To create cooperation and investment opportunities and promote mutual trade for Vietnamese and Filipino companies, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)’s HCM City Branch (VCCI-HCM) organised a seminar entitled “Vietnam-Philippines Trade Exchange” on November 27, 2007, with the attendance of 30 companies from the two nations.
At the seminar, Mr Froilan, commercial counsellor of Philippines in Ho Chi Minh City, introduced opportunities, policies and the investment environment in the Philippines and called for cooperation from Vietnamese companies to exploit investment incentives there. The Philippines was introduced as a wide market with more than 86 million customers, most of whom can speak English, with favourable natural conditions for tourism development, rich natural reserves with huge untapped bronze and iron ore reserves, and good finance, banking and infrastructure systems.
Mr Vu Xuan Truong, Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines, introduced the Vietnamese investment environment and answered questions about the Vietnamese market, trade practices and procedures to set up transaction offices in Vietnam for Filipino companies.
Vietnam-Philippines trade has steadily developed. In 2006, bilateral trade revenue exceeded US$1.12 billion, tripling from 2002 and up 8.3 per cent against 2005. Of the sum, Vietnam earned US$782.8 million from exports to the Philippines. In the first six months of 2007, Vietnam’s exports to the Philippines were valued at US$492.5 million, up 7.6 per cent on year. However, these figures are said to be far from the actual potential of the two nations. Vietnam’s exports only accounted for 1.5 per cent of the Philippines’ total import expenditures.
During the exchange, Filipino companies engaged in packaging, powdered milk processing and distribution, apparel production, perfume production and healthcare products, farm and aquatic product processing, and building material supplying and infrastructure investment sought partners in Vietnam and surveyed the Vietnamese market. Especially, several attending companies are very keen on Vietnamese farm products, such as cashew nuts, peanuts, manioc, monosodium glutamate and soy, to serve their processing businesses.
For more information about the Philippines market, please visit the website
www.dti.gov.vn or contact VCCI International Transaction Office at telephone number 08. 9326499.
P.V
Vietnamese
