Boosting Order Performance
Employees of Binh Tay Food Joint Stock Company (Ho Chi Minh City) are working overtime to meet the demands of their orders. The company is recruiting additional seasonal workers to keep up with the workload. The company’s management revealed that they already have orders scheduled for the whole year 2024, with an estimated export of 800 – 1,000 containers this year and an expected revenue increase of over 300%. In the first quarter alone, the company is confident it will achieve 20% of its annual target.
“Even though we are operating at full capacity, we are still unable to meet the demands of our orders, so we need to expand our operations. Apart from serving the domestic market, our export orders have increased by double digits in the first few months of this year. Our products, such as noodles and pho, are highly popular in the US and Canada,” shared Ms. Le Thi Giau, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Binh Tay Food Joint Stock Company.
Many domestic companies have the opportunity to access preferential interest rates to boost production. Photo: U.P
Meanwhile, Ms. Kieu Thi Tam Anh, the representative of Catlongs Leather Goods Company, mentioned that they have had abundant orders since the beginning of the year. The company has already received orders until August. The expected export growth in the first quarter is projected to be 35% compared to the same period in 2023. “In the first quarter of last year, the company had negative growth. The markets of Germany and Brazil have the strongest growth, with a large quantity of athletic shoes being ordered,” said Ms. Tam Anh, who also added that the company is implementing a strategy to increase promotion and product advertising to customers.
Recruiting Workers at Train Stations and Bus Terminals
In recent days, the Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Center has been recruiting workers and providing free job counseling to laborers from different provinces who want to return to Ho Chi Minh City for work. According to the Employment Service Center, after the Lunar New Year, the city has a huge demand for recruitment with more than 52,000 job positions. Therefore, there is an increasing risk of labor exploitation by individuals or job brokerage organizations. “Workers can trust us, and we provide free recommendations,” said Ms. Nguyen Van Hanh Thuc, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Center.
Ms. Ly Kim Chi, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City AssociatiON of Grain and Foodstuff, said that many member companies within the association have orders for production until March and April, and some even have stable orders until June. As global inflation is decreasing, the inventory of these goods worldwide is also decreasing, so partners are starting to place orders again. Many companies have recruited additional laborers to meet the demands of export orders.
Mr. Bui Ta Hoang Vu, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade, assessed that the most difficult period for orders had passed. The optimistic signs in the first months of the year are the growth of production and trade in the service sector. The textile and garment, leather goods, and wood furniture industries, known as the most challenging sectors, have already secured orders for the first six months or the entire year.
“This is very different from 2023. In 2024, we started with a warming global market buying power, and the Ho Chi Minh City market has shown positive signals. Therefore, we hope that the first quarter of 2024 will see more positive growth compared to last year,” Mr. Vu expressed.
In order to promote growth, Mr. Vu revealed that his department is working with relevant agencies to develop multiple plans to help businesses operate more effectively. In order to achieve high economic growth this year, there are three pillars that need to be prioritized throughout the year: export production activities, stimulating domestic consumption, and promoting public investment.
Boosting Demand
Specializing in honey and products made from honey, Xuan Nguyen Corporation has plans to expand into the dried fruit and canned fruit sectors this year. However, due to the inability to find suitable loans with reasonable interest rates, they have had to seek funding to carry out their projects. The CEO of the company stated that although bank interest rates have decreased, they require borrowers to settle their old contracts before granting new loans. The problem is that the company does not have the funds to settle, and they are not willing to take risks since they have no guarantee that settling their old debts will enable them to apply for new loans.
In order to support businesses in accessing affordable capital for production recovery, recently, the Ho Chi Minh City State Financial Investment Company (HFIC) and the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association (HUBA) signed a cooperation agreement to support loans with preferential interest rates for businesses in the city. Several years ago, the investment stimulus program supporting interest rates in Ho Chi Minh City was implemented but was interrupted in 2021-2022. By 2023, the program was officially launched through Resolution 98, and by the end of 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council approved Resolution 09 to clearly define the sectors and subjects that can participate.
According to the State Treasury of Ho Chi Minh City, the investment stimulus program is one of the city’s specific policies to encourage businesses to invest in priority sectors, primarily the four key industries, healthcare, education and training, high-tech applied production, and services.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of HUBA, stated that although the program has been implemented for 20 years, it has not met its full potential. The reason is that HFIC has had difficulty finding good, effective projects to provide loans for, despite having sufficient capital, while the business community finds it extremely challenging to access loans with preferential interest rates. Therefore, this time, HUBA will select and introduce potential businesses that meet HFIC’s loan requirements to participate in the interest rate support program. HFIC will receive information about the borrowing needs of businesses in order to consider loans according to the regulations.
“In the current situation, there is a great demand for businesses to expand their investments and development. Therefore, we are relaunching this program with a fresh approach. Instead of businesses coming to HFIC to register for loans while HFIC waits, both parties will actively seek each other,” said Mr. Hoa.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Thanh, Deputy General Director of HFIC, stated that the target group for this program includes domestic enterprises, economic organizations (100% domestic capital) established and operating in accordance with the Law on Enterprises, cooperatives, and public service units. The maximum loan amount for each project is VND 200 billion, and the city’s budget supports 50 – 100% of the interest for projects in different sectors. The maximum support period is 7 years.
