Myanmar is a promising market for Vietnamese businesses, heard a workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on November 19.

Participants at the workshop (Source: Cong Thuong newspaper) 

Vo Thi Ngoc Diep, Vietnamese Commercial Counsellor in Myanmar, described the growing trade and investment ties as a spotlight in the bilateral relations over the past time.

According to the official, Vietnam is now one of the 10 biggest trade partners of Myanmar. In 2018, two-way trade reached 860 million USD, of which Vietnam exported over 700 million USD worth of goods to the market.

In the first nine months of 2019, bilateral trade was estimated at 708 million USD, a year-on-year rise of 8.5 percent. Vietnam exported over 530 million USD worth of products to Myanmar.

Diep said Myanmar is a potential market for Vietnamese products and services such as iron and steel, electronics, motorbikes and bicycles, food and processed materials, household electrical appliances, construction, information technology, and telecommunications.

Vietnam is ranked seventh among 50 countries and terriroties investing in Myanmar with 25 projects worth over 2.16 billion USD. So far, more than 200 Vietnamese businesses have been operating in Myanmar under various forms.

Diep said Vietnamese enterprises have a lot of favourable conditions to make investment in Myanmar because of the country’s weak manufacturing industry, lack of consumer products, and no high technical barriers for imported goods.

Additionally, Vietnam and Myanmar have many cultural similarities and both are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), she added.

Besides advantages, Diep also warned businesses of shortcomings in the market such as poor infrastructure and slow clearance of goods customs.

She suggested Vietnamese firms thouroughly learn about Myanmar’s investment policies to make inroads into the market.