Ata meeting with Thai enterprises in Bangkok on August 18 during his officialvisit to Thailand, Phuc said the Vietnamese economy is now worth more than 220billion USD and the country is striving to meet basic criteria in the businessenvironment, equivalent to ASEAN 4 level by 2020. Vietnam is also in the periodof golden population with 60 percent of people in working age.
Thaibusiness representatives thanked the Vietnamese government for creatingfavourable conditions for investors from Thailand and the ASEAN member statesto join SMEs equitisation in the country.
Theypledged to keep expanding their business operations in Vietnam in the fields ofretail, food, farm produce manufacturing and processing, energy, tourism andtransport.
Severalcompanies said they are learning about Vietnam’s tourist attractions and wantto link up with Vietnamese airlines to increase tourist arrivals in the twocountries.
ReceivingChairman of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand Kornrasit Pakchotanon,PM Phuc asked for accelerating the construction of a thermal power plant in thecentral province of Quang Tri.
Pakchotanonpledged to ensure environment protection and use advanced technology during theprocess of construction.
MeetingChief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Central Group Tos Chirathivat, Phuc hailedthe Central Group as one of the largest retailers in the region and isperforming well in Vietnam. He also asked the group to bring more Vietnamesefarm produce to Thai supermarkets.
TheCEO said his company wants to liaison with Vietnamese partners to do businessin hotel, tourism and retail, adding that the Central Group is ready to sellVietnamese fruits in Thai supermarkets and develop agriculture in Vietnam.
Duringa reception for Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Kasikorn Bank(KBank) Banthoon Lamsam, the PM said the Vietnamese government wants KBank tocontinue partnering with the State Bank of Vietnam, ministries and agencies toshare experience in settling bad debts and help firms overcome difficulties.
Lamsamsaid KBank plans to launch a financial support model for Vietnamese businesses,part of efforts to help the Vietnamese government achieve the goal of having 1million firms by 2020.
Talkingwith an executive from Siam City Cement Public Company Limited (SCCC), the PMsuggested SCCC continue investing in industrial projects and constructionmaterials using modern technology, as well as transfer technology to Vietnamesepartners.-VNA