Local businesses see greater US opportunities

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According to Nguyen Truong Ban, Director of the Hung Yen-based Nam Son Garment Co., Ltd., the export of garment products to foreign markets, including the US, was exceptionally difficult, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) like his company.

The company mainly exported products through intermediaries while foreign businesses usually sought large partners in Vietnam, he said.

Ban expressed his hope that Vietnamese businesses would see more favourable conditions to access the US market, as through BAOOV-US, their products would be directly shipped to the US, thus increasing export values.

Raising concern about the fact that domestic businesses have to pay 20-35 per cent of their profits for intermediaries when selling products in the US market, BAOOV-US Executive Director Calvin Tran said this was the reason why BAOOV-US officially set up the Vietnam Business Centre (VBC) in the port city of Baltimore in Maryland State.

VBC’s main goal was to encourage and help Vietnamese businesses to establish their presence in the US by directly distribute their commodities in the US, Calvin said.

He said that under BAOOV-US preferences, Vietnamese businesses which placed representative offices at the VBC would be provided with infrastructure facilities at preferential prices and legal assistance relating to their investment and business activities in the US.

Accordingly, Vietnamese businesses would only pay $1,500 per month for accommodation, including all office equipment, equivalent to 50 per cent of market price.

Calvin said that Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley pledged to support 50 per cent of fees for training Vietnamese staff and children of Vietnamese business people.

BAOOV-US will also help domestic businesses avoid regrettable cases relating to anti-dumping and products’ quality, he said.

To help Vietnamese businesses expand markets, promote trademarks and improve competitiveness, BAOOV-US had sought and gained the approval of Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake on the organisation of a “Vietnamese Goods Day”.

Calvin said the branch would set up a group for Vietnamese scientists working in the US who could connect with their colleagues in Vietnam to bring them to the US for work and study, helping to develop scientific and technological cooperation between the two countries.

According to the Business Association of Overseas Vietnamese, of the 4 million overseas Vietnamese, 1.4 million were living in the US. More than 170,000 Vietnamese businesses in the US generate revenue of nearly $20 billion each year.

The US is now one of Vietnam’s largest investors and leading trade partners with two-way trade reaching $15 billion.

Remittances from the US also account for 60-70 per cent of the total $8-10 billion in remittances to Vietnam per annum.