Philippine businesses eye Vietnam’s electrical products

Hanoi (VNA) – This is the first visit to Vietnam by a delegation of the Federation of Electrical and Electronic Suppliers and Manufacturers of the Philippines (PESA), showing their interest in Vietnam's electrical products in the field.

Vietnam – Philippines business matching on electrical products (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Many Vietnamese goods have penetrated and step by step asserted a foothold in the Philippine market such as coffee, seafood, garment and textiles, construction materials, machinery and equipment. However, there remains great room for Vietnamese goods to the market, particularly electrical equipment, wires and cables.

The statement was made by Le Hoang Tai, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department of Trade Promotion at the Vietnam - Philippines Business Matching on Electrical Products held in Hanoi on April 5.

The event held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade saw the participation of 12 businesses and 22 entrepreneurs of the PESA - the Philippines’ largest business organisation with large member enterprises specialising in importing, distributing and producing electrical products.

Many enterprises take a roundabout route

According to Vu Viet Nga, Vietnamese Counsellor in the Philippines, some Vietnamese electrical products have been exported to the Philippines, but with a small volume, mainly electric cables produced by businesses such as Lioa and Thinh Phat.

Although products manufactured by Vietnam have been appreciated by partners, many businesses have not paid due attention to the export market.

Vietnamese businesses have yet to take advantage of the Philippine market because they have not paid much attention to this market, Nga said, adding that it is necessary to understand that “to build trust we need a lot of time.”

Tran Van Bac, Deputy Project Director at the Hanoi Power Transformer Manufacturing Joint Stock Company (MBT), said the export of the company's transformer products with competitive prices, good quality and modern lines to Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar has to be carried out through projects undertaken by Vietnamese investors or Vietnamese contractors in those countries.

Therefore, the MBT-invested plant with a capacity of 8,000 transformer products per year using latest European production lines operates one-third of its capacity, Bac said.

He said he hopes the event will be a chance to directly cooperate with Philippine businesses in order to expand market for the company as its production capacity is huge.

Hero Yu, President of the Federation of Electrical and Electronic Suppliers and Manufacturers of the Philippines (PESA) (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Do not miss the opportunity

Trade relations between Vietnam and Philippines have been thriving. In 2018, two-way trade turnover reached more than 4.7 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of over 18 percent.

Potential for the export of Vietnamese goods to the Philippines is huge, including products such as electrical equipment, wires and cables.

Hero Yu, President of the PESA and General Director of Yu Eng Kao Electrical Supply and Hardware, Inc. - a large company specialising in manufacturing and distributing electrical equipment with 100 years of history - assessed Vietnam as a promising market, with electrical products and machines.

He emphasised the quality and competitive prices of Vietnamese products.

He said PESA is seeking a new partner because its affiliate in Indonesia had closed its factories.

Besides, Tran Van Bac revealed that some African partners have returned to look for Vietnamese products instead of Chinese products.

"Comparing the prices of Vietnamese products sold in Laos and Cambodia, Vietnam's products are completely competitive," Bac said.

According to Vu Viet Nga, it can be seen that the business matching with leading businesses of the Philippines is opening up many opportunities for Vietnam. This is the first visit to Vietnam by a PESA delegation, showing Philippine enterprises’ interest and trust in Vietnamese products.

“I also hope that in the near future, electrical equipment will be one of the top products in the group of items with high turnover in Vietnam's export structure to the Philippines in the coming time,” said the representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade./.