HCMC - Senior executives of DHL Express underscored commitment of this global company to more investment and business expansion in Vietnam during their visit to the country.
By Binh Nguyen - The Saigon Times Daily
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| DHL Express CEO Ken Allen (R) and Jerry K. Hsu, CEO of DHL Express in Asia Pacific, at a meeting with reporters in HCMC on Wednesday - Photo: Binh Nguyen |
HCMC - Senior executives of DHL Express underscored commitment of this global company to more investment and business expansion in Vietnam during their visit to the country.
Chief executive officer Ken Allen arrived in HCMC on Wednesday in his first Vietnam visit that showed the company’s strong commitment to this market, said Jerry K. Hsu, CEO of DHL Express in Asia Pacific.
The important visit showed “our people and customers that we want to continue to expand business in this market,” Hsu told reporters before he and Allen left Vietnam on Thursday after a two-day trip to get an insight into this market.
Allen said like most global multinational companies, DHL had realized that most of the future growth for the global economy came from Asia. “Every market here is important to us. Vietnam is growing very quickly so we are putting as much investment as we can to make sure that we grow as fast as we can.”
Allen said his boss Frank Appel, who is CEO of Deutsche Post DHL, went to Vietnam just last month and was impressed about rapid development of this Asian country, where DHL began a joint venture DHL-VNPT Express with a local partner in 2007.
Through the joint venture, DHL has since invested tens of millions of U.S. dollars in gateways, service centers and depots in Hanoi, HCMC, Dong Nai, Haiphong, Danang, Vung Tau and Long An as well as the largest vehicle fleet of any express company in the country to reach out to more customers.
Christopher Ong, general director of DHL-VNPT Express, said DHL would continue investment in Vietnam. He gave the investment in 25 fuel-efficient vehicles and new flights connecting Vietnam to other markets in the past year as a case in point, with an aim at cashing on opportunities on offer in the country.
Just early July, Vietnam Post in partnership with DHL Express launched VNQuickpost at the post offices in many cities and provinces to make it easier for customers to ship their documents and packages to over 220 markets with shorter transit time.
Ong said despite challenging times over the past years, the joint venture had still posted significant growth.
“We are still enjoying strong double-digit growth in this market,” he said.
Allen credited a lot of DHL’s growth in Asia in general and Vietnam in particularly to the companies that were looking to export products around the world and needed partners who can assist them with requirements in export markets. Also operating as a trade facilitator, DHL not only helps customers with export procedures and solutions but also build a bridge between sellers and buyers.
Ong elaborated that DHL assistance in Vietnam included bringing small and medium enterprises (SME) together to share trade opportunities in garment and textile, oil and gas, and automotive areas among others as well as to look into the solutions that DHL was able to offer them.