HCM City businesses manage to overcome COVID-19 woes

Workers at a DLG Ansen Electronic Co., Ltd. factory in HCM City wear masks and ensure social distancing. Many businesses have been able to overcome the problems posed by COVID-19 and achieve their targets such as meeting overseas demand. – Photo tuoitre.vn

Some HCM City businesses have been able to shrug off the difficulties caused by COVID-19 and achieve their targets thanks to thorough preparations.

DLG Ansen Electronic Co., Ltd. has been able to fulfil its contracts despite the pandemic, and even got plenty of new orders from satisfied customers.

Đặng Công Bình, director of the company, told Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper that many overseas customers had been greatly worried about whether the company could fulfil its orders, and so it had to prove to them production had not been interrupted.

“We had to live-stream our staff working normally and being healthy and show that we had abundant materials to sustain production to put our partners at ease.”

After the city began to reopen, the company started paying for more worker shifts to increase its production.

The company also prepared for global supply chain breakages by stocking up on raw materials months beforehand, allowing it to continue production throughout the pandemic.

Unlike many other businesses, it did not have much problem with retaining staff, since it mostly employed local workers who were able to return to work easily.

It has also been more proactive in dealing with COVID cases, setting up its own facility to treat patients.

Workers feel at ease since they are all fully vaccinated and people coming into contact with patients are stationed to work at separate locations and regularly monitored.

The company has its workers tested for COVID every three days, and they all wear masks and face shields at work and are distanced from each other.

Supermarket operator Saigon Co.op began making contingency plans for various scenarios in the third quarter last year, basing them on what some neighbouring countries are doing.

Lê Trường Sơn, deputy director of the company, told Tuổi Trẻ newspaper that the planning allowed it to adapt quickly and sustain its activities to ensure steady supply of food to the city.

“The company encountered many difficulties due to the pandemic. We had to make quick decisions and carry out new selling methods which we had never done before, such as selling to customers in quarantine zones and working with union groups and the military.”

The city also greatly helped Saigon Co.op, he said.

Most businesses in HCM City have been able to reopen and resume production, but face problems such as low demand and high expenses.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Trade Facilitation Agency is organising a series of offline and online consultation programmes until the end of the year to offer businesses in a wide range of industries information and advice on import-export opportunities.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyễn Hồng Diên said these events are aimed at helping businesses overcome challenges and sustain exports. – VNS