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According to the General Statistics Office, the country's exports topped 254
billion USD during the first 11 months of the year, making for an increase of
5.3 percent over the previous year, while imports were estimated at 234.5
billion USD.
Increased trade activities coupled with a number of international trade deals
which were recently signed or came into effects such as the Comprehensive and
Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU-Vietnam Free
Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
have significantly boosted investors' confidence in logistics stocks.
A number of stocks such as VSC, GMD, DVP, DXP, SFI and HAH have seen
double-digit growth in recent months and some of them set all-time high records
on the trading floor.
Experts, however, pointed out the recent rise in stock value did not necessarily
come from better business performance but rather investors' optimism in the
sector's future. For example, despite the increased trading value, Gemadept has
reported a 32 percent drop in profit in the first three quarters, Tan Cang
Logistic (TCL) a 15 percent drop and Hai An Logistics a 9 percent drop.
A container shortage, typically experienced by logistics firms during the end of
the year when import/export activities are at the highest level, especially for
an export-oriented economy such as Vietnam, contributed to an increase in
logistics costs.
A report from the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA) showed more than
40 percent of firms had difficulty finding containers for their cargo with up to
17 percent unable to rent them. This has created a large backlog of cargo at
port and storage facilities across the country, which generated additional
revenue for logistics firms.
Meanwhile, freight charges have skyrocketed in recent months. According to
Freightos, a Hong Kong-based shipping company, the freight charges for a 40-feet
container from China to the US west coast has almost tripled to near 4,000 USD.
Investors also seem to be betting on an increase in port charges as Vietnam's
current prices were comparatively low in the region. A statement from the VLA
said the sector has set an objective to bring charges to 60-70 percent of the
region's price level by 2025, which they have planned to start bringing up at
the beginning of next year.
Source: VNA
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