In March, Momentum Works held a 4 day immersion in Vietnam, supported by the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City. Over 50 entrepreneurs, executives, and investors from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia joined the programme.
This was the second Vietnam tour organized by Momentum Works since August last year. Participants visited top retail groups headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, attended a local import-export expo, held an e-commerce summit, explored various forms of offline retail, and even camped at Can Gio Beach.
Thanks to the Department’s thoughtful arrangements—especially in facilitating meetings with top retail groups, who not only provided corporate briefings but also brought procurement, supply chain, and e-commerce heads on-site for direct matchmaking with the group. The Department also arranged express boats for the beach visit.
At the closing banquet, one participant said: “These four days with Momentum Works in Vietnam were more fruitful than six months of my regular work.”
Key Activities Summary
Meetings with Leading Retail Groups
We visited:
- Mobile World Investment Corporation (MWG)
- Saigon Co-op
- Kido Group
MWG
MWG is Vietnam’s largest multi-category retail platform with around 5,000 stores and 60,000 employees.
VP of E-commerce Mr. Hoang Van Dat hosted the session, covering:
- MWG’s business overview
- Vietnam’s retail market landscape
- Opportunities for Chinese businesses
Many participants from the Momentum Works delegation then actively discussed potential cooperation with MWG, with many even exchanging numbers.
Saigon Co-op
Saigon Co-op is a leading Vietnamese retail cooperative with nationwide stores. It was founded in the early 1990s in response to Vietnam’s market reforms.
Deputy GM Mr. Le Truong Son shared the Co-op’s 30-year development milestones and strategic directions. He previously represented the Vietnamese government in Singapore and is fluent in English.
Kido Group
Founded in 1993, Kido is a top Vietnamese food company. Mr. Tran Rong Nguyen, one of the founding Chen brothers and current Vice Chairman/CEO, along with CFO, CMO, and e-commerce head, warmly welcomed us.
Mr. Tran, who spoke in Mandarin with a Teochew accent, shared Kido’s vision of becoming a digital distribution platform via:
- Expanding customer acquisition through existing channels
- Promoting Vietnamese products
- Introducing quality overseas products to Vietnam
We gained many strategic insights throughout this event, built direct links with Kido’s leadership, and even received Kido gift packs.
Offline Retail Tours
WinMart
Winmart is one of Vietnam’s top retail chains, formerly VinMart (founded by Vingroup), now part of Masan Group. It operates nearly 4,000 stores (supermarkets + convenience stores) in Vietnam.
We visited the SkyGarden store in District 7, a Korean expat-heavy area. The store manager and Southern regional head gave us a tour.
Van Hanh Mall
Opened in 2018, this 55,000m², 8-story mall in District 10 was developed and operated by Kido Group. It houses international brands like Adidas and Uniqlo, and popular Chinese names like KKV, Balabala, and Haidilao.
As part of the visit to Van Hanh Mall, participants got to explore some of the mall’s most popular stores—Beauty Box, Saigon Co.op, and KKV. At each stop, we spoke with store managers to better understand how each brand operates and connects with its customers.
At Beauty Box, one of our participants was curious as to why they had such a wide range of products in terms of price. The manager explained that this was by design – they wanted Beauty Box to “have something for everyone”.
Over at Saigon Co.op, the manager gave us a quick tour, walking us through the different product tiers and explaining what tends to sell best.
Export Fair & E-commerce Summit
The delegation attended the opening of the largest export trade fair in Ho Chi Minh City, invited by the organizers. Momentum Works CEO Jianggan Li joined Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh People’s Committee Mr. Nguyen Van Dung and others for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
With over 1,000 local and joint venture exhibitors, our team visited more than 100 booths, engaged in-depth with brand and factory reps, and studied Vietnam’s strategies for international business negotiations and sales models.
Many exhibitors were livestreaming directly from their booths.
Momentum Works, the Department, Best Express Vietnam, and Topview AI co-hosted the Global E-commerce and Digital Trade Summit. Over 200 local participants including platforms, brands, sellers, and ecosystem partners attended the summit.
Deputy Director Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong opened the summit. Here is a separate article that summarizes key takeaways and MOUs signed.
Can Gio Beach Camping
Despite the hustle of East Asian culture, we made time for relaxation. One night was spent camping at Can Gio Beach in Vietnam’s first UNESCO-designated mangrove biosphere reserve.
Can Gio is the largest district in HCMC and the planned site of a US$6 billion superport and a US$9 billion city development plan, aiming to become a coastal economic center by 2035.
Thanks to the Department’s arrangement, the group traversed HCMC’s river network in 1.5 hours by speed boat (instead of 2.5 hours by car and ferry). These boats once delivered vegetables to the city during the pandemic.
That night, language barriers dissolved. Members from China, Vietnam, and Korea enjoyed BBQ and karaoke together. Participants took turns singing Korean, Vietnamese, and Chinese songs. The Korean delegates even sang the popular Chinese song “Friends.” （“朋友”）
They also brought ginseng and ginseng liquor, chatting about Vietnam’s business prospects while sipping and chewing.
Closing Ceremony & Banquet
After returning, we toured the Independence Palace (formerly the South Vietnamese presidential residence) before heading to the Department HQ for the official closing ceremony.
Deputy Director Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong chaired the session. Participants reviewed the four-day journey, discussed future cooperation, and addressed key concerns around policy, trade, and business localization.
Deputy Director of Commerce Mr. Nguyen Minh Hung, who visited China with Momentum Works last October, also spoke about his experiences and encouraged Vietnamese firms to follow global e-commerce trends and seize development opportunities.
The final banquet was co-hosted by the Department and Momentum Works, attended by over 100 people, including business and government representatives, executives from MWG and Kido, and local academics.
We’re pleased to see business connections already forming, with some Vietnamese firms visiting participating Chinese and Singaporean companies. We hope this e-commerce and retail tour will result in practical collaborations, and we’ll continue to provide support wherever possible.
Special thanks again to the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, local partners, and our regional collaborators such as Best Logistics, Hangzhou E-commerce Association, and Leiphone.
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