VIETNAM – SOUTH AFRICA Trade Promotion

South Africa is one of promising markets with rich potentials for investment thanks to its developed economic infrastructure and vibrant market economy.

South Africa is compared to be Europe in Africa, is the 20^th largest economy in the world and has stable development for 40 consecutive years. South Africa’s strengths include rich natural resources in large reserves such as gold, platinum, base metal, coal, aluminium, chrome, iron ore, vanadium and minerals fertiliser production. At present, South Africa is the world leader in mining (accounting for 45 percent of total African mineral production and exporting minerals to 80 countries). In addition, the country also has a developed infrastructure, good transportation, diversified and developed industry. Its industrial production has highly international competitiveness, especially in automobile assembly and production, metal processing, machinery, chemistry and ship repairing. Besides, investment policies of the South African Government are very investor-friendly.

South Africa has four major economic centres, namely Gauteng (Johannesburg), Kwazulu – Natal (Durban), Western (Cape Town) and Eastern (Port Elizabeth / Uitenhage). In November 2009, Mr Le Hoang Quan, Mayor of Ho Chi Minh City, and Mr Amos Masondo, Mayor of Johannesburg, signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing friendly and cooperative relations between twinned cities. Accordingly, the two cities will jointly promote the socioeconomic development and effective State management in the spirit of mutual assistance and benefit in order to achieve strategic priorities and meet the needs of each residential community. The memorandum of understanding is the foundation for the two cities to actively participate, promote and support each other in the framework of a partnership relationship created on specific cooperation programmes.

On March 18, 2010, South Africa Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam’s State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) jointly organised a workshop on promoting Vietnam – South Africa trade relations, which was attended by Mr. Adriaan Du Pisanie Adriaan – First Secretary of South African Embassy in Vietnam; Ms Do Thi Kim Lien – South African Honorary Consul in Ho Chi Minh City; Mr Le Dinh Buu Tri, Director of SCIC, and large enterprises in Vietnam with plans to forge collaboration with South Africa. This was the first action of a series of action programmes launched by the South African Honorary Consul in Ho Chi Minh City since she took office.

At the meeting, Mr Adriaan said: “We always create opportunities for you to actively participate in field trips in South Africa and discover our country with high-speed developing economy. We have the largest nature reserve in the world, Sun City – a luxury casino and resort regarded as the Las Vegas of Africa, and many opportunities for Vietnam to export rice, coconut and garments to South Africa and import jewellery, wine, oil, coal and automobile from South Africa. And, I hope we will create a driving force for developing finance in the two countries, bridge the geographic distance, quickly ride out the global economic crisis together, and open opportunities for investors and businesses in both nations. We are committed to supporting all necessary legal procedures like visa, border gate customs, tariffs and banking transactions to facilitate Vietnamese enterprises to “attack” the South Africa market.”

Currently, the Government of South Africa is encouraging foreign investors to invest in such areas as food processing, automobile and parts, financial – banking services, pharmaceutical, chemical, fishing, information technology, electronics, real estate, telecommunications, textiles and tourism. Investors will receive direct supports from the Government of South Africa after submitting applications for preferences, even with zero tax, to the Committee for Regional Industrial Development. For each itemed approved by the Committee, the company will enjoy tax incentives in the next two years.

Commenting on the investment cooperation, Mr. Le Dinh Buu Tri, Director of SCIC, said: SCIC is currently managing cash sources of 900 companies operating in different fields. In 2009, the total charter capital of the State capital manager rose 30 percent and profit doubled to VND10,845 billion. Knowing that South Africa is the most dynamic and open market in Africa, SCIC expects to act as a effective bridge to link Vietnamese businesses with South African firms. We are willing to support businesses with accurate information about this potential market by organising regular seminars like this.

Attending enterprises also actively discussed commodity import and export as well as human resources in the South African market. An official from Long An Exports Joint Stock Company said his company hopes the South African Ministry of Industry and Trade will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese companies to export raw cashew nuts into this market. A representative from Domexco Vietnam Company said his company expects South Africa will license naturally sourced medicine and material import with the assistance from South Africa Medicinal Herb Research Centre. Trafaco Company said it hoped to penetrate the South African market to expand its primary business scopes of exploiting coconut shells, dried coconut and activated carbon after its presence in China, Australia and other nations. Saigon Investment Joint Stock Company expects to know more about the South African labour market demand, hoping to forge cooperation ties in manpower fields.

Ms Do Thi Kim Lien, Honorary Consul of Republic of South Africa in Ho Chi Minh City, said: “Although the governments of Vietnam and South Africa have maintained traditional friendly relationships and strengthened trade and investment cooperation ties. Leaders of two countries have also exchanged official visits to create new strides in trade relations. However, the results are still modest in relation to potentials of both sides. The organisation of the seminar on Vietnam – South Africa trade ties promotion will play an important role in boosting bilateral trade ties in the future. As an honorary consul, I will try my best to be a firm bridge to tighten Vietnam – South Africa trade ties.”

Posted by VBN on Mar 26 2010. Filed under Int'l Cooperation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry