Seminar helps boost retail market

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Multilateral Trade Assistance Project III (EU-Vietnam MUTRAP III) co-organised a seminar on good trading activities by foreign-invested businesses in Vietnam in Hanoi on August 24.

According to experts, Vietnam’s distribution network is mainly through traditional retail channels. Modern retail channels have been slowly developed and are yet to change local consumer habits.

They stressed the need to encourage and create favourable conditions for businesses to develop modern retail channels.

Hoang Thi Tuyet Hoa, Deputy Head of the Planning Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that to help the retail market effectively operate, Vietnam has put distribution on the list of conditional investments applied to foreign investors.

Since it joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Vietnam has step by step allowed foreign investors to export, import and distribute goods in order to ensure the adaptability and harmonious development of the domestic market.

By the end of 2009, there were 445 supermarkets operating in Vietnam, up 62 compared with 2008. Domestic enterprises opened 60 of these new supermarkets and foreign businesses established two. – VNA

Tags: Vietnam retail market