Vietnam’s logistics sector contributes only modestly to the country’s GDP, at 3-4 per cent, while logistics costs facing enterprises are quite high, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue told the Vietnam Logistics Forum 2018 (VLF) held on December 7 in Ha Long city, northern Quang Ninh province.
The VLF is annual event organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the World Bank in cooperation with Vietnam Economic Times and other organizations since 2013.
This year’s forum was held in Ha Long city in cooperation with the Quang Ninh Provincial People’s Committee. According to Deputy Prime Minister Hue, Quang Ninh’s strong development saw it selected as host this year.
He went on to say that after the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 200, the industry has made major breakthroughs, with annual growth of 12-14 per cent on average over the last three years. A World Bank report on logistics showed that Vietnam has risen 25 places to 39th position among 160 countries and is third in ASEAN. “This is a very good achievement,” the Deputy Prime Minister added. “But how can logistics continue to flourish when there are no really big businesses in the field?”.
Mr. Ousmane Dione, World Bank Country Director in Vietnam, said that logistics and effective connectivity are important factors in ensuring Vietnam’s competitiveness in the region and in the world. “Effective logistics are especially important for an economy that relies heavily on its ability to participate in global value chains and exports, like Vietnam,” he said. “This will help Vietnam increase productivity to achieve its ambitious development goals.”
Mr. Nguyen Duc Long, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, said the province views logistics as an important service sector supporting and promoting socioeconomic development. “The province has issued a program of action, ‘Enhancing the competitiveness and development of logistics services in Quang Ninh province to 2025’, with logistics services to account for 18-20 per cent of the local service sector and 8-10 per cent of provincial GDP by 2025,” he said.
Within the framework of the forum, MoIT released the Vietnam Logistics Report 2018, which is prepared annually to review, evaluate, and provide information on the prospects for logistics in Vietnam and related policies that contribute to State management and the production, business and investment activities of enterprises and scientific research and communications in the field of logistics.
The forum also saw four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed on cooperation between localities, enterprises, and associations to promote and create breakthroughs in the development of logistics, including between the Quang Ninh Provincial People’s Committee and the Vietnam Association of Logistics Service Enterprises (VLA); the Meridian Shipping Services Group and Vietnam National Shipping Lines (VIMC) - Transportation and Logistics Center; the Vietnam Maritime University and VLA; and VIMC - Transportation and Logistics Center and the Viet Phuc JSC.
MoIT also presented Certificates of Merit to ten organizations and enterprises and ten individuals for their contributions to the development of Vietnam’s logistics industry.