Belgian firms explore Vietnamese business culture

Tran Ngoc Quan, Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Belgium and the EU introduces the Vietnamese business environment to participants. (Photo: VNA)

Brussels (VNA) – A training conference was held inBrussels on May 15 to promote Belgian businesses’ understanding of the businessenvironment and culture of Vietnam.

The event, jointly held by the Vietnam Trade Office in Belgiumand the Belgian Vietnamese Alliance (BVA), provided Belgian firms with basicthings that they need to know when doing business in Vietnam and contactingwith locals.

Davy Jacob, supply chain manager of LIBEERT chocolatecompany that is operating in the central city of Da Nang, said that Vietnam has an attractiveinvestment environment for foreign investors.

The country’s fast economic growth with the rapidly growing middle class has created good chances for foreign investors, including thosefrom Europe, he held, expressing his hope to further expand the firm’s operationsin Vietnam.

Joke Pattyn from Facil, a logistics company, said that her company has providedautomobile spare parts for Vietnamese automaker Vinfast for three years. She stressed a wish to get a deeper insight into the traditional business practices ofVietnamese people to become closer to local customers and build up morerelations.

Commenting on the Vietnam-EU economic cooperation outlook, Tran Ngoc Quan, VietnameseTrade Counselor in Belgium and the EU said that despite facing manydifficulties, European firms still pin high hope on the Vietnamese market,especially in the fields of garment and textile, leather and footwear, andagriculture.

Particularly, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA),which took effect in August 2020, has provided preferential tax rates toVietnamese goods exported to the EU, he said, holding that this is a greatopportunity for Vietnam and the EU to promote bilateral trade as the EU isprioritising countries sharing a FTA with the union to overcome difficulties.

The EU’s compulsory regulations for imported products will take effect in the next3-5 years, he noted, advising Vietnamese firms to meet the regulations byswitching to green and clean production and sustainable development, thus clinchingtheir position in the EU market./.

VNA