Express venture widens wings

The service centre currently handles almost 1,200 packages a day and is capitlising on Hanoi’s export growth and has launched a dedicated uplift capacity for commercial airlines between Hanoi and Tokyo four times a week.

“We have been looking very carefully at our growth figures from the northern provinces of Vietnam and are seeing tremendous growth well ahead of the city’s own export growth for the year so far,” said Tim Baxter, general director of DHL-VNPT Express Ltd.

This service enables DHL-VNPT Express Ltd to offer next day delivery and a half day later cut-off time for Tokyo, Narita and Yokohama bound shipments at the Hanoi centre.

Japan is the top destination country for shipments processed through the centre, constituting 20 per cent of total outbound shipments.

“With major Japanese manufacturers, notably in high technology fields, choosing Hanoi as a key manufacturing base, DHL-VNPT Express Ltd has chosen to commit in this additional capacity to be better able to service this sector of the market,” added Baxter.

DHL-VNPT Express Ltd has operated for three years in Vietnam with investment capital of $14 million, which has already poured into building its platform for services.

“The platform allows us for five years to be able to build things on it and we are strong enough too and we continue our strategic investment to be more active to customers,” said Baxter.

The joint venture embraces VN Post, an arm of VNPT Group, with a foreign ownership of 51 per cent under the country’s World Trade Organization commitments.

The commitment read that the wholly foreign-invested entity will be permitted after five years accession. The foreign ownership is limited to 51 per cent within the first five years after accession.

“We will see the business climate growing in the future,” said Baxter.