Door to open to showcase exports

The Ho Chi Minh City Business Association (HBA) had approval from the city’s authorities to find a suitable place for building an export showroom centre covering two to five hectares, said HBA deputy chairman Pham Ngoc Hung.  

 “The venue will not only where made-in-Vietnam export products are presented, but meetings, workshops and local and foreign firms’ training activities can also take place,” said Hung.

Director Dien Quang Hiep at Mifaco, a firm specialising in exporting wooden artworks to US and EU market, said building such a centre would generate high practical effects through promoting transactions with foreign partners.

“Wooden products need a larger space, hence if such a showroom in place our company will join,” Hiep said.

In fact, Ho Chi Minh City already hosts an export showroom centre under the management of Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC). However, its limited size has stunted its popularity.

Ho Chi Minh City Handicraft and Wood Industry Association (HAWA) deputy chairman Tran Quoc Manh said export showroom centres were commonplace in foreign countries but these centres often specialise in some specific products like the wooden furniture centre in Las Vegas.

“A venue presenting diverse range of export items and working the year round is rare. Hence, to bolster its efficiency there must be a connection with diverse state agencies and organizations like the national trade promotion system and Vietnamese trade counselor systems based in foreign market to link the centre with the global export supply chains,” Manh said.

Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association chairman and Thai Binh Footwear Company director Nguyen Duc Thuan said a potential investor should carry out the project.

“The centre will likely be a library without book titles if the investor did not perform a smart job in handling the centre project,” said Thuan.

In respect to the centre’s location, Hung said the centre might be built near Nguyen Van Linh Avenue’s ending section sourcing capital mostly from domestic investors. Foreign investor as well as international trade fair organizers would be invited to partake in international expositions of Vietnam’s diverse export sectors.