According to Tran VietAnh, deputy chairman of the HCM City Union of Business Associations, the cityhas 320,000 companies, which account for a large share of the country’sexports.
The city’s businesscommunity needs regular support in promoting trade. Besides, in the era ofIndustry 4.0, businesses have faced trade disputes.
Many businesses buygoods from foreign suppliers outside Cambodia but are asked to transfer moneyto accounts in Cambodia, and need the Vietnamese embassy to verify thecompanies’ antecedents.
Besides exports, firmsalso invest abroad, and need support in carrying out the formalities, verifyinginformation and other.
Anh was speaking at ameeting on August 6 between businesses and 19 ambassadors and consuls generalwho will soon be stationed in Japan, India, Germany, Rumania, Denmark, Russia,China, Laos, and Bulgaria, among other countries.
The meeting was meant tohelp the diplomats understand businesses’ requirements and how they can helppromote Vietnamese investment and trade abroad.
Nguyen Van Tuan from theVietnam Cotton and Spinning Association said the country’s garmentand textile products were exported mainly to the US, EU, Japan, and theRepublic of Korea, with sales to other markets being modest.
So the industry neededgreater support from Vietnamese trade offices in other markets, he said.
Many businesses havebeen buying cotton from foreign companies, but when cotton prices rose sharply,many suppliers did not make delivery or delivered goods of inferior quality,causing difficulties, he said.
A 400ha textile andgarment zone was being built, and trade counsellors and ambassadors shouldapprise foreign investors so that they could invest in it, he said.
Nguyen Van Khanh, GeneralSecretary of the Leather and Footwear Association of HCM City, wanteddiplomatic agencies to help find outlets for crocodile leather-based productsto boost crocodile breeding in the city.
Pham Sanh Chau,Vietnamese Ambassador Designate to India, said trade counsellors and ambassadorsunderstand businesses’ requirements and promised support, but said diplomaticmissions could not meet all their requirements.
Many businesses emailedembassies asking for information they themselves could easily find on theinternet, delegates explained.
According to Pham TruongGiang, Vietnamese Consul General in Germany, embassies have very few people buta lot of tasks, and so businesses should ask for specific information and notgeneral information.
But ambassadors andtrade counsellors would always assist businesses, he promised.-VNS/VNA