Bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Canada has increased significantly in recent years, but it is still not commensurate with its potential, and there is still plenty of room for growth, according to the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

Speaking at a conference on Viet Nam-Canada investment opportunity in HCM City on Friday, Vo Tan Thanh, VCCI’s vice president, said bilateral trade turnover between the two countries increased from US$3.5 billion in 2017 to $6.0 billion in 2021.

Trade reached $4.27 billion in the first seven months of 2022, with Viet Nam’s exports to Canada worth over $3.8 billion, he said.

“Trade relations between the two countries have developed positively,” Thanh said. “Viet Nam boasts great potential for boosting exports of key products such as garments and textiles, footwear, agricultural products, and furniture to the Canadian market. On the other hand, Canada represents a reliable manufacturer of machinery, equipment, and raw materials for industrial production.”

“Moving forward the two countries need to make more efforts to remove obstacles and create the best possible conditions in which businesses can access each other's markets,” he said.

In terms of investment, as of May 2022, Canada ranked 14th out of 139 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam, with 236 projects and total registered capital of over $4.8 billion. In contrast, as of February 2022, Canada ranked 18th out of 78 countries and territories that Vietnamese companies are investing in, with 15 projects with a total registered capital of nearly $87 million.

“In the coming time, the two sides need to actively promote investment cooperation in fields such as supporting industries, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, chemicals, electronics, infrastructure, ICT and renewable energy,” he said.

At the conference, the representative of the provincial government of Alberta introduced in detail the province and potential cooperation with Vietnamese firms.

Ileana Costiuc, senior investment attraction officer at Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, said the province features a strong agri-processing ecosystem, abundant supply of agricultural commodities, and strong research and development capacity.

“Alberta offers investors a business-friendly regulatory climate and one of the most competitive business tax regimes in Canada. From Alberta, companies are well connected by road, air, rail, and sea to the fast-growing markets in Asia and the Americas,” she said.

“There are so many benefits to expanding your business to Canada,” said Andrew Sanden, chairman of Intrinsic Innovations Vietnam.

“Canada and Alberta have earned a reputation of being a destination of choice for the world’s best entrepreneurs who embrace innovation and advanced technology to solve the world’s biggest challenges.

“There is a great deal of support and funding available through the local business community and government programmes for start-ups and innovation-driven businesses.

“Alberta is also a great place to live and raise a family,” he said.

Edmonton, the capital city of Alberta, is looking to attract foreign investment to help diversify their economy by combining economic strengths and assets, and leveraging partnerships and competitive advantage in key sectors of health and life sciences, manufacturing and advanced manufacturing, food and agriculture, energy and clean technology, and technology and innovation, he added.

Tuan Le, CEO of Intrinsic Innovations Vietnam, said Intrinsic Innovations is a Canadian not-for-profit incubator that provides personalized programming, training, coaching and mentors to local and international companies seeking to do business across borders.

Intrinsic’s mission is to help Canadian companies get their products into international markets, and help foreign companies expand to Canada, he said.

“We believe that with a population of more than 100 million people, the dynamic economic policy of the Vietnamese government has created a great premise for Viet Nam to become a promising destination for Canadian companies,” he said.

The conference was co-organised by VCCI and Intrinsic Innovations Vietnam. — VNS