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| Viet Nam can enjoy increased commercial transactions and exchanges in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). — Photo dangcongsan.vn |
HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam can enjoy increased commercial transactions and exchanges in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), Ta Hoang Linh, the deputy director of Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), said on November 2.
He was speaking at a conference held in Ha Noi on improving Viet Nam's export competitiveness in the ASEAN region.
"The AEC has paid attention to narrowing the development gap among ASEAN countries. It will also help member countries promote their economic growth, creating jobs and attracting foreign direct investment as well as improving production and competitiveness," said Linh.
Linh said last year the AEC was established following 10 years of preparation with a population of more than 600 million. The 10-country community has total annual GDP of some US$2 trillion. AEC is expected to create an economic area with high competitiveness and integration into the world economy.
Statistics from the ministry showed that ASEAN had been one Viet Nam's most important trade partners following China.
Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and ASEAN rose 13 times from $3.3 billion in 1995 to $42.1 billion in 2015. The average growth rate of Viet Nam's exports to ASEAN was 17.1 per cent per year. The country's export turnover to ASEAN increased by 18 times from $1 billion in 1995 to $18.3 billion in 2015.
Do Quoc Hung, deputy director of MoIT's Asia-Pacific Department, said Vietnamese exporters would enjoy increasing trade exchange volume, changing the export structure and improving competitiveness, thus expanding market share.
However, Hung said Viet Nam's goods would face fierce competition from ASEAN countries as it would have to open its market for imported products. In addition, Vietnamese exports to the region would see pressures of technical barriers.
He said local firms should renew their technologies, improving products' quality and localisation rate to take advantage of opportunities to export to the ASEAN market.
The issue of building brand name based on quality and added value should also be given priority.
In addition, Vietnamese firms should build their own distribution channels in the export markets while enhancing studies and trade promotion activities to fully exploit the ASEAN market potential. — VNS