Italian Ambassador to Viet Nam Cecilia Piccioni delivers speech at a business forum titled “Italy- Asia: Doing Business Together” as part of their 2017 annual area meeting in Ha Noi on Tuesday. — Photo cand.com.vn
Italian private sector investment in Viet Nam will increase significantly with the implementation of the EU - Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in 2018, Italian Ambassador to Viet Nam Cecilia Piccioni said.
The Ambassador, the heads of eleven Italian ICHAMs in Asia and businesses from Italy and Viet Nam came together at a business forum titled “Italy- Asia: Doing Business Together” as part of their 2017 annual area meeting in Ha Noi on Tuesday.
The forum centred on market trends and business opportunities for both Italian and Vietnamese enterprises, offer opportunities for local companies to gain market access to Italy and other Asian countries through the help of regional ICHAMs.
Overall, Viet Nam is an important Southeast Asian partner for Italy. It is a growing market with more than 90 million consumers and many trade agreements signed with other Asian countries such as South Korea or Japan.
“I am confident that the EVFTA will provide our countries with tremendous growth opportunities for a shared prosperous future. We aim to establish partnerships with a number of rising Vietnamese provinces such as Vinh Phuc and Da Nang in order to tap into their potential growth and investment.” said Piccioni.
Garments and food and beverage products will have zero tariffs once the EVFTA comes into effect, giving Italian imports to Viet Nam a major boost. Vice versa, Vietnamese agricultural exports to Italy will be exempt from tariffs.
“We believe this can be the model for future collaboration, as we are living in a network of multiple stakeholders, making the partnership between the two countries very important. Viet Nam hopes to maintain close collaboration to sustain development of the private and public sector,” said Deputy Secretary General of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Nguyen Quang Vinh.
However, there are remaining issues in trade procedures between the two countries.
“Viet Nam can improve its red carpet bureaucracy in terms of regulations and documents issued to attract more investment. Infrastructure and physical ease of access should be important areas of focus for improvement,” said Michele d’Ercole, Chairman of the Italian Chamber of Commerce (ICHAM) in Viet Nam.
According to d’Ercole, Vietnamese exports are still crude products with low value added, requiring machinery to improve quality and the value chain. Italian businesses can provide Viet Nam with the needed technology for this growth.
Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Italy has achieved significant results, as it has grown tenfold in the past decade, reaching over US$4.6 billion with nearly $360 million investment through 80 projects as of March 2017.
Italy ranks 31st of the 116 countries and territories that have invested in Viet Nam.
The country is Viet Nam’s eight largest trade partner in the European Union, as well as the second largest exporter for Viet Nam, according to data from the General Department of Customs.— VNS