Many Thai businesses gathered in Ho Chi Minh City on May 28 for a forum on franchises between the two countries, in the hope of seeking partners in the market of 90 million people.

Sompong Nopsuvan, from the Thai Ministry’s Business Development Department and head of the Thai mission, said the Thai companies at the forum mainly operate in the areas of food and beverage, health, education and training, services and restaurants.

Apart from directly meeting with Vietnamese businesses, they hope to learn about the market and share experience and seek cooperation opportunities in the field.

According to the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade, over 120 international trademarks had, by April this year, registered franchises in Vietnam. They obtained annual growth of over 30 percent to more than 30 million USD in revenues.

Vo Tan Thanh, Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s HCM City chapter, said that franchises in Vietnam are attractive to both domestic and foreign businesses. The presence of foreign trademarks offers opportunities for local consumers to access goods and services while creating pressures to domestic producers and businesses that force them renovate to meet the people’s increasing demand.-VNA