Can Tho grows overseas trade co-operation

Can Tho’s trade and investment promotion delegation visited the Centre for Liveable Cities in Singapore

Can Tho Trade, Investment Promotion and Exhibition Centre is welcoming the overseas business groups on August 4-6, as part of a chain of activities in the national trade promotion programme.

The event is expected to attract about 300 representatives from diverse government agencies such as the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam trade offices in Singapore and Malaysia, leaders of trade and investment promotion centres, business associations and startup clubs in the Mekong Delta region, and members of the local business community.

Making a presence will be top trade representatives from both Singapore and Malaysia in Vietnam, such as their general consuls based in Ho Chi Minh City, representatives from Singaporean and Malaysian chambers of commerce and industry, Enterprise Singapore, and up to 50 businesses joining foreign business groups who were chosen from more than 250 small- and medium-sized enterprises posting the most impressive growth in the two regional countries.

The event features a string of activities, such as bringing the groups to survey the production process at several export companies in Can Tho, and exhibitions of the delta region’s distinct products. On the agenda will be a networking conference to introduce the region’s potential, business opportunities, priority investment fields and projects, as well as presenting consumer demands, and taste and development trends in Singapore and Malaysia, along with networking opportunities.

In the past year, Can Tho has been scaling up efforts to push trade and investment opportunities with diverse countries and territories around the world, of which Singapore and Malaysia sit at the top of the list.

Earlier this May, Pham Van Hieu, Deputy Secretary of the Can Tho Party Committee, and Chairman of the Can Tho People’s Council led a business group to the two countries for trade and investment promotion, helping city-based businesses to accelerate investment and propel co-operation with regional partners. Previously, the city also sent business and officials groups to both countries.

In recent years, the two markets have imported many items from Can Tho such as rice, seafood, processed agricultural produce, apparel, pharmaceutical products, and veterinary drugs, the sectors in which the city has an abundant supply.

Nguyen Khanh Tung, director of Can Tho Trade, Investment Promotion and Exhibition Centre said that the new event will provide the ideal opportunity to present the region’s land, people, and potential to international investors, from there strengthening trade links and boosting export to both regional and international markets.

Simultaneously, through the event, Can Tho wishes to call more potential investors into the city’s key investment projects.

In respect to investment attraction, the Can Tho Statistics Agency shows that by the end of 2018, the city was home to 82 valid foreign-invested projects registered at more than $693 million. Eight of them were from Singapore and valued at nearly $129 million, accounting for 18.6 per cent of the city’s total foreign direct investment volume. Meanwhile, investment from Malaysia into Can Tho was more modest, with one project worth $285,000 in total registered capital.

The city aims for breakthroughs in investment attraction in the upcoming months by virtue of increased investment promotion activities.

In April 2019, Can Tho International Airport launched direct flights to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, facilitating investment and trade connections between the city and regional markets.