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CORPORATE NEWS

DHL OPENS HANOI WAREHOUSE tions as credit partners. According to VIB, ern economic growth engines. At present,
the additional capital from the syndicated sectors such as technology, infrastructure,
loan will be used to finance its core retail and consumer goods are benefitting from
lending activities. The bank’s lending port- a range of drivers, including middle-class
folio has low concentrated risk, with the growth, urbanization, digitalization, and
ratio of outstanding loans with collateral sustainable development. VINACAPITAL-
at up to 92 per cent. Overall, the structure VMEEF is professionally managed by
of VIB’s retail loan portfolio is both diver- investment experts with support from a
sified and balanced, including several key highly-qualified in-house research team.
products ranging from housing and home The fund is considered medium to high
repair loans, car loans, and business loans risk and is suitable for investors who expect
DHL Express has officially opened its new to credit cards. This was the second time high returns and can tolerate short-term
Hanoi Gateway warehouse with total invest- VIB signed an international long-term volatility. VINACAPITAL-VMEEF aims
ment of €11.7 million ($13.6 million). It is loan in 2023. to deliver outstanding returns for long-
double the size of the previous facility, term investors throughout a full market
with 4,500 sq m in total utilization space JETRO SURVEY FINDS JAPANESE cycle. From its inception on May 4, 2023
and a four-fold increase in peak handling INTEREST IN EXPANDING to November 30, 2023, VINACAPITAL-
capacity. The warehouse is supported by a VMEEF booked a return of 9.4 per cent.
national service network, including another
gateway in Ho Chi Minh City, ten service NESTLÉ WINS SUSTAINABLE
centers, 17 points, and 25 weekly flights. MANUFACTURING AWARD
The Hanoi Gateway is also part of DHL’s
50 gateways in the Asia-Pacific region,
supported by four main hubs - the Central
Asia Hub, the North Asia Hub, the South
Asia Hub, and the Bangkok Hub. Mr.
Bernardo Bautista, General Director and
Country Manager of DHL Express Viet- A recent Japan External Trade Organization
nam, believes in Vietnam’s growth potential (JETRO) survey found that 56.7 per cent of
as a global manufacturing hub and in Japanese companies in Vietnam plan to
investment in bolstering interconnectivity expand their operations in the country over
between Vietnam and other countries to the next one to two years. Some 47 per cent Nestlé Vietnam has been recognized as
support customer development and create of manufacturing and 65.5 per cent of non- the #1 Most Sustainable Manufacturing
opportunities for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies plan to expand. Company in 2023 by the Vietnam Business
enterprises (SMEs). DHL, the world’s lead- One of the reasons for their expansion is Council for Sustainable Development
ing international express service provider, their targeting of consumption in the domes- (VCCI-VBCSD), after meeting all 130 ESG
is committed to achieving net-zero emis- tic market and increasing their exports. The (environmental, social, governance) indi-
sions by 2050, and its new warehouse will percentage of companies that expect to post cators in Vietnam’s Corporate Sustainability
employ advanced carbon-neutral tech- operating profits in 2023 stood at 54.3 per Index (CSI) 2023. The company was also
nologies with high-quality equipment and cent, which is 6.6 per cent lower than the honored as a pioneering business in imple-
automated management system software ASEAN average. Thirty-two per cent of menting a circular economy model and
to promote energy efficiency. companies said their operating profit in decarbonization in Vietnam in 2023. All
2023 will increase against 2022, which is Nestlé Vietnam factories in Vietnam have
VIB SIGNS $280MLN SYNDICATED LOAN 15.6 per cent lower than in the 2022 survey. achieved zero-waste-to-landfill targets since
Rising demand in the export market was 2015. Nestlé commits to achieving plastic
the leading reason for the higher operating and water neutrality by 2025. At present,
profit forecast in the manufacturing sector. around 90 per cent of its packaging has
been designed for recycling. The company’s
VINACAPITAL LAUNCHES sustainable packaging initiatives have
NEW EQUITY FUND resulted in a reduction of nearly 2,400
tons of virgin plastic in the last two years.
In mid-2023, Nestlé Vietnam, the Ministry
of Agriculture and Rural Development
(MARD), and key partners launched the
The Vietnam International Commercial “Agroforestry and Reforestation in the
Joint Stock Bank (VIB) has closed a Central Highlands of Vietnam” project,
medium to long-term syndicated loan of which aims to plant at least 2.3 million
$280 million. The agreement was signed trees to help remove about 480,000 tons
between VIB as the borrower and 13 of carbon dioxide emissions in the five-
leading financial institutions around the year 2023-2027 period. The #1 Most Sus-
world, including United Overseas Bank VinaCapital has launched the VinaCapital tainable Manufacturing Company in 2023
Limited (UOB) as the Coordinator and Modern Economy Equity Fund (VINACAP- award reconfirms the company’s long-term
Mandated Lead Arranger and Book-runner ITAL-VMEEF), an open-ended equity fund commitments in its sustainability efforts
(MLAB), Mashreqbank PSC as Facility that invests in the stocks of companies across all aspects, including ESG, to con-
Agent and MLAB, Maybank as MLAB, with solid long-term revenue and profit tribute to Vietnam’s overall environmental
and ten other esteemed financial institu- growth prospects driven by Vietnam’s mod- and socio-economic development.

www.en.vneconomy JANUARY 2024 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | 45