Vietnam will welcome a wave of Singaporean businesses looking for franchise opportunities in many fields, from food and beverage (F&B) to hospitality services.

BreadTalk is one of the successful Singapore brands in Vietnam with a chain of bakeries across the country.

F&B, fashion, education ... attract investors

Characterized by a large population and a rapidly growing economy, Vietnam has been an attractive destination for Singaporean investors for many years. More and more businesses are entering the Vietnamese F&B market through franchising, such as the Ya Kun Kaya Toast coffee chain, the Jumbo Group seafood restaurant chain and the Xiao Ban soy milk brand.

Many Singaporean companies have been successful in bringing franchise models to Vietnam and the region. BreadTalk is one of the successful Singapore brands in Vietnam with a chain of bakeries across the country. Meanwhile, Lion City is the first five-star Singapore restaurant chain in Vietnam to bring Singaporean cuisine to Vietnamese consumers.

Mr. Sean T. Ngo, CEO of VF Franchise Consulting confirmed that Singapore franchisors continue to look at Vietnam as an important country to expand their brands, including segments such as F&B and fashion, education and service.

Osim International (Singapore-based healthcare product provider) is targeting the Vietnamese middle class who want to take care of their health and increase life expectancy. A Sureclean company specializing in cleaning and disinfecting products and services is also looking for a franchise partner in Vietnam.

According to Mr. Sean, franchising in education and service often bring higher profits than business franchises in other segments not only because of the higher value, but also the less competitive environment. These are areas where Singaporean businesses have more advantages than regional competitors because of franchising have long been developed in Singapore.

RedDoorz - a Singapore-based resort start-up is expanding its network in Vietnam, especially through a partnership program with hotels. This start-up is currently available in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang and Vung Tau. They aim to expand its network to more than 220 properties in 6 major cities across Vietnam by the end of this year.

RedDoorz has doubled its growth rate every 6 months over the past 2 years amid increasing global competition. The target of reaching 500,000 rooms overnight in July 2019.

Commenting on the development prospects of Vietnam's tourism industry, Mr. Amit Saberwal, founder and CEO of RedDoorz shared, the industry has been growing steadily over the years except 2020 due to the pandemic. Residents tend to travel more, find ways to pay less, but can still enjoy a high value and quality experience. However, the budget hotel market in Vietnam is fragmented and lacks technology.

By partnering with RedDoorz, budget hotels will have access to RedFox, a price and inventory management tool to optimize revenue and operations. In addition, hotels advertised via RedDoorz's online application bring convenience to customers with online payment.

The E-sports market lacks experience, but has great potential

Singapore's Team Flash is planning to increase operations in Vietnam, targeting the potential of the E-sports market. Team Flash is the fastest growing E-sports organization in Southeast Asia, with some of the best E-sports athletes in hand.

Mr. Terence Ting, CEO of Team Flash said: “We decided to invest in the E-sports market in Vietnam in February 2018, because we realized that this market is immature, but has great potential. We operate like a new sports franchise club - an E-sports organization with the ability to find and develop gamers across a wide range of E-sports, making them all-round athletes. Up to now, we have invested in League of Legends (LOL) and FIFA - the two leading games in Vietnam today”.

It is known that Team Flash won the first world title for E-sports Vietnam after their victory over Taipei (China) on the evening of July 14, 2019 in the Arena Of Valor World Cup 2019 tournament. Vietnam's first world champion in general and Team Flash in particular.

“Our vision is to make gamers heroes and create new celebrities from our top E-sports athletes. I believe we have changed our perception of Vietnam as a leading E-sports country, a country that is starting to develop its inherent potential” said Mr. Terence.

According to a recent Standard Chartered survey, Vietnam's economy is one of only a handful expected to have a net GDP growth rate of 7 percent or higher from 2018 to 2030. Vietnam's rapidly expanding middle class is anticipated to be the fastest-growing middle class in Southeast Asia. According to PwC's "The World in 2050" report, Vietnam is forecasted to be among the Top 20 economies in the world by 2050. This will bring the GDP per capita of Vietnam to more than 10,000 USD. This figure combine with the expected population of nearly 100 million by 2030, creates a hit for Vietnam among many international franchisors and investors.