As a key partner in the Vietnam International Logistics Exhibition (VILOG) exhibition, Singapore’s JGL Worldwide brought invaluable expertise and support to the event. Mr. David Hia, chief operating officer of JGL Worldwide, said his company hopes to promote Vietnam’s trade with Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and India through the exhibition.

VILOG attracted 250 exhibitors from 22 countries in the transport, forwarding, warehousing, cold chain operations, packaging equipment and technology, and logistics IT and applications. The expo was held together with the Cross-Border E-Commerce Expo to foster co-operation between businesses in the logistics sector and drive the growth of e-commerce and related logistics.

It was a platform for logistics enterprises, government representatives and stakeholders to share insights and showcase the latest innovations and trends in the industry. It featured a series of seminars and forums on pressing and trending issues ranging from innovative IOT technologies for customs regulations, import-export competitiveness, cross-border e-commerce, logistics workforce challenges, and the transformative buy-ship-pay model.

Mr. Trần Thanh Hải, deputy director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade, said logistics is one of the fastest growing industries in Vietnam. The growth is averaging 14% to 16% annually worth around $41B. The number of newly established businesses and the quality of logistics have been growing, contributing to the record foreign trade of $732.5B last year, attributing it to efforts by both the Government and the industry to improve competitiveness. Its great growth potential notwithstanding, the sector faces many challenges such as high costs and lack of linkages between service providers and manufacturers, importers-exporters. The expo marks an important milestone in the international integration of the country’s logistics sector.