Vietnam Business & Weather Briefing (Sep 2): President suggests Lotte invest more in Vietnam

Business Briefing

Gold rate

As of 9 am on September 2, the domestic gold price was listed by DOJI Group at 65.75 million per tael (buying) and VND 66.55 million per tael (selling). Meanwhile, SJC listed the buying gold price at VND 65.85 million per tael and the selling price at VND 66.65 million per tael. Compared to the previous session, both SJC and DOJI's gold price remain in both transactions.

Photo: Zing

Tourism news: Tourism sector pushes digital transformation for future growth

Digital transformation has been essential for the tourism sector in the post-Covid-19 period by optimizing operations, cutting expenses, improving efficiency, and attracting more visitors. From 2015 to 2019, online searches for tourism information surged over 32-fold in Vietnam. Up to 88% of domestic travelers looked up information on the internet, and there were over 5 million searches in Vietnamese for tourism products each month, according to the Vietnam Tourism Association.

However, the effectiveness of digital transformation within Vietnamese travel companies remained modest during that period, with up to 80% of the domestic online tourism market held by foreign online travel agents (OTAs) only making up 20% with a limited number of transactions. Ngo Minh Duc, the founder of Gotadi - a provider of online travel services, said that to gain a firm foothold in the domestic market, businesses should master information technology, which is also why his firm has invested in an OTA platform.

In particular, in the post-pandemic period, when most consumption habits have changed and moved to online platforms, it’s time for travel businesses to enter a fierce competition on cyberspace, from client access to tickets, tours and room bookings. This new trend also means business efficiency, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association Vu The Binh said, noting that as travelers switch to booking services online and companies do not act accordingly, they will be missing out.

Travelogy Vietnam has undergone this transformation. Thanks to the application of digital technology, each of its employees can now handle 500 bookings per day, instead of 10 employees needing to deal with 100 bookings per day in the past. Recently, Crystabaya Pte Ltd, an online platform providing tourism services, has applied blockchain to help clients directly monitor the availability of rooms and other services. The application has also reportedly assisted hotel and resort owners to cut down expenses as their data is stored safely using this technology.

Apart from enterprises, ministries, sectors, and local authorities are also acting to meet the demand for “contactless” services by stepping up technology use in handling exit-entry procedures, promoting tourism, and selling tickets to tourist sites. Digital transformation could mark the start of a strong recovery and development period of the entire tourism sector after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Photo: Zing

Investment: President suggests Lotte Group invest more in Vietnam

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc welcomed Lotte Group’s investment of nearly 5 billion USD in Vietnam and suggested the Republic of Korea’s conglomerate further invest in Vietnam’s large projects, while hosting Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin in Hanoi on August 31. Expressing his delight at the two nations’ strategic partnership being consolidated across fields, particularly trade, investment, and political trust, he noted RoK firms are taking the lead in terms of FDI volume in Vietnam with a total capital of USD 80 billion.

Bilateral trade value has reached USD 78 billion, with the RoK now the third largest trade partner of Vietnam. The State leader thanked Lotte for helping Vietnam in pandemic prevention and control, notably an aid worth VND 3.7 billion (USD 157,766), discount programs for necessities, and the provision of face-mask and gifts for workers.

For his part, Shin thanked the Vietnamese Government, ministries, sectors, and localities for their support for his group over the past time. He informed his host of a number of Lotte’s projects earmarked for Hanoi, including a shopping center expected to attract some 10 million visitors annually.

Lotte also wants to promote the building of a startup ecosystem in support of Vietnamese youth and invest in Vietnamese start-ups, Shin affirmed. According to him, since 1996, the group has invested in Vietnam across many fields, with its capital totaling VND 40 trillion and a current number of employees exceeding 20,000.

Photo: Zing

Weather Forecast

September 3: Northern provinces have showers and thunderstorms in the morning. The highest temperature in Hanoi is 32 Celcius degrees.

Thanh Hoa - Binh Thuan: Showers and thunderstorms in some places. The highest temperature is 30-33 Celcius degrees; the lowest is 23-26 degrees.

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