DHL deepens commitment in Vietnam with USD 14 million investment

DHL, a leading express delivery and logistics company, today announced an investment of USD14 million for infrastructure upgrades and service expansion in Vietnam from its Express business, as well as a commitment to increase its strategic presence around Vietnam for the DHL Logistics arm.

Under the newly formed DHL-VNPT joint venture, DHL Express will be investing USD14 million into Vietnam, which is earmarked for new facilities in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Haiphong and Danang, as well as fleet upgrades, direct service expansion to key industrial zones, and new vehicles.

The expansion in Vietnam totals DHL’s Asia Pacific investment to more than USD1.7 billion. The logistics infrastructural announcement in China, the expansion of the Incheon facility in South Korea and, within the week, the inauguration of the new Bangkok hub, are part of DHL’ s recent announcements that further reiterate the company’s commitment to the Asia Pacific region.

“Our commitment in Vietnam and in the Asia Pacific region is driven by customer needs arising from a steady flow of trade volumes within the intra-Asia region. We believe that our robust network infrastructure will serve the sophisticated needs of our customers and will enable us to facilitate trade for our rapidly growing business in Vietnam with the rest of the world,” said Mr. Scott Price, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific.

Similarly, the DHL Logistics business has announced that it too will be increasing and strengthening its ties with Vietnam by continuing initiatives with their appointed agent, Macs Shipping, on staff training, technological upgrade, and developing customs clearances and transportation services. In addition, the logistics entity will build Vietnam as a mid-point to transit shipments from other regions into Laos, as well as develop cross border transportation between Vietnam and countries such as Cambodia and South China, to serve the fast moving goods sectors.

“Vietnam’s total imports and exports have continued to grow between 19 and 24 per cent year-on-year respectively for the first nine months of 2006, and we are confident that this positive trend will continue to grow in the post-WTO Vietnamese economy. DHL will be developing our strategic presence in Lao Cai, Danang, Vung Tau, Moc Bai and Can Tho for cross border transportation into South China and Cambodia as we see a high volume of both imports and exports of fast moving consumer goods between these countries and Vietnam. We will continue to target the potential markets such as oil and energy, as the rich crude reserves along the coastal lines provide opportunities for our business,” said Peter Landsiedel, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific.

The increased commitment from DHL complements the recent entry of Vietnam into WTO, which will propel strong growth for both the express and logistics business in Vietnam. DHL Express leads the industry with a 40% market share and handles close to 1 million shipments per year in Vietnam, while DHL Logistics is one of Vietnam’s top five forwarders, handling 7,350 tons of air freight and 11,700 containers of sea freight in the fast growing nation.

Both DHL Logistics and DHL Express will continue to work closely with government and regulatory authorities in the emerging nation towards policies that will continue to drive growth and facilitate trade for Vietnam.

“We have been very active in working with the Vietnamese government towards customs reform and hosted various summits in key sectors including textiles and apparel, footwear and furniture, as well as the emerging finance and technology export sectors,” said Mr. Price.

“The removal of import and export quotas that followed after WTO accession, and the increased demand for more sophisticated logistics services see DHL ideally positioned to drive and facilitate trade as Vietnam steps into its next phase of economic growth under the WTO,” Mr. Landsiedel noted.

“The express and logistics industries are key drivers of economic progress, and the rapid integration into a global economy will see Vietnam’s demands for these services increase both in scale but also in complexity,” added Mr. Landsiedel.

“Our investment of USD14million in Vietnam, including the new fleet of vehicles, continued service expansion, and the operation of our dedicated charter jet mean that we are able to provide consistently faster transit for our customers in Vietnam and in the 220 countries and territories that we reach worldwide,” Mr. Price said.

DHL Vietnam has an unrivalled infrastructure covering 30 facilities across Vietnam, providing customers with better reach and transit time.