Showing posts with label partners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label partners. Show all posts

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Business partners support competition reform

Business partners support competition reform

A partnership agreement called, “Corporate Alliance on Administrative
Procedures Reform and Competitiveness” was signed in Hanoi on October
12 by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the European
Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham).


In
announcing the agreement, the two organisations said they share a common
interest in promoting the business environment in Vietnam to
benefit businesses and stimulate economic growth.


The launch of the Corporate Alliance is a key step in providing a
platform to engage the private sector in building a strong network of
partners, mobilising resources to improve advocacy and support for
government-initiated administrative procedures reform, and improving
Vietnam ’s competitiveness at large.


“EuroCham
firmly believes in the power of partnerships and collaborative efforts
for a more competitive Vietnam and is fully committed to working
together with both government agencies and the corporate sector through
this initiative,” said Alain Cany, EuroCham Chairman.


VCCI and EuroCham will be the lead organisations in the alliance, and
other technical and corporate partners to provide business expertise,
financial resources and communications, he added.


Meanwhile, VCCI’s Vice Chairman Pham Gia Tuc said VCCI will work closely
with multinational corporations and national companies to identify,
design and implement alliance activities that leverage the strengths of
the corporate sector and improve Vietnam ’s business environment, and
especially its competitiveness.


Within the
framework of cooperation, EuroCham will provide professional knowledge,
resources and networks of members and partners at both national and
European Union levels.


The chamber will also
support government-initiated administrative reforms as a member of the
consultative council for administrative reforms, creating conditions for
cooperation between the alliance and EuroCham’s member businesses,
partners and European government institutions.


To
date, several EuroCham member companies have already committed to
supporting the alliance, including Holcim ( Vietnam ) Ltd., HSBC Bank (
Vietnam ) Ltd., FrieslandCampina Vietnam , GlaxoSmithKline Pte. Ltd.,
Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Ltd., Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam ,
Prudential Vietnam , Schneider Electronic Overseas Asia Pte. Ldt.,
Siemens Ltd. Vietnam , Standard Chartered Bank, Unilever Vietnam
and Sanofi-Aventies./.

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Monday, January 10, 2011

Tour operators await visa fee exemption advice

HCMC – Many tour operators are still waiting for guidelines from the tourism authorities regarding the exemption of visa fees for tourists following the approval of the Government, and have yet to send the good news to their overseas partners.

Under a new decision last week, the Government agreed to exempt visa fees for international visitors in the last quarter of this year as a way to further bolster the hospitality industry despite its better-than-expected performance so far. However, the incentive is extended to only those visitors who purchase package tours offered by international travel firms who have registered to join the national marketing campaign in 2010 named Vietnam – Your Destination.

Travel agencies said they would announce the incentive to partners right upon the guidance.

“We will send the news to partners when we receive the guidance from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) because the similar rule last year was complicated for tourists,” said Hoang Huu Loc, deputy director of Saigontourist Travel Service Co.

Loc told the Daily on Monday that visa fee exemption would help the tourism sector woo more visitors as visitors can save US$25 per person. In last year’s program, many tourists catered to by Saigontourist, especially French and German travelers, had received the benefits.

“In a time of tough competition, overseas partners will be happy if we can lower tour prices but we need more time to promote the program to buyers,” he said.

Tu Quy Thanh, director of Lien Bang Travelink, has the same view with Loc but his company has informed overseas partners of the incentive.

“We don’t have time so we send the new rule to partners first and then update the guidance later,” he said.

According to him, it is difficult to woo visitors from long-haul destinations like Europe in the rest of the year because the incentive was announced too late.

“But it’s good news because we have more tourists to travel by groups. We will inform the partners as soon as possible,” said Nguyen Minh Quyen, deputy director of Ben Thanh Tourist Travel Service Center.

Loc from Saigontourist expects the company can make the procedures for tourists in the last two months of this year as it needs time to have the guidance from VNAT and feedback from overseas travel agents.

VNAT has reported more than 383,000 foreign visitors to the country in September, bringing the total number of foreign arrivals to over 3.73 million in the year to date, up 34.2% year on year. The country’s tourism expects to receive five million foreign visitors this year.

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