With the aim introducing the business community in Vietnam to the potential markets of Finland and the Nordic countries, as well as supporting programmes for domestic enterprises looking for foreign customers and improving internal innovation and competition, VCCI and the Embassy of Finland in Hanoi recently held the seminar "Doing business in Finland and the Nordic countries," under the framework of the 2012 Vietnam- EU Business Forum.
According to Dr Doan Duy Khuong, VCCI Vice President, Vietnam and Finland have long, traditional relations and recently the relationship has become more intimate and cooperation has expanded in all aspects and developed in depth.
Two countries will celebrate 40 years of diplomatic relations in 2013.
In 2007, the Finnish Government put Vietnam on the list of long-term partner countries for bilateral development cooperation with Finland. In addition to the major projects in the priority directions of cooperation between the two countries, there are projects aimed at reducing poverty in three areas: rural development (including forestry); drainage and waste water treatment; support for capacity building and reform, and the two-way trade relationship is gradually improving.
In 2011, two-way trade turnover between the two countries was only about US$200 million. However, in the first nine months of 2012, export turnover between Vietnam and Finland reached US$260 million, of which US$79 million exports and more than US$150 million imports.
Vietnam’s mainstream commodities exported to Finland include: coffee, rubber, footwear, textiles, handicrafts, wood products, bicycles and bicycle parts. Vietnam imports from Finnish machinery and equipment, communication media (accounting for 80-85 percent of turnover), textile materials, leather, plastic materials, electrical equipment and parts, iron and steel ...
On investment, by the end of 2011, Finland had invested Vietnam with a total investment of over US$340 million, ranking 26th out of 94 countries and territories investing directly in Vietnam. The projects of Finnish are of small and medium-sized category, mainly in the manufacturing industries such as industrial glue, garments, wood products and fishing.
"Although trade and investment ties between Vietnam with Finland and the EU are being developed, but the scale of the relationship that was not commensurate with the potential and the traditional close ties between the two countries, as well as in the context of international economic integration,” said Dr Khuong.
So, according to Dr Khuong, this workshop is a useful opportunity for Vietnamese enterprises to learn the market and contribute to open up a new stage of development in the partnership between the 2 business communities.
"VCCI is ready to work closely with the Embassy of Finland, as well as Finish promotion agencies for the development of cooperation between the business communities of the two countries," added Dr Khuong.
Mr Janne Sykko, Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of Finland in Vietnam, said the workshop provides practical information about collaborative programs, financial support tools of the Government of Finland. This is an opportunity for Vietnamese businesses to access programs such as the Vietnam – Finland partnership ( Finpartnership) and the Innovation Partnership Programme.
Huong Ly
Vietnamese
