The Malaysia-Vietnam Business Forum 2015 took place in Kuala Lumpur on September 28 with the objective to provide information about Vietnam’s business and investment environment.
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Ambassador Pham Cao Phong speaks at the event (Source: VNA)
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Jointly organised by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE), this year’s event attracted the participation of over 300 Malaysian entrepreneurs, exporters and investors.
Speaking at the event, MATRADE Chief Executive Officer Dzulkifli Mahmud said that with the 90-million population, Vietnam is considered a potential market for ASEAN’s trade and investment activities.
Strong economic and trade ties between Malaysia and Vietnam have been a catalyst to boost the bilateral relations over the past years, he stated.
According to him, two-way trade reached 9.04 billion USD in 2014. In the first seven months of this year, Malaysia exported goods worth 2.61 billion USD to Vietnam, while importing 2.79 billion USD worth of commodities from the country, up 9.1 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively, from the same period last year. Malaysia is now Vietnam’s eighth biggest investor with a total capital of 10.7 billion USD.
He expressed his hope that through this forum, there are more and more Malaysian enterprises paying attention to doing business in Vietnam, thus helping promote trade between the two countries.
Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Cao Phong said that Vietnam records an annual growth rate of 6.8 percent in the past 15 years, and is exerting efforts to complete the market economy institution, improving its competitiveness, and expanding its trade ties with other countries.
He proposed establishing a Malaysian-Vietnamese Entrepreneurs’ Association in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Director of VIETRADE’s Export Development Department Tran Minh Thang briefed participants on Vietnam’s economic situation, business and investment environment, as well as opportunities and challenges when doing business in the country.
The Vietnam-Malaysia Business Forum is scheduled to take place in Ho Chi Minh City in October./.