HCM City firms restructure, cut costs

Businesses are planning to restructure their investments and product portfolios, cut costs and launch new products among other measures to cope with the current difficulties, executives told a conference held in HCM City yesterday.

Speaking at the Macro-economic Policies and Enterprises’ Measures conference, Nguyen Thanh Long, general secretary of the Association of Producers of Vietnamese High-Quality Goods, said the first quarter witnessed many changes in Government policies and market volatility, causing certain confusion among firms.

Coming up with measures to resolve it and identifying long-term strategies were not easy for them, he said.

Vu Kim Hanh, director of the HCM City-based Business Study and Assistance Center, said the recent increases in dollar value and fuel and electricity prices had caused many difficulties.

Many firms had pared their profit target for this year, she added.

Truong Dinh Thac, sales director of Son Kim Fashion Corporation, said his company planned to restructure its subsidiaries, revamp its product development and distribution strategies, and improve their products.

Le Van Tri, deputy general director of the Southern Rubber Industry Company (Casumina), said besides cutting costs, his company would also focus on developing improved versions of products at reasonable prices.

With the current high bank interest rates, the company had no other option but to reduce the credit term it offers customers to limit borrowing, he said.

Executives of Kinh Do Corporation and Nhon Hoa Scale Company exhorted their raw-materials suppliers and distributors to share the burden of rising prices.

“We ask suppliers and distributors to make minimal price hikes to maintain the competitiveness of our products,” Bui Dinh Thang, deputy general director of Nhon Hoa Scale Company, said.

“We will adjust our product portfolio by stopping manufacture of products with low margins. We will focus more on widening our distribution system in rural and remote areas.”

Many firms called on the Government to intensify the campaign to promote consumption of Vietnamese goods.

They also expressed willingness to take part in trade fairs to take Vietnamese goods to rural areas to promote their products.

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Ho Thi Kim Thoa called on businesses to carefully study the Government’s Resolution on controlling inflation, maintaining economic stability, and ensuring social welfare and help ensure it has an impact on the economy. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam companies, Vietnam enterprises