Support for Business Cooperation

Denmark offers several venues of support for business cooperation between Danish and Vietnamese companies.

 

The Commercial Section in Hanoi and the Economic and the Commercial Office in Ho Chi Minh City promote trade and investment between Denmark and Vietnam. The commercial staff assists Danish exporters and investors in their business activities in Vietnam. They provides information to Vietnamese companies looking for Danish business associates or suppliers, and provide support for Danish businesses that take an interest in the Laotian market. The charge for commercial services is currently DKK 815 per hour.

The Export Start Growth package provided by the Trade Council offers assistance to Danish small and medium sized companies looking to internationalize their business activities through Asian markets. The package is a government subsidized service offering companies 50 hours of assistance provided by the Embassy’s commercial section with a 65 percent discount on the hourly fee. Each company can apply for a total of 6 Export Start Growth packages, and use up to 3 packages in the same market.

 

Vitus Vækst offers Danish companies a fast track route to penetrating emerging markets, and is the latest addition to the series of tools to assist internationalization offered by the Trade Council. The program targets companies with maximum annual revenues of DKK 150 million, 5-150 employees and experience in export markets. An experienced commercial counsellor from the target market will assist the companies with developing the export and sales strategy, as well as in the execution phase. Vitus Vækst is a government subsidized programme provided by the Embassy’s commercial section offering companies a 65 percent discount on the hourly fee.

 

Collective Export Promotion Services offered by the Trade Council can be applied for by industry associations, or consultancies working with export promotion. The purpose is to provide Danish companies with more in depth knowledge about the market opportunities, the terms of trade and to help them generate potential collaboration partners in a selected country. Collective Export Promotion is a subsidized service allowing for a lower price for the companies participating in the export promotion activities.

 

The Danida Business Partnerships Programme supports projects within the Clean-tech sector that promote green growth in Vietnam. The programme encourages Danish and Vietnamese companies to establish long-term, sustainable, and commercially viable partnerships. Vietnamese companies benefit through transfer of Danish know how and technology, and Danish companies gain access to new markets and production opportunities. Since 1997 more than US$67 million has been spent to facilitate more than a 150 Danish-Vietnamese partnerships in different sectors.

 

The Mixed Credit Programme offers interest free or low interest loans for development projects that aim to reduce poverty, improve living standards, and contribute to economic growth in Vietnam. The programme helps mobilise funds for projects that are financially “non-viable” and could not be carried out without support. 25 projects have already benefited from this programme.

 

IFU, the Industrialisation Fund for Developing Countries, offers risk capital and advice to Danish businesses investing in countries like Vietnam. IFU does not provide aid or business subsidies, but co-invest with Danish businesses in private sector projects. In Vietnam IFU is involved in various projects such as Viking Vietnam’s production of rainwear and workwear, Sunmark’s production of solar panels, Reproflex Vietnam’s graphic design and Scancom’s furniture production.