HCM City firms join India-ASEAN expo

For the first time ever HCM City-based businesses are taking part in the India-ASEAN Business Fair being held in the Indian capital New Delhi and are hoping to explore business opportunities there.

With a population of 1.2 billion, India has a huge demand for many kinds of goods, especially since domestic production does not meet demand, according to Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Tan.

In recent years, the country had become one of Viet Nam’s top business partners but two-way trade remained modest compared with potential, he said, adding that Vietnamese goods were not popular in India.

Tu Minh Thien, director of the HCM City Trade Promotion Centre, agreed, saying India was a promising market for Vietnamese goods but geography and cultural differences had discouraged local companies from focusing on it.

With the ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement taking effect last year, Tan called on Vietnamese firms to step up marketing to boost exports to the country and take advantage of the Agreement.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said there was high demand in India for seafood, farm produce, construction materials, steel, and other goods.

He said if Viet Nam started a direct flight to India, it could attract 400,000-500,000 Indians annually.

Le Quang Dung, deputy director of the Sai Gon Cosmetics Corporation, one of companies promoting the fair, said his firm planned to tie up with Indian partners to set up business there.

At the fair, on Thursday the HCM City People’s Committee and the Indian embassy in Ha Noi organised a conference to solicit investment in HCM City.

Last year, bilateral trade was worth nearly US$2.5 billion, of which Indian exports accounted for $1.52 billion.

Viet Nam exports coffee, coal, pepper, rubber, electrical products, and footwear to India, and imports animal feed, steel, iron, plastic products, drugs, and accessories and machinery for the garment and textile industries.

Tags: India-ASEAN Business Fair