UPS has officially become the first 100% foreign owned shipping company in Vietnam. Concidering the state of shipping serice in Vietnam, this may symbolize a big step forward.

UPS has been active in Vietnam since 1994 and with many foreign economies slumping in the global recession, UPS jumped at the opportunity to expand in a growing market.

According to UPS country manager, Jell McLean, being a 100% foreign owned company has its advantages:

“Being 100 per cent owned gives us greater control and freedom over how we invest in the country so that we can help Vietnam’s businesses grow beyond Vietnam and export their products into neighboring countries and even to Europe and the US.”

UPS currently has facilities in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Duong, Hai Duong and Bac Ninh provinces and employs 270 employees. Following their move to 100% foreign ownership, UPS plans to improve service with not only more facilities and workers but with improved technology:

“One example is that we are upgrading our hand-held technology in Vietnam with a device called Diad. This is the fifth generation of our hand-held device which can scan the barcode on a package when we come to your company to pick up the package. When we close that package for export and fly to another country and deliver it to our the end customer, the receiver will able to track the progress of the package via the internet."

As we've written previously, getting packages in Vietnam is a game of luck. Perhaps this news will result in more reliable shipping both domestically and internationaly. To read about this story, make your way over to Vietnam Investment Review.