In the special issue celebrating the 99th anniversary of the Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day (June 21, 1925 �June 21, 2024), the Vietnam Textile Garment and Fashion Magazine collected opinions from business representatives and journalists who closely follow the textile garment industry to build an environment of “constructive press accompanying with business�

BUSINESSES WITH THE MEDIA

Mr. Nguyen Duc Tri – Deputy General Director of Vinatex, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoa Tho Textile and Garment Corporation:

In reality, media plays a vital role in supporting and promoting business development by enhancing brand recognition, and updating market trends, consumer needs, economic policies, and industry changes. The media also creates opportunities for business cooperation and development through articles and reports on fairs, exhibitions, and economic events. Furthermore, the media raises awareness among employees about their rights and responsibilities, fostering a fair and responsible working environment, stabilizing labor, and encouraging innovation. In special situations, the media helps businesses manage crises by delivering transparent, accurate, and timely information, minimizing negative reactions, and strengthening trust with partners and customers.

To develop more official information channels that help employees aware properly and accompany business development, I hope the media will focus more on:

1. Reporting accurately and honestly, avoiding the spread of false or unsubstantiated information, and limiting sensational articles that cause public confusion and negatively affect the company’s image and reputation.
2. Understanding the industry and specific businesses to write deep and objective articles, collaborating closely with businesses to verify news before publishing for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
3. Publishing more articles and programs helping workers to understand their rights, obligations, and company policies, and reporting on corporate social responsibility and sustainability activities to enhance employeesâ€?understanding of the company’s contributions to the community, thus increasing their trust and loyalty.
4. Creating high-quality articles, reports, and programs that build and maintain a positive image of effective businesses, and promoting articles about labor competition, innovation, and exemplary workers to guide training and enhance worker pride.
5. Fostering two-way interactions allows businesses and employees to provide feedback and engage with the media, helping the media better understand their needs and provide more useful and relevant information.

I believe that by improving these aspects, the media will contribute more to building official information channels, helping Hoa Tho’s employees and the textile garment industry have a correct understanding, stabilizing the workforce, and supporting sustainable business development.

Mr. Than Duc Viet �General Director of Garco 10 Corporation �JSC:

Currently, digital media is expanding its activities in both breadth and depth to achieve the highest information efficiency. Businesses like ours need media to understand market information, partners, and the business environment, which helps guide operations and make production and investment decisions. Media also plays a crucial role in promoting and introducing business strategies, business models, and products.

The media acts as a bridge between businesses and regulatory agencies, allowing the government and relevant authorities to hear business feedback on policy implementation, improving directives, management, and operational effectiveness.

Moreover, the media connects businesses with partners and consumers. Through the media, we understand market demands and consumer trends, allowing us to convey comprehensive product and service information to partners and consumers.

Media recognition of business achievements motivates and encourages continuous creative efforts, spreading positive values in the business community to contribute to the national economy.

In the future, I hope the media will continue to promote its role in fostering a favorable business environment, acting as a strong bridge between businesses and regulatory agencies, and between businesses and domestic and international markets. This will create an equal environment, providing opportunities for businesses to develop and contribute to national development.

In June,  on the occasion of celebrating Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day, I hope the media will enhance its role in guiding public opinion, consistently providing timely and accurate information on the Party’s and Government’s views, and avoiding vague or misleading news. Additionally, continue to promote good businesses, exemplary individuals, innovative practices, and new models, increasing valuable content for readers and viewers, and strengthening and promoting positive values. This contributes significantly to building an advanced Vietnamese culture with a strong national identity and developing national values, cultural values, family values, and Vietnamese human standards in the new era.

Strengthening healthy and effective cooperation between media and businesses is crucial for each party’s development and achieving national development goals. To sustain this important cooperation, we need to build a cooperative culture and establish cooperation based on cultural foundations.

Ms. Dang Ngoc Lan �Deputy General Director of Duc Giang Fashion and Investment Corporation, Duc Giang Corporation �JSC:

In the past two years, the textile garment industry has faced many challenges due to the economic downturn and changing consumer trends. Consumers are tightening their budgets and paying more attention to environmentally friendly and sustainable products. This requires us to innovate our business models. We hope the media can deliver positive information to consumers, raising awareness about recycled products and the importance of sustainable fashion.

During this time, we have received significant support from the media in conveying new trends in the textile garment industry and information about Duc Giang and HeraDG. This has helped consumers recognize and embrace the new image of sustainable fashion.

As a local fashion brand, we hope domestic media can actively support Vietnamese brands by showcasing their strengths and product quality to attract consumers. This will help local brands enhance their position, expand market share, and compete with foreign brands.

With media and communication support, Duc Giang Corporation and HeraDG hope local brands can prove their capabilities and build consumer trust that high-quality Vietnamese products are worth spending on, supporting the “Vietnamese people prioritize Vietnamese goods” campaign.

MEDIA WITH BUSINESSES

Journalist Hoang Van Anh �Nhan Dan Newspaper:

Understanding the economic difficulties and challenges facing the textile garment industry, we journalists share and support businesses. Having followed the textile garment industry for many years, I have seen the pressures faced by the industry and Vinatex since the end of 2022. I hope Vinatex and other companies in the industry can overcome these difficulties and achieve their goals, especially with positive export market signals.

For journalists, businesses are not only valuable information sources but their development is closely tied to the country’s development. Business growth indicators reflect economic achievements. Therefore, to provide timely and valuable information and propose solutions to business challenges, we hope businesses will facilitate information exchange and provide accurate, timely policy-related information. This helps journalists have a comprehensive view of businesses, assisting government agencies in resolving institutional bottlenecks and creating favorable conditions for business growth.

Furthermore, to gain an objective and deep understanding of the industry and create high-quality, thematic articles, we hope to conduct field surveys and experiences at business sites. This helps us reflect the business activities accurately and listen to businesses’ concerns about institutional and policy-related challenges, timely proposing solutions to the government. Moreover, we understand that businesses are not only entities that contribute to the annual GDP and create job and social stability, but also one of the important links for the press to have access to multi-dimensional information so that the press can fulfill its mission of transmitting and reflecting information.

In the future, I hope Vinatex and the textile garment industry can provide timely information about business activities, help the media update current and objective news, and gradually build a modern, transparent, and accurate communication environment.

Journalist Nguyen Thi Loan – Vietnam Economic Times (VnEconomy):

As a key export sector, ranked 3rd among Vietnam’s key export industries, the textile garment industry has always received media attention. Besides, textile garment is a labor-intensive industry with nearly 3 million workers, contributing to social stability. This dual goal has been a focus in many government meetings, analyzing strategies for industry development and removing obstacles for businesses. Recently, the strategy for textile-garment and footwear development until 2030, with a vision to 2035, was approved by the Prime Minister in 2022, providing a clear direction for investment and long-term planning for competition with other textile garment-exporting countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, etc.

Following Vinatex for many years, I have always received timely, in-depth insights from the Group’s leadership, helping journalists understand the industry’s challenges and competition. Vinatex and other textile garment businesses provide an “infinite” source of information, enabling us to create diverse, multi-dimensional content. The challenges businesses face are not only institutional but also internal, such as labor stability and competitive working environments.

Therefore, I hope exemplary models in the textile industry, useful union structures, and inspiring stories will be shared more through articles, alongside export statistics. Therefore, I hope that exemplary models in the textile industry, beneficial union structures, and inspiring stories of overcoming difficulties will be shared more through articles, alongside export figures. To achieve this, businesses need to be more open with the media, allowing us to experience the reality at factories and interview workers to create diverse and thematic articles..

Additionally, I hope Vinatex can build a multi-dimensional communication channel, from the Group to member units, allowing journalists to update on social security, industry greening, and sustainable development.

Journalist Phan Huong �Hanoi Radio and Television

For nearly 30 years, I have accompanied and witnessed the resilient growth of the textile garment industry, including the strong development of Vinatex. However, I never imagined the industry facing compounded difficulties as it did in 2023. In 2024, despite the global economic instability, I believe that with an “overcoming challenges” spirit and the resilience built through hardships, the textile industry will recover and grow. Signals of increasing orders at many companies and rising export turnover in the early months of the year support this expectation.

Moreover, I have observed significant innovations in the management and operations of the textile garment industry, especially within the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex). The focus on digital transformation, greening the industry, and sustainable development is creating new advancements and a fresh look for the industry. When delving deeper into the enterprises and Vinatex, one finds many creative practices and ideas worth reflecting on and sharing. As journalists, we are always ready to accompany and spread these positive values.

At Vinatex, the reporters following the Group have engaged in two-way communication via social media, enhancing the speed and accuracy of information exchange and feedback. The Group’s communication has also become more open, with both challenges and successes being timely shared. This openness is expected to promote diverse and multi-dimensional information, avoiding one-sided reports that could be detrimental to businesses. Most importantly, with tens of thousands of direct workers, Vinatex has built a safe working environment focused on employees, which is another aspect that will attract media attention and coverage.

I believe that the media will be a bridge, conveying the voices of textile garment enterprises to regulatory agencies, and contributing to the recovery and sustainable development of this strategic and important industry. For Vinatex specifically, I hope the Group and member units will make significant breakthroughs, enhance their competitiveness, and continue to lead and be the core of the industry with nearly 30 years of overcoming challenges and development.

Reporters

Translated from the article published in the June 2024 issue of Textile-Garment and Fashion Vietnam Magazine.

Enhancing Workforce and Productivity

Amidst a challenging environment, the Garco 10 Corporation (Garco 10) is among the few that have maintained employment and ensured employee income despite the wave of layoffs and personnel cuts in the post-COVID-19 period. Garco 10 has proactively sought more job sources and markets beyond their traditional ones and organized supplementary training for employees. Garco 10 is one of the few companies with welfare facilities serving both employees and the community, including kindergartens, medical rooms, Vocational Colleges, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, dormitories, and cultural centers for workers, etc.

At Hoa Tho Textile and Garment Joint Stock Corporation (Hoa Tho), employee welfare, creativity competitions, and promotion of improvements have always been prioritized alongside business development. Mrs. Tran Tuong Anh, Deputy General Director of Hoa Tho stated that the corporation consistently cares for employees’ jobs and promptly implements social welfare programs. All distant employees receive housing and childcare subsidies. Additionally, Hoa Tho has established a health station equipped with essential medical devices to meet onsite medical needs. Annually, Hoa Tho conducts two health check-ups for all workers and cancer screenings for females.

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Tien Hau, Deputy General Director and Chairman of the Trade Union of Hue Textile and Garment Joint Stock Company (HUGATEX) noted that all workers are provided with personal protective equipment suited to their specific jobs and working environments. The company has improved working conditions by repairing and maintaining infrastructure, upgrading cooling, ventilating, and air conditioning systems, and investing in modern equipment and automation to reduce manual labor, ensure safety, and increase productivity.

Mr. Do Van Thuan, Chairman of the Trade Union of Tien Hung Joint Stock Company (Tien Hung JSC), stated that the company’s labor safety practices have been highly appreciated by various organizations, such as Better Work program, Lab, and Hanoi Industrial Textile Garment University. Currently, the company is collaborating with Better Work program to train employees in fire protection and prevention, electrical safety, and equipment operation safety. As a result, workers’ awareness has significantly improved. The company now uses air conditioning systems instead of water spray systems to cool the workshops.

“Every year, the company organizes vacation trips for employees to rest and re-production of labor power. Customers highly value Tien Hung’s welfare policies, salaries, bonuses, working conditions, and social responsibility. Many of these policies exceed legal requirements, such as gasoline allowances and holiday gifts, resulting in a stable and consistent workforce,â€?Mr. Do Van Thuan explained.

Speaking about Tien Hung’s working conditions, Ms. Pham Thi Nga, Team Leader of Team 45 at Garment Workshop 5, Tien Hung JSC, shared: “Currently, working conditions are excellent and continuously improving. The company has upgraded the workshop, invested in modern machinery, and run air conditioning continuously. During hot summers, the company has also provided cool drinks and snacks like black bean sweet soup, green bean sweet soup, lemon water, yogurt, coffee, and smoothies. Working conditions at the company are better than at home for many workers. With a monthly income of over VND10 million, we feel secure in providing for our families. Most employees do not want to work elsewhere due to the good benefits, rights, income, and working conditions. Even young workers, who often change jobs frequently, intend to stay with the company long-term.â€?/span>

Prioritizing Meals to Ensure Employee Retention

Alongside ensuring benefits and policies for employees, companies within the Group always pay attention to the quality of meals, ensuring food safety and nutrition for their workers.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Dao, Chairwoman of the Garco 10 Trade Union, stated that in May, the union provided an additional fresh meal with nutritious dishes such as steamed chicken, fried meat, mixed stir-fried vegetables, bone marrow soup, and fruit for all employees across the system. The Garco 10 Trade Union believes that ensuring nutritious and safe meals will provide employees with the health and comfort needed to work effectively, thereby increasing labor productivity and work quality.

At Garco 10, the menu changes daily and weekly, offering a variety of dishes that are publicly announced to the workers. Each meal includes the four main food groups: carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals (vegetables, fruits). The kitchens source food from reputable suppliers with food safety certificates. Fresh ingredients are used to prepare meals immediately, providing hot and delicious food compared to industrial meals ordered from outside. Additionally, Garco 10 has established a process for controlling meal provision, food safety, and preventing collective food poisoning across the system. Following recent collective food poisoning incidents in some provinces, Garco 10 has instructed kitchens to eliminate ready-to-eat, easily contaminated foods like sausage, fresh bamboo, and pickled vegetables, ensuring fresh, cooked foods with adequate nutrition.

At Hoa Tho, employees can register for a free breakfast buffet with a diverse menu, including banh beo, banh goi, banh mi, banh bot loc, fish or meat noodles, Quang noodles, sticky rice, mixed noodles, from 6:00 to 7:15 am. For lunch, the company serves a menu of four dishes, including two main dishes, one stir-fried dish, and one boiled vegetable dish, along with rice and soup, or employees can register for noodles or soup to vary their meals. For those working overtime, the company provides noodles or soup at 5:00 pm. Night shift yarn workers receive free meals such as curry, noodle soup, and pho. The yarn workers also have been provided free beverages and coffee in the factory’s coffee room.

“During the hot summer months, to increase resistance and strength for employees, the corporation leadership has directed the kitchen to collaborate with units to provide free cooling drinks like lemon water, sugarcane juice, bean soup, and yogurt on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Hoa Tho serves 3,200 lunch meals and 1,500 breakfast meals daily, so food safety and hygiene are always a top concern of the company. Every day, medical staff inspect the food sources, record the results, and evaluate them. Food samples are kept according to regulations, and the corporation invites food safety experts from the Da Nang Food Safety Authority periodically to train all kitchen staff and update related regulations,�emphasized Mrs. Tran Tuong Anh.

Additionally, Hoa Tho conducts regular inspections at off-site kitchens and frequently monitors the input food sources at kitchens to ensure food standards with invoices, food safety certificates, and competitive prices. Thang Binh Yarn Factory even grows some clean vegetables for workers. The factory also focuses on improving the working and resting environment for employees, with a coffee area featuring a Koi fish pond and green garden, creating a relaxing space during breaks. The canteen is equipped with fans and air conditioning, offering free coffee, soft drinks, movie screenings, and music during breaks. The medical department actively monitors and updates the situation of seasonal diseases, providing health guidance and prevention tips for employees.

At Hue Textile and Garment Joint Stock Company, Chairman of the Trade Union Nguyen Tien Hau shared: “All employees receive company-supported industrial meals during shifts at rates of VND18,000 per meal for shifts 1, 2, and administrative hours, and VND 24,000 per meal for shift 3. The menu is designed to ensure adequate nutrition for employees. All food comes from reputable suppliers with clear origins, ensuring food safety. The cooking area is safe and hygienic, with all cooking equipment properly arranged. Cooking staff are regularly trained in food safety. Drinking water is tested monthly to ensure safety and quality.�/span>

Tien Hung Joint Stock Company consistently improves and provides the best conditions for employees to feel secure in their work. The menu is continuously updated weekly. “To ensure food safety, the company has agreements with reputable suppliers certified for safety. Provincial authorities regularly inspect the company’s food safety practices. Every Friday, the supervisory team meets to plan the menu for the following week. In summer, the menu is adjusted accordingly, and employees receive free cool drinks, milk, and supplements. The company always listens to employee feedback to ensure meals are suitable and of high quality,â€?emphasized Chairman of the Trade Union Do Van Thuan.

Ms. Tran Thi Quyen, Tien Hung JSC kitchen staff, shared: “I have been working in the company’s kitchen for nine years. The kitchen team has about 20 members, and we start working at 7 am every day to prepare meals for the workers until around 12:20 pm. To ensure food safety, we choose reliable suppliers and regularly clean the kitchen, carefully process ingredients, and follow proper procedures for washing vegetables and other foods. We continuously clean dining tables and floors. When serving cooked food, we always wear gloves and masks to ensure hygiene. Since the company began operations, there have been no food poisoning incidents, but we always prioritize food safety and nutritional quality for the workers’ meals.â€?/span>

Dr. Nguyen Huy Tuan �Occupational Medicine Department, Textile Garment Hospital Medical Center

To prevent occupational diseases, workers and employers should implement the following measures:

• Providing protective equipment and maintaining workplace hygiene to ensure sanitary conditions free from harmful and hazardous factors for workers.
• Adhering to safety regulations.
• Conducting regular environmental monitoring.
• Participating in regular health check-ups and screenings for occupational diseases.
• Using personal protective equipment correctly.
• Establishing a balanced diet and reasonable rest schedule.

To minimize the risk of food poisoning, adhere to the following 10 principles published by WHO:

Principle 1: Principles of Choosing safe

Principle 2: Cook food thoroughly

Principle 3: Eat immediately after cooking

Principle 4: Carefully store cooked food

Principle 5: Reheat food thoroughly before eating

Principle 6: Do not mix raw and cooked food

Principle 7: Always keep your hands clean when processing food

Principle 8: Always keep processing surfaces and kitchen dry and clean

Principle 9: Protect food from the invasion of insects, rodents, and other animals

Principle 10: Use clean water

Reporters

Translated from the article published in the June 2024 issue of Textile-Garment and Fashion Vietnam Magazine.

Dr. Hoang Xuan Hiep – Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of Vinatex, Rector of Hanoi Industrial Textile Garment University

Lecturers must have both solid knowledge and the ability to apply it in textile-garment production and business practices.

President Ho Chi Minh asserted that “Higher education should combine scientific theory with practice, learning from advanced countries while integrating with Vietnam’s reality to effectively contribute to national development,etc”. This principle guides all universities, especially universities of applied sciences. From the design phase of training programs for the textile garment industry, universities must balance theoretical and practical content, ensuring enough practical skill training to equip students to solve real-world problems. Training programs should reference those from developed countries to incorporate modern knowledge and advanced skills of Industrial Revolution 4.0, such as smart textile factories, digital economy in textiles, sustainable textile garment supply chains, and circular economy practices.

In terms of educational methodology, President Ho Chi Minh emphasized that “learning must go hand in hand with practice� To realize this in textile garment training universities, teaching staff must possess both solid theoretical knowledge and practical application skills. During their studies, lecturers guide students in scientific research to solve complex problems in textile garment enterprises, improve productivity, quality, and efficiency, and develop skills for ensuring product quality meeting major textile garment markets such as the EU and the US, managing green textile garment factories, and participating in sustainable supply chains, etc.

Besides professional education, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology also highlights the importance of ethical education. He believed that “teaching and learning must focus on both talent and virtue, with revolutionary ethics being fundamentalâ€? Universities training textile garment workforce, where 90% of production capacity is for export, must train students with professional ethics, responsibility, creativity, and readiness to integrate into the global textile garment market with many fluctuations.

The best way to learn and follow Ho Chi Minh’s ideology in textile garment workforce training and development today is education transformation from merely imparting knowledge to comprehensively developing learners’ capabilities and qualities. This aligns with his teaching’s mindset that “Teaching and learning must meet the needs of the people and the Government. Good teachers and good students will provide enough personnel for agriculture, industry, and all economic and cultural sectors.”

Mr. Nguyen Van Phong – General Director of Hue Textile Joint Stock Company

Caring for the workforce and enhancing competitiveness in the global trend

“Responsibility of the leader” is one of the nine core cultural values of the Hue Textile and Garment Joint Stock Company. This cultural value is communicated and understood by each manager and party member, effectively applied in company activities, especially in training, developing, and caring for the workforce, and boosting business performances to enhance global competitiveness.

In terms of training and developing human resources, the Board of Directors and the General Director have planned and trained over 100 managers and young staff for positions of General Director, Deputy General Director, Operations Director, heads and deputy head of member units. All planned personnel are sent to training programs such as Leader Mindset, Business Leadership, Young Talent, and Member Textile Garment Mill Director. Besides formal training, the company assigns executive members to mentor and guide individuals to improve their professional and management skills. Not only focusing on training the next generation of management staff, at HUGATEX, all employees receive training and mentoring to improve their skills. Regular training is conducted with the motto “excel in one task, know many tasks,” to enhance productivity, quality, and adaptability to market changes. Additionally, The company has also developed a competency framework and conducted competency assessments to identify gaps and create appropriate training programs.

To boost the business and production activity and improve competitiveness globally, the company aims to become a strategic partner of major fashion brands by 2035, meeting the highest customer requirements, maintaining modern management systems, achieving sustainable growth, and deeply participating in the supply chain of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group and the global textile supply chain. To realize this vision, the Board of Directors and the General Director of the company have implemented a development strategy encompassing four main pillars: Financial Strategy, Market Strategy, Human Resource Strategy, and Investment Strategy. These strategies have been widely popularized to all employees to ensure understanding and collective effort in achieving the company’s strategic goals.

Despite market difficulties from 2021-2023 due to Covid-19, geopolitical conflicts, and economic recession, HUGATEX has seen relatively good results: capital increased from VND100 billion to VND200 billion, annual revenue nearly VND2,000 billion, annual profit from VND120-170 billion, providing jobs for nearly 5,000 workers with an average monthly income of over VND10 million, and contributing about VND50 billion to the state budget annually.

The collective efforts of the Board of Directors, executives, and all employees have built internal strength, guiding the company through challenges and enhancing its competitiveness in both the Vietnamese and global textiles markets.

Mr. Pham Tuan Anh – Secretary of the Communist Party, General Director of Tien Hung Joint Stock Company

People are the center of all activities

With the motto “people at the center,” Tien Hung strives to create a worth living and working environment for all employees. Ensuring rising income and a green, friendly, and modern working environment is a top priority. The company has greened the entire factory with flowers and trees and installed a central air conditioning system for the entire workshop, covering over 8,000 square meters.

Tien Hung cares for their employees by providing imported milk weekly, establishing a modern medical room with on-call staff, investing in breast pumps and milk storage for female employees, organizing weekly cultural exchanges, celebrating birthdays, and installing a modern sound system for employee relaxation. Regular meetings are held to listen to employees’ needs and address them promptly.

This year, the company focuses on technology investment and optimizing the factory system to create the best working conditions. Digitalization has been applied in raw material warehouses and product quality management, with plans to extend digital transformation across other fields.

Initiatives like “Love the Industry, Love the Job”, “Clean Workplace,” and innovation campaigns are encouraged among employees. Recognizing and rewarding individuals spreads these movements throughout the workforce. Focusing on employees and optimizing production models has increased labor productivity by about 8%. The company has enough orders for the year, with projected revenue growth of 5-7%, and increases in employee income of 5-7% compared to 2023.

Tien Hung believes that the workforce must constantly strive to develop. Therefore, every Tien Hung person needs to unite and promote the message of “taking people as the focus� Tien Hung keeps sending workers to more specialized training, gradually building a work environment worth living in, as well as changing employees�perceptions towards labor-intensive enterprises such as garment enterprises.

Mr. Duong Trinh Xuyen �Cell’s Secretary of the Communist Party, Director of Textile Garment Hospital

Improving medical ethics, researching and adopting advanced techniques for high-quality healthcare

President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on building Vietnamese culture and people emphasizes combining “virtue” and “talent,” balancing individual and societal interests. “Loyalty to the country, devotion to the people” is the guiding principle for cadres and party members, highly relevant to the healthcare sector. This motto is also shown in the spirit of overcoming difficulty, contributing to the nation’s development, and being suitable for Vietnam’s medical sector.

Cadres and Party members of the Textile Garment Hospital always attach their responsibility to the care and protection of people’s health, constantly improve medical ethics, strive to study, train and learn, and seek new modern techniques so that people can enjoy high-quality medical services.

Each medical staff also needs to be aware of preserving national solidarity, solidarity within the Party, within the hospital and unit; resolutely fighting against national division, division of the great national solidarity bloc, and division of the Party with the people.

Learning and following the ideology, morality, and style of President Ho Chi Minh, more than 100 cadres, Party members, and employees of the Hospital always uphold their ideals and morality, take the lead in receiving and implementing high-tech techniques, inter-provincial techniques, and pioneering digital transformation to contribute to people’s healthcare. Each Party member and medical worker should uphold a high sense of responsibility, have a clear professional conscience; have a spirit of eagerness to learn, and promote the tradition of respecting learning and valuing the country’s talents. Scientific knowledge of medicine and modern technology is applied creatively. Every year, the Hospital sends a number of doctors and medical staff to study and improve their skills as well as organize scientific seminars to update the latest knowledge and modern technologies. As a result, the ability to diagnose and treat patients has been improved, especially for severe patients who can be treated directly at the Hospital.

The Textile Garment Hospital also dedicates a lot of effort, expenses, and resources to scientific research and proposes healthcare measures for workers in enterprises both inside and outside the textile garment industry.

Mr. Vien Minh Dao �Cell’s Secretary of the Communist Party, Director of Vinatex Nam Dinh Yarn Branch

Appreciating the culture of setting example, listening, and direct communication

In accordance with Plan No. 1577-KH/DUTD on March 29, 2024, on “Studying and Following the Ideology, Morality, and Style of Ho Chi Minh” in 2024 of the Party Committee of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, the Cell’s Executive Committee of the Communist Party of the Vinatex Nam Dinh Yarn Factory always affirms that: “Studying and following the ideology, morality, and style of Ho Chi Minh on building Vietnamese culture and people and corporate culture is a content that every cadre and party member must imbue and constantly learn and follow.”

The factory’s Party Committee and leaders have integrated the implementation and dissemination of the core content of the theme into handover meetings and shift meetings, while also linking it with the patriotic emulation movement and the unit’s business tasks.

Firstly, the factory’s leadership attaches importance to the culture of setting an example, being a role model, listening to and directly dialoguing to handle the suggestions of cadres, party members, and workers on time; resolutely fighting against manifestations of indifference, apathy, bureaucracy, orders, and arrogance. Strictly implement the inspection and supervision of the cultivation and training of morality and lifestyle of leaders, key cadres, and party members. Researching and supplementing business strategies and working regulations, in accordance with the vision, mission, and core values of corporate culture creates a basis for organizing and implementing corporate culture and democratic regulations.

With this approach, the Factory always ensures stable jobs and income for 210 workers. In the context of difficulties in business, the Factory is determined to maintain production to ensure stable labor. The more difficult it is, the more the Factory realizes the importance of building and developing human resources, so it has created all conditions for workers to participate in party sentiment training programs, improve their political theory knowledge; participate in Vinatex’s young talent training courses, etc.

The Trade Union and the Youth Union have built a work program in line with the Factory’s political tasks; responding to the implementation of movements and emulation campaigns, striving to excellently complete tasks, ensuring the quality and efficiency of work and absolute safety. Outstanding activities include: “Application of information technology to improve the quality and efficiency of work, towards digital transformation”; “5S movement”; “Practice of saving, anti-waste, electricity and water saving”… In particular, the Factory has completed the solar power system, aiming at sustainable development. The Factory has also achieved the global GRS recycling standard, ensuring the ready conditions for the business plan of recycled polyester yarn products to flexibly adapt to the global trend.

Reporters

Translated from the article published in the June 2024 issue of Textile-Garment and Fashion Vietnam Magazine.

Mr Le Tien Truong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vinatex

• What is your assessment of the current difficulties that textile and garment exporters face in accessing loans?

First of all, the difficulty in accessing loans originates from the poor business performance in 2023 of textile and garment enterprises, particularly yarn and weaving enterprises. Therefore, commercial banks, with regulated standards, will review loan requests more strictly than in previous years.

However, we should also reconsider the situation in 2023. For the first time in 30 years, textile and garment exports decreased by over 10% compared to the previous year, even during the COVID-19 pandemic or the economic crisis in Asia and the global economic crisis, the textile export has never decreased so drastically.

The decline of over 10% in export turnover resulted in job shortages, but more importantly, a global unit price decline led to the very poor business performance of textile and garment companies in 2023 compared to previous years. Particularly for yarn enterprises, these difficulties have continued from July 2022 to the present and are clearly reflected in the financial reports of 2023. This is the main reason why yarn enterprises are finding difficult to access bank loans.

• How does the difficulty in accessing loans affect the operations of enterprises in the yarn industry, Mr. Chairman?

The global yarn industry experienced a downturn in 2023. Yarn manufacturers in China, Bangladesh, and other countries faced difficulties, not just in Vietnam, due to low demand. This is a unique situation for the yarn industry.

However, in the first quarter of 2024, we have seen a more positive outlook in the yarn market. While the industry is not yet profitable overall, the level of losses has decreased by 90% compared to the first quarter of 2023. The market is recovering, demand is gradually increasing, and textile exports grow over 10% compared to the same period last year. This is the time to recover the losses from 2023. To recover, enterprises urgently need cooperation and loans from credit institutions and banks to implement production.

As a result of the poor business performance in 2023, the credit funding trend for 2024 is expected to be lower than in 2023. Specifically for the yarn industry, credit in 2023 was also lower than in 2022, but due to low total demand in 2023, that low funding could still maintain normal production. However, in 2024, yarn manufacturers are only approved for a credit limit 20% lower than in 2023, so when the market warms up, enterprises fall into a shortage of working capital to import raw materials and organize production. If we do not accompany enterprises with specific policies at this time, especially for yarn enterprises, we will miss the recovery opportunity of the yarn industry. Yarn manufacturers will naturally face compounded difficulties when production is narrowed down, and the opportunity to recoup the losses of 2023 will be even further away.

• So, what solutions do we need to enable enterprises to access bank loans and simultaneously facilitate the credit flow of the entire economy, Mr. Chairman?

When we have identified 2023 as a particularly difficult year with unusual market movements that no one could have predicted, we also need flexible policies, especially at this time.

The lesson learned from 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, many preferential credit policies and tax reductions from the Government were effective, helping enterprises overcome the difficulties, preventing bankruptcy, and offering a chance to recover. The year 2021 was a year of strong recovery for the textile and garment enterprises, a year with peak profits for the entire industry.

Because of many fluctuations and crises, the economy in 2022 and 2023 faced difficulties, and the textile industry also struggled. However, this does not mean the textile-garment market disappeared. Therefore, supporting businesses to overcome this difficult period in order to retain the industry, maintain jobs, and keep market share is necessary to create conditions and opportunities to recover.

With a scale of 10 million yarn spindles, the yarn industry in Vietnam is also a large-scale industry, among the top 5 in the world, currently employing 150,000 workers, with annual wage payments of about $1 billion, electricity costs about $500 million /year, and other expenses in Vietnam about $600 million/year. If we do not timely recover the yarn industry, we will lose the ability to dominate the market. This is because countries around the world such as China, Bangladesh, India, and others are ready to fill the gap in yarn supply that Vietnam has lost.

Therefore, during this period, commercial banks, with the management of the Central Bank, should adopt a policy of supporting businesses by working closely with them to analyze their individual situations. By this way, it can be seen that the Return on Sales and the number of orders of each company is improving better than last year. Instead of evaluating credit limits based on the poor business performance of 2023 and cutting them by 20-25%, banks should assess credit limits based on a company’s potential for recovery and the profitability of individual orders. Currently, some banks have cut credit limits by 16-17%, while others have reduced 30-40%. This approach makes it very difficult for businesses to recover.

Similar to the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, we have efficient enterprises but also have units that only produce yarn products. As a result, they face more difficulties when the market fluctuates. Therefore, we hope to have a common credit package for the whole Group so that good enterprises can share with enterprises that are still in difficulties, thereby together taking advantage of business opportunities that are showing signs of recovery. This year, Vinatex forecasts that the minimum growth rate of the yarn industry will be around 10% compared to last year, which means that working capital will need to increase by at least 10% compared to last year, not be cut by 20% as announced at the beginning of 2024.

Thank you for your attention!

Reporters

Translated from the article published in the May 2024 issue of Textile-Garment and Fashion Vietnam Magazine.