MATRADE: MALAYSIA, VIETNAM TO ACHIEVE US$18 BLN BILATERAL TRADE BY 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 -- The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) is promoting greater business cooperation between Malaysia and Vietnam to achieve US$18 billion (US$1=RM4.23) bilateral trade by 2025.

MATRADE director of ASEAN and Oceania Raja Badrulnizam Raja Kamalzaman said despite struggling with the impact of the pandemic and trade dispute between the world’s economic powerhouses, Vietnam managed to record a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.9 per cent last year.

"It was one of the few countries that recorded positive growth amid the COVID-19 situation in 2020," he said in a statement today.

Vietnam, which has more than 96 million people of whom 65 per cent are aged 35 years old and below, is currently experiencing a growing middle-income group and with business-friendly policies in attracting investments in the industrial sector, making it a popular destination for trade and business in ASEAN.

On Nov 23-25, 2021, MATRADE led a group of 17 Malaysian companies to explore strategic business collaborations between Malaysia and local enterprises in the exciting and rapidly growing Vietnamese market, through the Virtual Export Acceleration Mission (EAM) to Vietnam.

The mission featured companies in the machinery, parts and components, cosmetics and personal care products as well as food and beverages, aimed at tapping into the growing demand in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and surrounding provinces.

"These companies offer a wide range of industrial solutions such as data-driven smart solution platform and automation machinery, total beauty care products covering from tip-to-toe, varieties of prepared meals, and ready-to-drink beverages, among others.

"Apart from providing a platform for Malaysian companies to expand their brands’ footprint in Vietnam, this EAM also hopes to open up opportunities for Vietnamese companies to explore partnerships amid uncertainty in the business environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic," it said.

Through this mission, 142 online one-to-one business meeting sessions were arranged with 46 Vietnamese companies, which generated total sales of RM62.67 million, it added.

"Major interests were recorded for plants’ extracts derived from green biotechnology processes, feminine care, and skincare products as well as hair treatment solutions.

"Apart from the series of meetings, an online briefing session through a webinar was organised on Nov 23 in collaboration with the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of Ho Chi Minh City (ITPC) and the Malaysian Business Chamber of Vietnam (MBC) to share market updates and business aspects in Vietnam," it added.

-- BERNAMA