On the recommendation of economic experts at a Ho Chi Minh City workshop on May 7, Vietnamese enterprises should research better ways to stand out from their regional competition, something that will be particularly important once the ASEAN Economic Community is officially formed in 2015.

The workshop was organised because Vietnam has recently recorded slower growth of exports to the ASEAN, partly due to the fact that exporters are still unable to control the market prices and production costs in the global value chain. The nation’s support industry remains under-developed while industrial goods generate low added value.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh Union of Business Association Huynh Van Minh underscored the need to renew regulations of product origin so that it will be easier to enjoy lower taxes.

Minh also predicted new trends, such as investment and trade liberalisation, tariff elimination and simplification of procedures.

Business players were advised to rush into the ASEAN markets in 2014-2015 by taking advantage of a tariff incentive deal with Laos and a bilateral trade promotion agreement with Cambodia.

Vo Tri Thanh, Deputy Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management suggested firms adopt risk control tools, ensure quality standards and understand technical barriers. He added that new fields such as infrastructure and green growth are particularly promising and in need of investment.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade showed that two-way trade between Vietnam and other ASEAN members had increased fourfold from 9 billion USD in 2003 to almost 40 billion USD last year. ASEAN has become the third largest export market for Vietnam after the US and the European Union.-VNA