The CPTPP agreement officially took effect with Vietnam
The National Assembly passed a Resolution on ratifying the CPTPP Agreement and related documents on November 12, 2018. Accordingly, the Agreement wouldcome into effect for Vietnam from 14 January 2019.
With comprehensive commitments, high standards and balances, the CPTPP Agreement will help strengthen the mutually beneficial link between member economies and boost trade, investment and economic growth in the Asia – Pacific region.
Basically, the CPTPP Agreement keeps the contents of the TPP Agreement (including 30 chapters and 9 appendices) but allows member countries to postpone 20 groups of obligations to ensure the balance of rights and obligations of Member States in the context of the US withdrawal from the TPP Agreement.
Watsons retail chain of billionaire Ly Gia Thanh landed in Vietnam
According to information from InsideRetail Asia, Hong Kong and Watsons retail stores of health and beauty products will launch their first store in Vietnam tomorrow. It is known that this store is located in a commercial center in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Watsons is a member of AS Watsons, a subsidiary of giant retail and telecommunications group Hutchison CK. Famous billionaire Ly Gia Thanh is the founder of CK Hutchinson and he is the second richest person in Asia, only after Alibaba’s owner Jack Ma.
As of now, AS Watsons has about 6,800 stores in 12 countries across Europe and Asia including Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Not long ago, Watsons has just opened its 500th store in Thailand.
Besides, AS Watsons owns other retail brands such as Drogas, Superdrug and Watsons’ Wine with more than 14,500 stores in 24 different markets around the world.
According to the initial comment, Watsons’ most significant competitor in the Vietnam market is the Guardian health and beauty retail chain also from Hong Kong. This brand is owned by Dairy Farm International and has launched its first store in Ho Chi Minh City in 2011. Up to now, Guardian has about 60 stores in many provinces of Vietnam.
Thus, after the information that Amazon officially entered Vietnam market, domestic retail businesses will continue to face a big rival. The retail market promises to be more exciting in the coming years.
Amazon giant jumps into Vietnam
Amazon officially set foot in Vietnam market (VN), opening up great business opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to sell around the world.
On January 14, 2019, the Trade Promotion Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) signed a cooperation agreement with Amazon Global Selling. Director of the Trade Promotion Department, Mr. Vu Ba Phu said that the two sides agreed to coordinate the implementation of the main contents such as supporting Vietnamese enterprises; which prioritizes small and medium enterprises, access to the world market with Amazon.com; brand development of Vietnamese businesses and goods in the e-commerce environment of Amazon.com; training program for Vietnamese small and medium enterprises on e-commerce to promote trade, export goods and learn global sales skills on Amazon.com.
Currently, Vietnam has more than 700,000 enterprises, of which 98% are small and medium-sized enterprises. Leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that in addition to traditional trade promotion methods such as trade and foreign trade, promoting e-commerce is essential. Meanwhile, Amazon is a big market with more than 300 million customers, including more than 100 million Prime customers in various markets of Amazon, as well as millions of wholesale buying agents in the US, Europe and Japan. Copy. However, since it is only sold in some markets (without Vietnam), many people in Vietnam are forced to choose an ordering solution on Amazon in the US and then ask for ship services to transport goods from the US to Vietnam, leading to a relatively high cost increase.