Japanese firms keen on Vietnam’s market
Japan’s major shipping firms have started
to boost their business in the Vietnamese market to raise their market
share in the context that demand for consumption goods and auto spare
parts to the Southeast Asian country has been increased.
According
to the Nikkei newspaper, Mitsui OSK Lines has allowed ships on the Asia
to Europe route to anchor at Cai Mep port of Vietnam’s southern
coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.
The company will arrange for ten 6,500 TEU ships to dock at Cai Mep entrepot every week.
The
move will help reduce time to transport goods from Vietnam to
Rotterdam port in the Netherlands to 21 days, 3 days less than
before, as well as cut down expenses for loading and storage.
The company is said to have a desire to turn Cai Mep port into an intermediary port on the route linking Asia and North America.
Meanwhile, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Lines) has cooperated
with Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) to develop a cargo
transport service within the Southeast Asian region by using 1,000-TEU
ships.
The two companies will put two small ships into
operation to transport goods from north Vietnam to Thailand and
Singapore, in anticipation of rising domestic demand for automobile
spare parts imported from Thailand, which is predicted to increase
by 20-30 percent.
NYK Lines also plans to launch a service from north Vietnam to Singapore and then Europe and North America.
Another company, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, is scheduled to set up a joint
venture with a Vietnamese freight line in Hanoi and establish a
representative office in Ho Chi Minh City this month.
Japan’s demand for maritime transport on the route linking Asia to
Europe and North America is set to continue to rise by 5-10 percent.
Southeast Asia is considered as the fastest growing market, with growth
comparable to China. /.