Given that markets like the European Union (EU) and Japan are becoming harder to please and that the demand in these markets is not increasing, South Asia is considered as offering great prospects for Vietnamese businesses, the Vietnam Economic News reported on February 18.

Trade revenues between Vietnam and countries in South Asia reached about 6.2 billion USD in 2013, a more-than-30-percent increase over 2012. Of this, Vietnamese exports amounted to about 3.25 billion USD, a 35-percent increase, and imports reached 2.95 billion USD, a 20-percent rise.

India continued to be Vietnam’s largest and most important trade partner in South Asia, growing by an average of more than 40 percent per year. Vietnam sold 2.34 billion USD worth of goods to India in 2013, a 31-percent increase over 2012. By the end of 2013, India had 77 investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of more than 250 million USD. The Vietnamese Government granted a license to India’s Tata Power Group in 2013 for construction of the 1,200MW BOT Long Phu 2 Thermopower Plant in Soc Trang province at a total cost of 1.8 billion USD.

Trade between Vietnam and Sri Lanka also improved with bilateral trade revenue of about 155 million USD in 2013. Sri Lanka currently has nine direct investment projects with total registered capital of 13.94 million USD in Vietnam.

Vietnam also sold more than 500 million USD worth of goods to Bangladesh in 2013, a 42-percent increase on 2012. Most Vietnamese exports to Bangladesh grew in terms of revenue such as yarn reaching 33.6 million USD, an almost-21-percent increase, textiles and garments 19.6 million USD, a 20.2-percent increase, and machinery, equipment and spare parts, 8.7 million USD, a 42.6-percent increase.

Big prospects

The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s African, West Asian and South Asian Markets Department said Vietnam and India were growing economies and that making the most of tariff reductions as a result of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIG) would help businesses of the two countries more easily enter each other’s market and boost the competitiveness of many products. A goal to increase bilateral trade revenues to 7 billion USD by 2015 has been set.

The government of Sri Lanka wanted to make their country an economic, trade, aviation, shipping and intellectual centre in South Asia. This is also a potential market with a population of more than 21 million, a fast-growing economy and high per capita income.

The governments of Vietnam and Sri Lanka committed themselves to encouraging and helping their businesses operate in both countries, particularly in areas such as tea production and processing in Vietnam, oil and gas exploration, exploitation and supply and infrastructure development in Sri Lanka. The two countries expected to increase bilateral trade revenue to 1 billion USD by 2015.

With a population of more than 161 million, Bangladesh is a large market which has a high demand for many kinds of goods. Bangladesh currently encourages foreign investment by offering investment incentives including low labour costs, low land lease rates and favorable investment policies. For this reason, apart from trade exchange, Vietnamese businesses can invest in textiles and garments, agricultural engineering and industry in Bangladesh. Vietnamese textile and garment businesses in particular can export their products to a third country following the EU’s trade preferences for Bangladesh.-VNA