Exciting billion-dollar cooperation

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Foreign businesses still put a lot of faith in Vietnam's economic prospects. Source: Internet.

Trust in Vietnam's economy

Recently, during President Nguyen Xuan Phuc's business trip to the US, a series of Vietnamese businesses signed cooperation agreements with many American partners. In which, T&T Group and UPC Renewables Group signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of renewable energy in Vietnam. This group also successfully signed two deals to import raw materials for animal feed production, and signed a cooperation agreement with Nutraceuticals dba Au Naturel, Inc on the exclusive distribution of pharmaceuticals. The total value of these cooperation agreements amounts to over US$3 billion.

Along with that, Chan May LNG Joint Stock Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Excelerate Energy and General Electric to develop the Chan May project in Thua Thien - Hue worth US$3.2 billion. Quantum Group and the consortium of Kinh Bac Urban Development Corporation and Saigon Telecommunications Technology Joint Stock Company (Saigontel), a subsidiary of Saigon Investment Group, have also awarded an investment cooperation agreement of up to US$30 billion.

Vietjet Air and CFM International Company signed a contract to provide new aircraft engine maintenance services worth US$260 million, bringing the total value of cooperation between the two sides to US$18.5 billion. Bamboo Airways and its partners GE, CFM, International, AviaWorld LCC awarded cooperation documents. Inter-Pacific Import-Export Company Limited (IPPG) also signed investment cooperation agreements with three US partners. to promote the implementation of 45 key projects that the IPPG is researching and implementing in Vietnam.

Previously, in mid-September, ALPEC Joint Stock Company and FUJI Elevator (Malaysia) signed a strategic cooperation agreement, preparing for a plan to bring products and elevators manufactured in Vietnam to international markets. An ALPEC representative said that the two businesses share a clear development goal in the field of elevator manufacturing, therefore, the cooperation will help promote the resources of each side, helping Vietnam's products be exported smoothly to foreign countries in the difficult context of the pandemic.

Along with cooperation with enterprises in foreign countries, cooperation between foreign enterprises in Vietnam and domestic enterprises is also expected to bring many positive results. Recently, HSBC Bank Vietnam Limited (HSBC Vietnam) and Con Cung Joint Stock Company signed a cooperation agreement. HSBC Vietnam will provide a full suite of banking products and digital solutions for Con Cung. According to the representative of HSBC Vietnam, this cooperation is possible because HSBC still believes in the Vietnamese economy and the consumer sector will recover quickly when the country reopens. Businesses with a turnover of between VND1,000 and VND10,000 billion per year like Con Cung will act as the backbone of the economy, which will become one of the main drivers of Vietnam's recovery.

Find the right solution

According to experts, despite the complicated development of the pandemic, Vietnam is still an attractive and promising investment market for foreign businesses and partners. Moreover, thanks to the application of technology, online trading, etc., the promotion of trade is no longer as difficult as before. In particular, because Vietnamese enterprises increasingly follow international standards and are transparent in their production and business situation, they also gain the trust of foreign partners.

However, it can be seen that the cooperation agreements signed above are mainly large and reputable enterprises of Vietnam. Therefore, the cooperation between Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises with foreign partners is still not easy, because these enterprises have less prestige, financial potential is not strong enough, and they cannot find information and cooperation opportunities.

Therefore, despite many difficulties and obstacles due to the pandemic, trade promotion programs have been implemented online, thereby helping to bring many results in cooperation and trade for small and medium businesses. Most recently, the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency-KOTRA Hanoi said that it has successfully supported online trade connection between 10 suppliers in Incheon, Korea, and more than 20 businesses buying Vietnamese goods. According to a representative of KOTRA Hanoi, due to difficult travel conditions, online trading is a solution that has been thoroughly applied and constantly enhanced to meet all the needs of businesses.

Previously, at the beginning of September, the 18th China - ASEAN Expo (CAEXPO 2021) was also held online and via a remote exhibition. Mr. Le Hoang Tai, Deputy Director of the Trade Promotion Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade), said that the remote exhibition model is a suitable and effective solution to support businesses to promote their brands, products, and maintain and expand export activities, as well as participate in distribution channels in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.