Glass and Construction Ceramics Market in Recent Times

The production of glass and ceramic products is often located reasonably close to the place of consumption. This is also a common distribution method in industries producing products with similar characteristics.

2. Construction glass and ceramic market in recent times

2.1. Vietnam construction glass and ceramic market

According to the latest report of the Department of Planning and Statistics of the Ministry of Construction, at the beginning of 2002, Vietnam had 20 factories producing ceramic tiles, 8 factories producing high-grade sanitary ware and hundreds of factories and other common brick and tile production facilities. In the field of glass, there were 8 factories, of which 2 served the construction industry: Dap Cau Glass Factory and Vietnam Float Glass Joint Venture.

*Construction glass market

During this period, when the construction of the float glass factory was completed and put into production, and the overhaul of the Dap Cau glass factory was also completed, domestic glass output met most of the market demand. During the period 2000-2002, domestic production output increased and remained stable, meeting 90% of domestic demand. However, the amount of imported and smuggled glass through unofficial channels remained high and was mainly Chinese construction glass products. These products have the advantage of being cheap. Chinese construction glass currently accounts for 65%-70% of the market share with prices ranging from 45,000 - 52,000 VND/m2 ( including import tax) only.

equal to 60% of the price of domestically produced glass. In 2002, domestic glass production capacity reached 34 million m2 , importing 4 million m2 while demand was 40-45 million m2 .However, due to the large amount of smuggled glass, Vietnamese domestic glass was forced to the point of breaking the market. From 1999 to August 2002, the Float Glass Joint Venture Company achieved a record inventory of 8 million m2 , worth over 170 billion VND.

Answer: Inventory of 0.8 million m2 . Inventory means loss of market. In the first 6 months of 2002 alone, Vietnam lost 23% of market share in the Northern region.

*Construction ceramics market

In the current period, the domestic production of construction ceramics basically meets 90% of the national demand. According to the report of the Ministry of Construction in 2000, the whole country (including joint ventures) produced 22.588 million m2 of tiles , 2 million sets of sanitary ceramic products, an increase of 60.2% compared to 1999. In 2001, the national production of tiles reached 30 million m2 , an increase of 32.75% compared to 2000. While the basic construction demand increased slightly, the supply situation doubled. Therefore, construction ceramics not only met domestic demand but also appeared a situation of supply exceeding demand. In addition,

In addition, Chinese construction ceramic products are flooding the Vietnamese market. Although these products are of slightly lower quality, they have a variety of designs, beautiful patterns, and attractive prices. The price of Chinese tiles is only 45,000-54,000 VND/m2, equal to 60% of the price of domestic tiles.

In general, the supply of glass and ceramic products in Vietnam is more than enough to meet the demand. It can be said that this market is in the "oversupply crisis" stage. This proves that the need to find an open path for glass and ceramic products is completely reasonable.

2.2. World construction glass and ceramics market

In general, the production and business of glass and ceramic construction products is very developed. Glass and ceramic construction products have been invested in and built with advanced equipment and modern production lines. Good quality, beautiful designs, and a rich variety of types can meet all the needs of construction materials in the world. This is shown through the following data table:

Table 1: Production situation of glass and construction ceramics

in the world in 2002

Country name

Ceramic tiles (million m2 )	Sanitary ware (million products)	Construction glass (conveyor belt)
Worldwide	2800	400	250
China	1800	109	126
Thailand	120	20	10
Malaysia	90	16	6
Korea	92	19	6
Taiwan	108	10	8
India	124	17	12
Japan	146	11	5
Indonesia	126	30	18

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Source: Viglacera market research

Through the data table above we can see the countries that have the capacity to produce different types of materials.

built mainly in Asia. Especially China, Japan, India..

These are also formidable competitors of Viglacera not only in the domestic market but also in Vietnam's export markets. China is a country with the largest production output of glass and construction ceramic products in the world. Although the quality of Chinese construction ceramic products is not high, the designs are rich, the colors are diverse, and the prices are cheap. In particular, Chinese decorative tiles are very rich in design (from flat surfaces to embossed decorative surfaces), rich in color as well as many themes printed on tiles from landscapes, bonsai, statues, houses, religious symbols to vivid images, including themes for children. Chinese tiles are also present in the world market with ceramic materials, called porcelain tiles, which some countries have not yet produced.

exports, including Vietnam. In addition, China has invested a lot

float glass production line for building glass production so China gains advantage

competitive advantage in terms of price compared to other countries in the region and in the world.

For some countries in the ASEAN region such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia are countries with much larger production output than Vietnam. Vietnam's export turnover of construction ceramics is 16% compared to Malaysia, 7.4% compared to Thailand, and even smaller than Indonesia. In addition, these countries have many competitive advantages compared to Vietnam such as wide customer relationships, much experience, good quality products, many beautiful designs, and cheaper prices than Vietnam. If only considering tiles, Vietnamese ceramic products are about 20% - 25% higher than those of Thailand and about 25% - 27% higher than similar products of Indonesia. The current average export price of Vietnamese sanitary ware is 35-37 USD/set, while the average export price of the same type of product from Thailand is only 25-28 USD/set, from Indonesia is 30-32 USD/set, and from China is 22-26 USD/set.

This reduces the competitiveness of Vietnamese glass and ceramic construction products in foreign markets.

However, Vietnamese products are somewhat less competitive in terms of design, price, quality, etc. compared to these countries. However, Vietnam has a competitive advantage over many other countries in the world because Vietnam has cheap labor and abundant natural resources, so the price of Vietnamese construction materials is cheaper than that of some countries such as the US, Eastern Europe, Taiwan, Korea, etc. At the same time, the quality of Vietnamese construction materials has also met the standards of Europe, Korea, and Japan in certain fields such as sanitary ceramic products of Thanh Tri Hanoi Ceramic Company, granite tiles of Thach Ban Brick Company, etc.

Chapter II

Export business situation of Viglacera Corporation

past time

I. Overview of Viglacera Corporation

1. The formation and development process of the Corporation

After the victory of the war against the US, in response to the urgent need for construction materials to restore and rebuild the country. On July 25, 1974, according to Decision 366/BXD of the Minister of Construction, the Construction Ceramic Tile Company was officially established. Initially, there were only 18 enterprises in the North, most of which specialized in producing tiles. In 1979, it was renamed the Union of Glass and Construction Ceramic Enterprises. According to Decision No. 991/BXD-TCLĐ dated November 20, 1995, the Minister of Construction decided to establish the Construction Glass and Ceramic Corporation on the basis of arranging and restructuring construction material manufacturing enterprises under the Ministry of Construction. The Construction Glass and Ceramic Corporation with the international transaction name Viglacera (Vietnam Glass and Ceramic for Construction Corporation) is a state-owned enterprise located at 628 Hoang Hoa Tham Street - Tay Ho - Hanoi. The Corporation is under the management of the State, the Ministry of Construction and other State management agencies according to the provisions of law. The Corporation includes 40 member factories and enterprises with over 15,000 employees. Up to now, due to the merger of many factories, the Corporation has 26 member units, including 20 independent accounting units and 6 dependent accounting units. In addition, there are 5 companies with capital contributions from Viglacera, domestic and foreign branches and a public service unit specializing in training workers and fostering construction material staff.

From its inception until 1990, Viglacera mainly produced construction bricks, roofing tiles and cement floor tiles. Most factories had outdated technology and equipment, low product quality, and high material consumption. However, from 1990 to present, Viglacera has continuously developed, leading the breakthrough in in-depth investment in production in Vietnam. This is a prestigious enterprise with a team of engineers, technical staff, and skilled workers capable of meeting all requirements for design and construction of glass and ceramic production projects with modern technology. Currently, Viglacera has established economic and technical relationships with many partners in 22 countries around the world.

After nearly 30 years of operation, with extensive experience, the Corporation has been stabilizing, consolidating and increasingly growing to be worthy of being one of the leading corporations in production and the largest import-export business in Vietnam.

2. Functions, tasks and organizational structure of the Corporation

2.1. Functions and tasks

On the basis of rearranging the units of the General Corporation of Glass and Construction Ceramics and a number of Companies under the Ministry of Construction, in Article 2 of Decision No. 991/BXD-TCLĐ, the main functions and tasks are clearly stated as follows:

 Carry out the task of producing and trading construction materials according to the State's planning and development plan for the construction industry and according to market requirements, including the fields of producing and trading all types of construction materials.

- Construction of civil and industrial works, urban and industrial park infrastructure works. Housing development business, investment and construction consultancy.

- Import and export of materials, spare parts, equipment, construction materials and production technology.

Construction materials production and other business sectors as prescribed by law.

- Joint ventures and associations with other domestic and foreign economic organizations in accordance with the laws and policies of the State.

 Receive and use capital effectively, preserve and develop capital assigned by the State.

 Organize and manage research and application of scientific and technological advances.

Technology and training, development of staff in the Corporation.

In addition, the Corporation is also assigned by the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Trade a number of other tasks in each specific phase such as: exporting the Corporation's products, importing materials and equipment within the scope of production and business of the industry such as construction glass, construction ceramics... to regulate the market of construction glass and products made from glass, import and export entrusted to other units in the Corporation.

2. 2. Organizational structure and management apparatus of Viglacera

To ensure effective production and business operations to meet the development of member units in accordance with assigned functions and tasks and market requirements in the new period.

The Corporation has implemented the management and production organization of the new apparatus with over 15,000 officers and employees arranged according to the combined functional online model. This is a management model that combines centralization with promoting the initiative and creativity of all levels. In which, leaders at each level use functional departments to advise them in making decisions. Management decisions are passed down vertically from top to bottom. The relationship between superiors and subordinates is a submissive relationship. Subordinates are responsible for obeying superiors, and at the same time are responsible for participating in giving opinions on decisions related to the Corporation's operations. Level

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