Vietnamese firms in Russia recommended to keep close watch on situation

Many container shipping companies have suspended the routes to Russia. (Illustrative photo: AFP/VNA)

Moscow (VNA) – As Russia is facing sanctions imposed by the West, Vietnam’s Trade Counsellor in this country Duong Hoang Minh has recommended Vietnamese businesses in this country to stay calm and keep a close watch on the situation.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, he said the exclusion of Russia from the SWIFT international payment system has just been levied on seven Russian banks, so Russia’s banking activities with Vietnam haven’t been affected much.

However, Minh noted, if tensions escalate, all Russian banks could be banned from SWIFT, which will have real impact on their banking activities with Vietnam.

Vietnam’s Trade Counsellor in Russia Duong Hoang Minh (Photo: VNA)

What Vietnamese businesses in Russia should do now is to wait and calmly keep a close watch on the situation to take timely response measures, the counsellor recommended.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Hong Thanh, head of Vietnam’s trade office branch in Far Eastern Russia, pointed out that transportation and the Russian ruble exchange rates are the two issues affecting bilateral trading activities.

On March 2, many container shipping companies like Maersk Line, KMTC, and MCC suspended the routes to Russia, making Vietnamese exports unable to reach this market. Besides, the USD to RUB exchange rate hikes will erode profits of the firms importing goods into Russia since they cannot increase selling prices like the way the US dollar appreciates.

On the other hand, in the medium term, imports into Russia are forecast to fall sharply, and Russian people will consume more domestic goods, according to Thanh./.

VNA