Prospects are open to Da Nang for boosting investment and trade cooperation with overseas Vietnamese businesses in Thailand.What should be done to make Da Nang’s prospects come to fruition?

Representatives of the Thailand- Viet Nam Business Association and the Da Nang Young Entrepreneurs Association signed a memorandum of understanding to connect Thailand - Da Nang businesses in 2022. Photo: THANH LAN.

Recently, the Embassy of Viet Nam in Thailand, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Da Nang government have co-hosted the Thailand - Da Nang Business Connection Forum 2022 in the city.

Mr Ngo Huong Nam, the Vice Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, said that this is the first time the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand has organized a delegation of overseas Vietnamese businesses in Thailand to return to Viet Nam to seek investment opportunities in trade and tourism in the spirit of taking people, businesses and localities as key elements of economic diplomacy. Da Nang was the first destination in Viet Nam on the journey of the more than 40- member delegation of overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs in Thailand to seek investment and cooperation opportunities in their homeland.

Mr Ho Van Lam, the Chairman of the Thailand- Viet Nam Business Association, highlighted the importance of promoting the creation of East-West Transport Corridor linking northeast Thailand with southern Laos and central Viet Nam in opening up new opportunities for Viet Nam and Thailand to boost bilateral trade and investment ties. In addition, special attention should be paid to promoting the connection between Viet Nam, Laos and Thailand in order to faciliate transportation of goods from Da Nang to Thailand in a more convenient manner. Heed should be paid to creating a distribution system of high quality Vietnamese goods to meet the requirements of different segments in Thailand.

Mr Luong Xuan Hoa, the Chairman of the Vietnamese People Association in Udon Thani, stressed the need for fixing the problem of difference in setting the position of the driver seat between Viet Nam and Thailand to promote road transport development across the two countries, thereby helping businesses in the two countries explore new opportunities to boost their trading and investment cooperation. In addition, importance should be attached to establishing cooperation mechanism among them on the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC). Heed should be paid to engaging Da Nang in advocacy efforts of relevant localities in Viet Nam to establish the EWEC2 linking the Da Nang Port with Highway 14B, Nakhon and Bangkok which will be shortest route leading to the Da Nang Port, helping to shorten the distance and time for the circulation of goods between regional member countries.

Mr Nguyen Van Minh, an overseas Vietnamese entrepreneur in Bangkok stressed the need for Da Nang to launch investment promotion campaigns in Thailand targeting Thai businesses, especially Vietnamese expats in Thailand, to encourage them to seek trade and tourism cooperation opportunities in the city in efforts to tap into the full potential of the two sides, as well as strengthen bilateral relations with Thailand. The heed must be paid to regularly introducing investment policies and procedures in Da Nang to Thai-Vietnamese businesses and Thai corporations in an attempt to boost trade and investment ties with Thailand as Thai goods are quite popular in Viet Nam while Vietnamese goods have a limited presence in Thailand.

Mr Mai Xuan Hung, the Secretary of the Thailand -Viet Nam Business Association, said that there are currently 1,000 Thai- Vietnamese businesses operating in Thailand, and the majority of them are small and medium-sized  enterprises. Among them are many successful enterprises operating in such fields as manufacturing, agriculture, food processing, importing and exporting, distribution of goods, logistics, services, construction, housing, restaurants and hotels.

Some overseas Vietnamese businesses in Thailand have been expanding their operations to Viet Nam but that the numbers of such businesses are still quite modest compared to other large Thai companies and corporations investing into the country. The Thai-Vietnamese businesses play an important role in bringing Vietnamese products to Thailand as they are located in localities where large numbers of Vietnamese expats live and work. Overseas Vietnamese businesses in Thailand will facilitate quick and easy-to-access of Vietnamese goods to the Thai market.

Reporting by THANH LAN – Translating by H.L