Vietnam: Hiep Hung Gets $20 Mln '97 Order From U.S. Reebok
Tuesday, Dec 24, 1996
Hanoi (AP, Dow Jones News) -- Hiep Hung Shoe Co., a unit of Vietnam's Ministry of Industry, has been contracted to produce 1.8 million pairs of shoes worth $20 million for Reebok International Ltd., a U.S. footwear company, in 1997, said Le Thanh Phan, Hiep Hung's managing director Tuesday.
Hiep Hung's output for Reebok in 1997 will be up 64% from 1.1 million pairs of shoes in 1996, Phan said.
Vietnam's low wages and the relatively high skill level of its workers are the reasons Reebok and other shoe makers, like to manufacture shoes in Vietnam, Phan said.
Hiep Hung's production for Reebok is sold in Europe, the U.S., Canada and Mexico, he added.
The company also produces for concerns such as Fila and Diadora.
According to an official media report Tuesday, Hiep Hung has produced 8.8 million pairs of shoes in 1996, with exports worth $42 million.
The company already has signed export contracts for 1997 worth $57 million, the Saigon Newsreader said.
The average monthly salary at Hiep Hung is 750,000 dong (about $67), the Newsreader said, adding this is the highest average salary in a shoe company under the Ministry of Industry.
As of mid-November, Vietnam had exported $413 million worth of shoes in 1996.
Shoe exports are expected to increase in coming years owing to Vietnam's low-wage environment, a critical factor in the labor-intensive footwear industry.
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