Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), a world leader in providing business information, announced its entry into Vietnam on Mar. 18 to support local information industry development in domestic and export business growth.
The US corporation held an official launch at the New World Hotel Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City, announcing the opening of the D&B representative office here.
“Our presence in Vietnam will assist Vietnamese companies in identifying new trade partners globally and increase cross-border trade activities,” said Ms. Corinne Saunders, Senior Vice President of D&B International Partnerships.
According to her, D&B offers Vietnam companies access to information on foreign companies via the resources of the D&B Worldwide Network whose global commercial database covers more than 160 million businesses worldwide in over 200 countries.
Why Vietnam?
Ms. Saunders said, “Customers continue to demand greater access to quality information on businesses in Vietnam.”
Companies in Vietnam are in great need for information to grow export and to identify overseas customers and suppliers, with small and medium companies looking to gain recognition in the global market, according to her.
Mr. Nicholas Teoh, Vice President of D&B Asia Pacific Partnerships, said, “Why Vietnam? Because of our customers. In the D&B world, Vietnam is highly sought after - 100% increase in global customer demand since 2005.”
“In comparison to ASEAN markets, the 2008 vs. 2009 inquiry growth for Vietnam was 20% higher than Thailand,” he added.
He said the top 5 D&B markets purchasing Vietnam reports in 2009 were Japan (28%), the UK, Hong Kong, the US (each 9%) and Germany (7%). The other 38% came from the rest of the world, said Teoh.
D&B can provide local companies a window to the world
Teoh said D&B’s participation in the local market will help boost standards and build confidence in the Vietnam infrastructure with D&B’s D-U-N-S® Number.
“For exporters shipping to the USA, the US Custom and Border Protection regulation now requires company to be identified by a widely recognized identification number like the D&B’s D-U-N-S® Number,” he said.
“Companies exporting to the US can now come to our office here to obtain their D-U-N-S® Number certification and use this to facilitate global trading and avoid potential complications while exporting to the US.”
D&B’s unique D-U-N-S® Numbers are currently assigned to businesses around the world and is the global standard, authenticating businesses for online and offline transactions. It is recognized, recommended, and/or required by many global, industry and trade associations including the US Government, European Commission, the United Nations, and is extensively used for vendor pre-qualification by Fortune 500 Companies.
Teoh said D&B can also help increase local business confidence by providing companies with forward-looking business insight through its quarterly Business Optimism Index. The D&B Business Optimism Index (BOI) measures the pulse of the business community and serves as a leading and reliable indicator of economic performance.
Commitment
Teoh said, “We have been providing business information on Vietnam companies to our customers worldwide for more than 15 years. In order to be the most trusted source of business information to our customers, we will continue to increase our presence and commitment in Vietnam.”
By the end of this year, D&B will increase coverage of businesses in Vietnam from 75,000 to 100,000, he said, adding that it would facilitate cross border trade by utilizing D&B’s global database of more than 160 million companies this year and beyond.
D&B was founded as the Mercantile Agency in New York in 1841. The current D&B Corporation was formed upon the separation from Moody’s Corporation in Sep. 2000.
