Behn Meyer - Making Valuable Products for Markets

Behn Meyer - Making Valuable Products for Markets

Behn Meyer & Co. (Pte) Limited in Vietnam is an affiliate of Singapore-based Behn Meyer Group established in 1840, specialising in trading mainly chemicals. After 10 years of operation, Behn Meyer Vietnam has grown strongly and is providing some 30 industries with rubber, sugar, petroleum, environment, and most recently, aquaculture products.

Behn Meyer has always believed in its human resources, and the past 10 years have shown that with careful selection, great success can be achieved in this country.

Focusing on the aquaculture field, Mr Dennis Chan, Behn Meyer chief representative, said: “At the moment, we are concentrating in aquaculture products: organic materials, organic technology. We are very confident that we can help Vietnamese farmers to create cleaner water and environmental conditions year after year. In Vietnam, the Basa fish has yellow skin, meaning that the price is lower in the world market. So with our technology, it will be whiter, therefore, the export price of basa fish on the international market will increase”.

Mentioning the advantages of doing business in Vietnam, Mr. Dennis Chan stressed “the healthy attitude of its people towards commerce, and towards doing a good job. Vietnamese take pride in their work and generally strive to be outstanding in what they are doing”. However, multiple levels of bureaucracy cause problems when delivering products to markets. By way of example, a foreign company may need to apply for a license to invest, a license to import goods, then a license to manufacture, and then again, a license to sell products. If these levels of regulation can be reduced, it would allow for businesses to deliver goods (and services) from production to market in a shorter time.

Talking about his impressions formed when working in Vietnam, Mr. Dennis Chan said “Vietnam is a vibrant economy, and its people are one of the hardest working in the world. New investors would benefit from the experience of other companies who have been doing business here earlier. Patience, persistence, the ability to be flexible, and the willingness to train and transfer knowledge are pre-requisites to a successful operation here”.

In the future, Behn Meyer plans to expand its activities from representative office activities to supply new technologies, and to invest in direct manufacturing activities.

• M.N