John Pearson (R) and Tim Baxter of DHL at the press conference in HCMC on Thursday to review the company’s business plans and the market - Photo: Mong Binh

HCMC – DHL Express has confirmed increasing business optimism in Vietnam when the world’s leading international express company announces a year-on-year rise of over 30% in volume in the year to date.

The company released the good business result at its joint venture with the local partner, VNPT Express, on Thursday when DHL-VNPT Express Ltd. introduced its HCMC gateway at Tan Son Nhat International Airport to clients.

John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express for Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, told reporters in HCMC after joining the introduction function that the company saw potential in Vietnam, a country he described as attractive to investors because of fast recovery.

Pearson credited the recovery for Vietnam and DHL to trade in the intra-Asia region on the right track to strong growth.

“Sixteen of Vietnam’s top 20 trade lanes are intra-Asia, all of which have rebounded strongly in 2010, especially those in Southeast Asia,” he said.

He said after shrinking in the first quarter of 2009, the U.S. had also recovered but Asia-Pacific trade lanes dominated Vietnam’s imports and exports.

The company quoted sources as saying that Vietnam’s export earnings (excluding precious metals) in the January-April period soared 26% year-on-year and industrial output grew 13.5% over the same period last year.

Exports of tools and spare parts were among the best performing sectors, registering a whopping rise of 75% to US$910 million in the first four months. The outbound sales of electronics and computers jumped 39% to US$985 million in the period.

Tim Baxter, general director of DHL-VNPT Express Ltd., said at the news briefing that garments, textiles, footwear, technology and energy were among the important sectors to the joint venture’s future growth.

DHL invests ahead of key growth forecasts for Vietnam, Baxter said. He told the Daily after the press conference that US$14 million had been invested in depots and service centers across Vietnam, and the largest vehicle fleet of any express company in the country.

Pearson said Vietnam’s positive attitude to foreign direct investment had attracted more than 100 of the company’s global customers to the country and more were either establishing shop and/or increasing their investment in the country.

The company said Vietnam’s excellence in logistics was a key factor of growth. The World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI) puts Vietnam as the top logistics performer in its income class. Strong performance helped the country jump 18 spots to rank 71st in the World Economic Forum’s Enabling Trade Index this year.

Vietnam’s strong recovery is also reflected in DHL’s performance indicators. “Our top 50 customers in Vietnam have registered a combined year-to-date growth of more than 40% in revenue over the same period in 2009,” Baxter said.

Baxter named top performers as those in the telecommunications, garments, textiles and footwear industries.

Mong Binh – The Saigon Times Daily