DHL Express plans more investment in business expansion in Vietnam where it claims 40% of thecourier market, according to the newspaper Saigon Times daily.
“Together with its Vietnamese partner VNPT Group, DHL will continue to invest in the areaswhere there are opportunities”, Tim Baxter, General Manager of the joint venture DHL-VNPT Express,told Saigon Times Daily. Baxter confirmed that fresh investment would come after the joint venturecompleted the € 8 million ($ 14 million) project in the middle of 2009. He added the majority ofthis sum had already been spent on the venture’s new facilities, services and products in Vietnam.
Last year, DHL’s joint venture with VNPT inaugurated a 3,140 sqm service centre in Dong Naito further cash in on the fast growing imports and exports in Southern Vietnam. The project alsocovers the expansion of the joint venture’s fleet to over 100 vehicles, giving it the largest fleetin the express industry in Vietnam. In addition, new courier depots to be opened in Hai Phong Cityand Vung Tau are scheduled for August 2008 after inaugurating a similar facility in Da Nang. A DHLservice centre will also be up and running in Hanoi in December this year.
Baxter said more investment would help expand network of DHL-VNPT Express Ltd to connect thecountry’s key economic centres and to maintain annual strong growth in Vietnam, which has exceeded20% over the past years. “Much of this growth comes from the industrial areas surrounding majorcities, so investing in Binh Duong and Dong Nai gives us a strong’ platform to facilitate thegrowth of trade in these provinces,” Baxter added.
Yasmin Aladad Khan, Senior Vice President of DHL Express Asia Pacific for Southeast Asia,said Vietnam still had a lot of potential for the company to achieve strong growth despite currenteconomic challenges. She said Vietnam was one of DHL’s fastest growing markets. “As the marketleader with a 40% market share, we will continue to invest and strengthen our presence in Vietnam.”
DHL started operating in Vietnam 1988 and became the first international air express providerin the country. DHL announced the 51:49 joint venture with VNPT Group in January 2007, withregistered capital of € 3.6 million ($ 5.8 million). VNTP has been DHL’s agent for years before theventure was formed.
