HCM City (VNA) – Catering is currently the most franchised business in Vietnam, accounting for 43.7 percent of the recorded franchise deals, according to the Ministry of Industryꦅ and Trade’s Domestic Market Department. 

Forty-two catering brands have been franchised out in the country, including those of fast food, cake, coffee and beverage, the department said at a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on December 3.  That business is followed by fashion, education, convenience stores and retail stores, the department noted, adding that Vietnam has licensed nearly 140 foreign businesspersons and 150 foreign brands to enter its market since 2007.  Experts said the country is potential for franchising in the restaurant business as well as other fields, citing its abundant and young population and the emergence of the high-income middle class who are trending towards novel, exotic products.  Park Sang Hyup, head of the trade office of the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Consulate General in HCM City, said his country’s promotion agencies have stepped up assistance to Korean brands to seek franchise opportunities in Vietnam since 2013.  Through franchise promotion, the RoK also aims to popularise its culinary culture far and wide, he noted.  A number of RoK enterprises like Lotteria, CJ Foodville, F&B and Caffe Bene have engaged in franchising in Vietnam with such popular brands as Tour Les Jours and BBQ Chicken.  Park said the growing trade and investment between the two countries have enabled more franchise deals for RoK products and brands in Vietnam.  The business model of franchising, which is popular and relatively successful in the RoK, is mushrooming in the Southeast Asian nation, he noted.  The Vietnam – RoK Free Trade Agreement, ratified by the RoK National Assembly on November 30, is believed to fuel bilateral trade to 70 billion USD in 2015. The deal will open up more opportunities beyond trade and investment up into other spheres, including franchising.-VNA