about these 2 storms?
Both storms are forming off the coast of Southeast Asia and which might have an effect on weather conditions.
One of these tropical storms is developing rapidly on the heels of an earlier tropical storm ‘Toraji’ that had killed 13 people in Vietnam last Sunday. Most of the damage and deaths had happened in the resort city of Nha Trang due to landslides. The new storm has formed in a matter of days after Toraji dissipated and formed again in the Gulf of Thailand. It is expected to move towards the Vietnam coast this weekend towards an area where Nha Trang is also situated. This is while Toraji is still active and bringing heavy rainfall in southern Thailand and Malaysia, according to the National Aeronautic and Space Administration’s (NASA) satellite imagery.
The other storm named Man Yi is more massive in its expanse and has wind speeds of up to 160 km/hr. It is developing towards the east, some 500 km southeast of Guam, which is the last territory governed by the United States. The local government of the island has already declared a storm alert for November 22. The current forecasted track of this storm will take it towards the north and north-west away from Southeast Asia but storms are highly unpredictable and it may well move towards the Philippines or even Vietnam in the days to come.
These back-to-back tropical storms in the Southeast Asian region might leave remnants which can cross over to the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal in the coming days and cause storm and cyclonic activity.
Severe Cyclone Gaja, which had hit the Tamil Nadu coast close to Nagapattinam in the early morning hours of November 16, had also formed in the Gulf of Thailand from a remnant of Super Typhoon Yutu. According to scientists, some depressions and cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are formed in this manner. Yutu was the most intense typhoon to ever hit the Northern Mariana Islands, another US territory in the Western Pacific. Many locals had declared that they had never seen anything as intense and scary as Yutu before.
According to a report on Dow to Earth, after forming in the Gulf of Thailand, Gaja had moved into the Andaman Sea and then intensified into a deep depression. It had collected water vapor over the Bay of Bengal and further intensified into a cyclone. It finally made landfall as a severe cyclone much later than predicted by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Gaja killed 45 people in its wake and destroyed crops over an area of over 88,000 hectares, according to a statement from the chief minister of Tamil Nadu. It also uprooted 1.7 lakh trees and damaged 1.17 lakh houses in the state. Gaja, after causing all this damage had reduced in intensity initially and then re-intensified again. Then, it had moved into the Arabian Sea and gained strength to become a cyclone again. On November 19, it lay as a deep depression in the south eastern part of the Arabian Sea.
Immediately after Gaja, on November 19, another low pressure area had formed over south eastern Bay of Bengal and moved towards the Tamil Nadu coast, intensifying into a depression. This is the 14th depression this year in the North Indian Ocean region and has broken a 26-year- old record for the most depressions in a single year. Climate science predicts an increase in the intensity of storms in general because of warmer waters which can feed them with water vapor. A lot of storm activity is currently underway in the North Indian Ocean region or its neighborhood, the exact causes of which can only be known after detailed study.
Visitors to Hoi An can now learn about the ancient town more easily by using a new audio guide system.
The system has been introduced at major tourist destinations in Hoi An by the Hoi An Center for Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation in cooperation with the Viet-Phap (Vietnam-France) Trade Promotion Company.
It is part of a range of activities to mark the 19th anniversary of UNESCO’s recognition of Hoi An as a world cultural heritage site in 1999 and Vietnam’s Heritage Day (November 23).
The audio system has been installed at the Japanese Covered Bridge, the Museum of Trade Ceramics, the Sa Huynh Culture Museum, and the Hoi An Museum, to improve the quality of the sites for tourists.
The guide is a new technological product manufactured in France and comes in six languages: Vietnamese, English, French, Japanese, Korean and Chinese. It replaces tour guides, as visitors are provided an audio device to listen to and a map of the sites and artifacts.
It is already available at famous tourist sites all over the world but this is the first time it has been introduced in Hoi An, and aims to provide a better way for visitors, ranging from researchers to local and foreign tourists, to gain a better insight into the history and culture of the ancient town and discover the land and its people through objects and stories relating to the objects. It also improves the quality of tourism in the city.
Hoi An welcomed 2.7 million visitors, including 2 million international arrivals, in the first half of this year, up 70 per cent and 230 per cent against the same period last year. The figure in 2017 was 3.2 million, including 1.8 million international arrivals, up 27 per cent and 31 per cent against 2016.
A man in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has been sentenced to two years in prison for insulting state and government leaders on Facebook.
Nguyen Hong Nguyen, 38, from Can Tho City was accused of abuse of democratic freedom to infringe on the legitimate interests of the state, individuals and organisations by Cai Rang District People’s Court in September this year. The court proposed a two-year imprisonment for Nguyen.
After that, Nguyen filed an appeal citing his family’s contributions to the country’s revolutions in the past and his regret.
However, the court turned down Nguyen’s appeal to the two-year sentence.
Since 2017, Nguyen used Facebook to make friends and follow many pages with anti-government information. He then posted statues as well as shared photos and information to defame state and government leaders, including Late President Ho Chi Minh, and distorted the communist party’s guidelines.
Over a hundred Japanese cherry blossom trees were planted in Da Lat in Vietnam’s Central Highlands on Wednesday to mark a series of important events.
The planting of 125 sakura trees at the local flower park near the iconic Xuan Huong Lake is to honor the city’s 125th birthday and celebrate the 45-year-old Vietnam-Japan diplomatic relationship.
The cherries, 100 of which were donated by Japan’s Himeji Flower Auction Company, are 2.2 meters tall on average.
One thousand sakura trees were cultivated in Da Lat in a trial period last year and they seemed to adapt well to the chilly local climate.
Sakura trees grow in Da Lat City during the 2017 trial period. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Southeast Asian nations may soon have to “choose sides” between the U.S. and China in their ongoing trade war.
Impoverished Cambodia has become an unlikely staging ground for geopolitical influence in Asia.
In recent years it has turned into a key China ally, receiving billions of dollars in investment and loans.
While China has cosied up to Cambodia, the United States and the European Union have admonished Hun Sen, the nation’s ruler for 33 years, for his increasingly authoritarian rule.
In a rare speech outside of his country, his son and political heir, Hun Many warned the U.S.-China trade spat may create lasting divisions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday.
“Perhaps one day ASEAN would have to choose between U.S. or China,” Hun Many said in Bangkok.
“How would we see the trade war spill or expanded in other areas? Surely it will pressure individual members of ASEAN or ASEAN as a whole to choose sides.”
The economic ripples of the trade spat between China and the U.S. could destabilize global supply chain links in Southeast Asia, while a slump in Chinese spending would impact its trading partners.
Cambodia’s strongman Hun Sen has welcomed Chinese investment to pump-prime his country’s economy.
At the same time, he has accused the U.S. of trying to foment revolution in Cambodia by supporting his critics.
Both the U.S. and EU decried the July elections, which were held without a credible opposition and gave Hun Sen another term in power.
When asked which of the superpowers Cambodia would side with, the Australian-educated Hun Many demurred.
“At the end of the day, it depends on those who are involved to take a more responsible approach for their decisions that affects the entire world,” he said.
Earlier this week, Hun Sen swatted away concerns that Beijing will construct a naval base off the southwest coast of Cambodia, which would provide ready access to the disputed South China Sea.
Beijing claims most of the potentially resource-rich waters, including waters close to the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Hun Many, who described himself as a “proud son,” is widely believed to be in the running to one day replace his father.
His elder brother, Manit, is the head of a military intelligence unit while Manet, the oldest, was promoted in September to the chief of joint staff of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces as well as the commander of the infantry army headquarters.
But Many brushed aside the notion.
“It is way too soon to say that I am in the next generation of leaders,” he said.
On HSX, the VN-Index finished at 924.42 points, up 1.86 points (0.20 per cent), and the VN30-Index 898.90 points, up 1.80 points (0.20 per cent).
On HNX, the HNX-Index closed at 104.55 points, up 0.65 points (0.63 per cent), the HNX30-Index 187.73 points, up 0.69 points (0.37 per cent), and the UPCoM-Index 52.16 points, up 0.10 points (0.19 per cent).
Liquidity on HSX was VND1,000 trillion ($42.8 billion) and on HNX was VND536.8 billion ($23 million).
Food and beverage stocks to gain ground included VNM, KDC and BBC, by 0.8, 0.4 and 0.3 per cent, as TLG lost 2.6 per cent, TAC 1 per cent, and VCF 0.7 per cent. SAB closed at its opening price.
In banking, TPB gained 4.5 per cent, VCI and VPB 3 per cent, BVH 2.3 per cent, STB 1.2 per cent, and MSN 1 per cent, as CTG lost 1.5 per cent, VCB 1.1 per cent, SSI 0.9 per cent, MBB 0.7 per cent, BID 0.5 per cent, and EIB 0.4 per cent. TCB closed at its opening price.
In energy, PPC gained 1.3 per cent as PVD lost 3.4 per cent, NT2 1.2 per cent, and GAS 0.7 per cent. PLX and PGD closed at their opening price.
The Top 5 shares bought by foreign investors were VNM, SBT, GMD, HDB and BID.
VIC was the largest net sold share on HSX, followed by HPG, VCB, HSG and VJC.
AAV was the largest net sold share on HNX, followed by AMV, API, ART and BCC.
On UPCoM, foreign investors bought 152,533 shares worth VND263.9 million ($11,300).
They net sold on HSX by VND75.27 billion ($3.2 million) and on HNX by VND10.4 billion ($445,600).
The Vietnamese internet economy has almost tripled in three years to reach 9 billion USD in 2018, driven by e-commerce and online media, a new report released by Google and Temasek showed.
According to the report, titled “e-Conomy SEA 2018”, the internet economy is growing in all six Southeast Asian countries surveyed but the stage of development relative to the size of each country’s economy differs. It is most developed in Vietnam, where the gross merchandise value (GMV) of the internet economy is 4 percent of the country’s GDP.
With e-commerce almost doubling in 2018 from a year earlier, and with online advertising and gaming growing at more than 50 percent year on year, the Vietnamese internet economy is booming. Amidst one of the lowest penetrations of online travel bookings in the region, the online travel market has huge room for growth.
While e-commerce is experiencing healthy growth in all Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia is leading the way, reaching 12 billion USD in 2018 and accounting for more than 1 USD in every 2 USD spent in the region. E-commerce adoption has also accelerated in Vietnam, where it reached nearly 3 billion USD in 2018.
Online media is also growing rapidly in Vietnam, reaching 2.2 billion USD. This is not surprising considering the country ranks among the top 10 globally in terms of user engagement on gaming, social media and video platforms.
According to the report, powered by a large, growing, and incredibly engaged internet user base, it is estimated that the Southeast Asian internet economy has reached 72 billion USD in GMV in 2018 across online travel, e-commerce, online media and ride hailing. Growing at 37 percent from a year earlier, it has accelerated beyond the 32 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) that was recorded between 2015 and 2018.
With the addition of the new sectors of online vacation rentals, online food ordering and subscription music and video on demand, and amidst the accelerated growth observed across all sectors, the internet economy in the region is on track to exceed 240 billion USD by 2025 – 40 billion USD higher than previously estimated.
The GMV of the internet economy stands at 2.8 percent of Southeast Asia’s GDP in 2018 – up from 1.3 percent in 2015 – and is projected to exceed 8 percent by 2025. To put that into perspective, Southeast Asia is still trailing almost 10 years behind the US, where the GMV of the internet economy already accounted for 6.5 percent of GDP back in 2016. The gap, however, has started to narrow.
The report also estimated there are more than 350 million internet users across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in June 2018 – 90 million more than in 2015
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved a casino project on Phu Quoc Island, Kien Giang Province, which will let locals with a monthly income of over VND10m (USD428) to gamble.
Kien Giang authorities confirmed the news on November 21. According to the Government Office, the project is given to Phu Quoc Tourism Development and Investment JSC. whose 50% of the capital owned by Vingroup.
The casino would be part of a USD2.7bn entertainment area, hotels, shopping and conference centres tourism project in Ganh Dau, Cua Can and Ham Ninh communes. It is estimated that the project would be completed by 2021.
During the three-year pilot programme, Vietnamese nationals who have a monthly income of at least VND10m would be allowed to enter the casino. They must be over 21 years old and financially independent. Only Vietnam dong will be used.
Gamblers must pay VND1m (USD42) for a one-day entrance fee or VND25m per person per month. The money will be used in social welfare projects and invested in the security team.
Kien Giang People’s Committee was asked to work with the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Public Security to monitor and ensure public order at the casino.
One of the best jobs now is tourism consultancy, especially giving advice to local authorities on local tourism development.
A director of a provincial sports and tourism department told reporters on the sidelines of an event held recently in HCMC that he is looking for experts who can give advice in drafting the local tourism development strategy.
He said it was easy to find foreign consultants, but their service fee is high, up to millions of dollars. Some Vietnamese experts have refused the job as they are too busy.
In the past, consultants mostly gave advice to travel firms to develop new tourism products. Now, they are hired to draft local tourism development strategies.
Not only provinces and cities, but towns and communes also have demand. An analyst commented that local authorities now tend to be choosier: they want to hire professional consultants to draft strategies rather than do it themselves.
They need advice when planning a specific product – community tourism, agriculture tourism, or a new pedestrian street.
Phan Dinh Hue, director of Vong Tron Viet, a travel firm, said many provinces and cities want to develop tourism, but they do not know where to start, so they need advice.
The demand has increased sharply since early last year, when the Communist Party Politburo released Resolution 08 on turning tourism into a key business field.
“Some localities have proposed cooperation, but I have refused them because I will be busy until the year end,” he said, adding that the demand for the service is high, while there are not many experienced strategists.
For the last two years, Hue, while running his travel firm, has shifted to provide consultancy services. Like other consultants, he cooperates with experienced specialists in different fields to draw up projects.
Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon quoted its sources as reporting that the consultancy service fee set by Vietnamese experts is more reasonable than that set by foreign consultancy groups. In general, local authorities have to pay from VND500 million to VND1 billion for each project, or pay in accordance with the jobs done.
The experts who have the largest business are those in big tourism centers including Hanoi and HCMC. In addition, retired officials who once worked for tourism agencies or state management agencies also receive many invitations. Some tourism schools have also begun providing the service.
Commenting about the quality of the strategies, Pham Ha, CEO of Luxury Travel, said local authorities pay too much importance to the number of travellers. Some strategies only plan short-term development, and do not consider long-term sustainable development.
Analysts several years ago predicted that foreign retailers, with their powerful financial capability and experience, would dislodge Vietnamese retailers out of the home market. But their business results have become worse.
Joining the market later than other rivals, Vingroup has quickly surpassed its rivals in expanding its network and business performance.
Its supermarkets and convenience stores brought VND14 trillion in revenue to the group in 2017. In the future, retailing is expected to bring 50 percent of total revenue of the group.
Analysts say that Vingroup is pursuing a wise strategy when cooperating and supporting domestic producers. It signed contracts with 250 Vietnamese businesses under which the businesses can bring their products to Vinmart+ network with the discount rate of zero percent.
Bach Hoa Xanh is also a new comer in the retail market, though its ‘father’ The Gioi Di Dong, is a big player in the mobile phone distribution market. The chain’s gross profit margin grew from 12 percent in 2017 to 14 percent in the first quarter and 16 percent in the second quarter of 2018.
In the first nine months of the year, it had turnover of VND2.8 trillion from 409 shops, up by 235 percent over the same period last year.
Aeon, a foreign retailer, which has been in Vietnam for 10 years, has also gained satisfactory business results.
In 2016, Aeon Vietnam reported revenue of VND3.883 trillion, three times higher than 2014, and pre-tax profit of VND54 billion. The profit was VND234 billion in 2017.
While other retailers are thriving, Big C, a big brand is seeing its revenue decreasing. Six years ago, Big C was among top three retail brands with the annual turnover of VND10 trillion.
But in the last two years, the revenue has been decreasing. Big C Thang Long, the biggest supermarket of the chain, has seen revenue drop from VND3.5 trillion in 2012 to VND2.7 trillion.
Having higher revenue growth rate, Lottemart reported negative profits. The retailer from South Korea reported an accumulative loss of VND800 billion by the end of 2017.
There’s a deadline on the horizon that affects, and requires action by, Facebook Page admins.
As of January 1st, 2019, Facebook Pages will need to have successfully been approved for subscription messaging permissions – if not, they won’t be able to send the free messaging type called ‘non-promotional subscription messaging’.
If you’re a Page admin and this news sounds like it affects you, read on for everything you need to know about the change, how to apply, and tips for getting approved.
What’s subscription messaging for Facebook?
Subscription messaging gives a Facebook Page the option of sending regular content to a person via Messenger.
Subscription messaging is one of the 17 types of messaging defined by Facebook — specifically news updates or integrations with a productivity or fitness app.
Here’s what Facebook’s documentation says on subscription messaging:
Eligible Use Cases
News: Integrations whose primary purpose is to inform people about recent or important events, or provide information in categories such as sports, finance, business, real estate, weather, traffic, politics, government, non-profit organizations, religion, celebrities, and entertainment.
Productivity: Integrations whose primary purpose is to enable people to manage their personal productivity with tasks, such as managing calendar events, receiving reminders, and paying bills.
Personal trackers: Integrations that enable people to receive and monitor information about themselves in categories such as fitness, health, wellness, and finance.
Usage Guidelines The following guidelines apply to usage of the Send/Receive API for subscription messaging:
Subscription messages may not contain promotional content.
Subscription content may be sent outside of the 24-hour messaging window that applies to standard messaging.
The recipient must opt-in to subscription messaging.
Subscription messages will have limited functionality compared to standard messages.
Subscription messaging is only intended for specific use cases. Businesses and developers will need to indicate which use case their experience falls under when they submit their Messenger Platform integration.
If a user responds to a subscription message via an eligible action, the conversation will be considered standard messaging and must comply with standard messaging policies.
Examples of promotional messages that Facebook provides are daily deals, coupons and discounts, or sale announcements.
What’s the benefit to sending subscription messages?
So why would you want to send a message under the non-promotional subscription tag?
Facebook Messenger marketing is the channel with the highest engagement today – a 70% open rate and 20% click-through rate in Messenger far exceeds the 15% open rate and 2% click-through rate in email.
Sending regular updates to your audience using the internet’s most engaging channel is the stuff of unicorns, and industry news updates are hugely valuable to people who are interested in your specialty.
When people opt-in to subscription updates from your Page, they’re a highly engaged member of your audience, who’s raising their hand and saying, “let’s stay in touch, please keep me in the know.”
You can provide a ton of value in this type of relationship by publishing and linking to news that impacts them on a personal, professional, intellectual and emotional level. Through regular content updates, your Page can become a trusted source of information that helps your subscribers learn new things, stay informed, and get more from life.
This level of engaged customer relationship pays business dividends. Your audience will be reminded of your expertise – and indirectly, your products or services.
Staying in contact with your Messenger audience is a great way to maintain awareness and nurture relationships.
How do I apply for Facebook subscription messaging?
Sound good? Now you’re going to have to apply.
Here’s a quick run-down.
Applying is easy and quick – you just need to know what you’re going to say going into the review. More on that in the tips section below.
Get to the application from Page settings > Messenger Platform and click the link “Request” under Advanced Messaging Features.
The application has three questions:
Select the type of messages your Page will send from the three options: news, productivity or personal tracker.
Provide additional details, describing the information and update services your chatbot provides.
Give 2 examples of subscription messages your Page will send.
It’s the third question – examples of subscription messages your Page will send – that stumps some people.
Things to know:
Your subscription messaging application is being reviewed by a real human.
Your examples should fit the type of message. Most of Pages will be applying to send news updates.
If you’re applying to send news updates, make sure that the examples you give are news updates!
You can download our subscription messaging approval cheat sheet for examples of bad, good and better message examples.
