Many Vietnamese firms are set to participate in the 2018 Selangor International Business Summit (SIBS) in Malaysia to exchange information and seek business opportunities, a meeting heard in HCM City on April 16.

To be held from September 6 to 16 at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre in Kuala Lumpur, it will feature three main events – the 2018 Selangor International Expo, the 2018 Selangor-Asean Business Conference, and the 2018 Selangor Smart City and Digital Economy Convention.

Dato’ Hasan Azhari Haji Idris, CEO of Invest Selangor Berhad, the event’s organiser, said amid the current global economic situation it was imperative for ASEAN members to operate as a united community and support each other.

As the gateway to ASEAN, Selangor would act as a centre point that hosts and connects a rich network of trade industry players globally by leveraging a solid platform like SIBS, he said.

Sofian Akmal Abd. Karim, the Malaysian consul general in HCM City, said: “Through its rich network, the summit presents opportunities for local and foreign multi-national corporations to showcase their products and services. Subsequently, it also acts as a strategic avenue for marketing, collaborations and partnerships, and provides exposure as well as information on the latest technological developments.”

Faizal Izany, trade counsellor at the Malaysian consulate, said one of the summit’s main events, the food and beverage-focused 2018 Selangor International Expo, would be a good platform for Vietnamese food producers to promote their products in Malaysia as well as ASEAN and global markets.

Vietnamese enterprises would also have a chance to learn about halal food and how to get the certification to penetrate the huge global halal market, he said.

Idris said the 2018 SIBS was expected to have a total of 1,000 booths and 25,000 visitors, up from 691 and 22,071 last year.

At the meeting, the Viet Nam Exporters Association and other business groups based in HCM City said they would send business delegations to the summit.

Trade between Viet Nam and Malaysia was worth US$10.06 billion last year after rising by 19 per cent.

The two countries are striving to lift their trade to $15 billion by 2020 under their Strategic Partnership framework.

Karim said Selangor was the largest of Malaysia’s 13 states in terms of GDP, making up about 22.7 per cent of the country’s economy in 2016. It was also one of the most developed states and most populated, he added.

Invest Selangor provides information, facilitation services and start-up and expansion assistance for businesses planning to invest in the state. — VNS