Vietnam has roughly 800 logistics companies, a similar number to Thailand and Singapore but the logistics sector earns almost 15 percent of the GDP in those countries.

According to a report from the Spire construction consultation company, Vietnamese logistics companies can only meet 25 percent of domestic demand, with the greater part of market share held by foreign firms including Maersk Logistics and APL Logistics.

The Vietnam Freight Forwarders Association (VIFFAS) attributes the failure of domestic logistics companies to their smaller size and limited ability, as 80 percent of Vietnamese logistics firms have registered capital of less than 1.5 billion VND.

The association also notes that domestic logistic companies have failed to build a global supply network, hampering their efforts to acquire market share.

General Director of Gemadept - Vietnam’s largest logistics company with an annual turnover of 1 trillion VND (60.2 million USD) - Do Van Minh, admitted that even his company cannot provide a complete chain of services, as technology and global connections proved difficult to acquire.

Minh cited the sportswear company Nike as an example. “As Nike has clients workdwide, local connections are not enough,” said Minh, “ Nike uses Schenker Logistics as they have a global network, domestic firms don’t have that kind of reach,” he said.

To improve their network, Gemadept has entered negotiations with Schenker - the world’s number two logistics company – to set up a 15,000 sq.m logistics centre that meets international standards in southern Binh Duong province.

General Director of Cartridge World Vietnam, Eckhart Dutz, forecast there will be more logistics companies setting up joint ventures here in the next few years, as firms look to combine the best aspects of local and foreign firms – local knowledge and global reach.

The logistics industry is also expected to receive a boost from planned Government investment of 17.5 billion USD to develop infrastructure.

According to the World Bank, Vietnam’s airport, roadway, port and telecommunications services – the infrastructure required for a logistics network – rank fourth in the region behind Singapore , Malaysia , and Thailand .

Due to infrastructure constraints, freight costs are disproportionately high in Vietnam , running at around 30-40 percent of total costs, compared to around 15 percent in other countries.- (VNA)