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COVER STORY

Coping with conditions

FIEs in Vietnam were still able to post positive results last year
and maintain sustainability for future success.

T KHANH CHI REPORTS

s FDI has suffered as a result of Covid- and agile in order to cope with all manner of is an encouraging result compared to the
19 and domestic supply chains of goods changes. “Health and safety are top priorities overall situation facing the industry.
A and services have been disrupted, most at SCG, so we set out a corporate policy for a Similarly, Filipino food and beverage ((F&B)
foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) have become hybrid workplace and enabled working producer URC Vietnam remained resilient
hesitant in pushing their investment or expanding processes via digitization,” said Mr. Dhep Vong- by actively supporting communities while
their facilities in Vietnam. Sharp contractions vanich, Country Executive Director of SCG continually adjusting and innovating its busi-
in FDI are particularly evident in consumer Vietnam. “This helped us protect our employees, ness so as to meet the changing needs of
cyclicals such as airlines, tourism, and finance, partners, and customers, and maintain business consumers. In 2020, for the first time, it was
as well as manufacturing and supporting indus- continuity throughout the turbulence.” named one of the Top 10 Reputable Companies
tries. In such a tough climate, however, many In Vietnam, the leading Thai conglomerate in the Non-alcoholic Beverage Industry by
FIEs still managed to post positive business has been active in three business fields: Vietnam Report, which ranks enterprises
performance last year and have set out specific cement-building materials, packaging, and based on financial capacity, media reputation,
strategies for 2021. chemicals. It reported revenue from sales in and findings from its own customer survey.
the country of $1.14 billion last year, down “This shows our remarkable achievements
Challenging but successful year 10 per cent year-on-year and mainly from its in providing quality products, including
Last year was a difficult time for all busi- cement-building materials business and leading beverage brands such as C2 and Rong
nesses, and the Siam Cement Group (SCG) imports from Thailand. Nevertheless, the Do, besides an exciting portfolio of biscuits,
was no exception. The pandemic-related dis- packaging business still grew steadily, thanks confectionary, and snacks,” said Mr. Laurent
ruption required that businesses be resilient to increasing demand from consumers. This Levan, CEO of URC Vietnam.

16 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | APRIL 2021