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| Vietnamese goods are being displayed at the fair. — Photo nhandan.com.vn |
BANGKOK (Biz Hub) —
More than 50 Vietnamese enterprises are showcasing their products at
the Viet Nam Goods Fair 2016 in Thailand, which kicked off at the Central Word Plaza in Bangkok on Thursday.
Sanan Angubolkul, president of the Thailand-Viet Nam Business Council, described the four-day event as a good opportunity for Vietnamese firms to foster their understanding of Thai consumers' preferences to develop suitable products and services for the market.
In his speech at the event's opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu spoke highly of bilateral trade relations between the two countries, which have developed significantly over the past few years.
With bilateral trade reaching earnings of US$11.5 billion in 2015, Thailand became Viet Nam's leading commercial partner in the ASEAN, while Viet Nam was considered Thailand's fourth largest partner in the bloc, Tu said.
The formation of the ASEAN Economic Community has opened up opportunities for the two sides to boost ties through fully combining supply and value chains in the region and globally, thus expanding their market to signatory parties of free trade agreements (FTAs), who are member nations of the ASEAN.
He added that both Viet Nam and Thailand were parties to several FTAs between the bloc and its partners, such as China, Japan, South Korea and India, as well as Australia and New Zealand, so the two countries' enterprises need to fully tap opportunities created by these trade deals to make inroads into more markets and reinforce their links.
Apart from trade, investment relations between the two nations have also been fruitful. The latest report from the Foreign Investment Agency revealed that as of June 2016, Thai investments in Viet Nam had totalled more than $9 billion, placing the country 10th among the 116 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam.
According to the Bangkok Post newspaper, the Thailand-Vietnam Business Council and the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand (JFCCT) have teamed up to help Thai investors in Viet Nam, Indonesia and Myanmar.
The team will gather representatives from both the government and the private sector to support Thai investors and help them navigate Vietnamese laws and regulations, the online newspaper quoted the council president Sanan Angubolkul as saying.
Stanley Kang, chairman of the JFCCT, said the Thailand Plus team in Viet Nam will start operations next month. — VNS