Bangladesh is an enormous potential market for Vietnamese businesses, said Mahmudul Islam Chowdhury, president of the International Business Forum of Bangladesh, at a conference on June 3 in Hanoi.

" Vietnam can take advantage of competitive prices offered in Bangladesh on products like apparel, pharmaceuticals, leather and ceramics," Chowdhury said. "On other hand, Bangladesh could import crude oil, fertiliser, cement, steel and iron."

He encouraged Vietnamese firms to visit Bangladesh in the near future to explore possibilities for doing business.

There were huge potentials for investment in several areas, including information technology, engineering, shipbuilding, agriculture and handicrafts, added Bangladeshi Ambassador to Viet Nam Supradip Chakman.

"The Government of Bangladesh has offered one of the most liberal investment incentive packages to foreign investors," Chakman said.

But enterprises needed to play a decisive role in cementing the trade and investment ties between the two countries, said Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Pham Gia Tuc, calling the conference as a good chance for the two countries' firms to meet and discover new opportunities for cooperation.

Bangladesh enterprises also used the event to express their concerns about Vietnamese investment incentives for foreign investors, particularly in the agricultural sector.

Bilateral trade reached 82 million USD in 2009, an increase of 27 percent over the previous year. Vietnamese exports to Bangladesh accounted for 60 million USD of the total.

Exchanges of visits between several ministries of the two countries have helped to open a channel for better bilateral relations and increase trade and investment, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa./.