Myanmar’s area is two times that of Vietnam and it is endowed with rich natural resources. With a population of about 60 million, the economy is underdeveloped due to prolonged embargo and its industry can only meet 15 percent of domestic demand. Hence, Myanmar is an attractive market for many goods, especially consumer goods. Without doubt, Myanmar is a high potential market for Vietnamese goods, especially key exports.
Trade and investment relations between Vietnam and Myanmar have continuously strengthened and expanded in many aspects in recent years. A lot of trade agreements have been signed and some big Vietnamese corporations have invested in big effective projects in Myanmar. The two-way trade reached US$144.3 million in the first six months of 2013, up 23.7 percent year on year. Especially, after the State visit to Myanmar by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in August 2007, the bilateral ties have been brought to a new level.
Since then, many product sectors of Vietnam like electrical and electronics devices, garment materials, medicines, medical devices and consumer products have been expanding their presence in Myanmar and getting increasingly popular there. Other commodities like vehicle tyres, steel, power meters, plastic products, inputs for food processing industry, cashew nuts, coffee and confectioneries are likely to increase market shares in Myanmar. Undoubtedly, Myanmar is an easy market where consumers are satisfied with the quality of Vietnamese goods.
Mr Le Hung Quoc, Chairman of the Union of Ho Chi Minh City Friendship Organisations, said, Myanmar is the last piece of fertile land in Asia that Vietnam needs to pay attention to. Apart from great potential and available opportunities, Vietnam and Myanmar also have fine diplomatic relations; therefore, Vietnamese companies will see more favourable conditions when they do business in this country. Vietnamese C.T Group also said now is the golden time for Vietnamese building materials to make inroads into Myanmar.
Since Western countries lifted economic sanctions, Myanmar has opened its market to foreign investors, including the construction sector. Mr Tran Bac Ha, Chairman of the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Myanmar (AVIM), said Myanmar market has a lot of opportunities and potential for Vietnamese businesses. He said Myanmar is not only for Vietnam but also for the whole world. All countries, regardless of big or small, are interested in Myanmar. Besides, Mr Tha Tun Oo, Standing Member of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), said Myanmar's current policy is to promote further development with neighbours and respect border economy. Myanmar businesses are very good at English, law-abiding and highly disciplined; thus, doing business with Myanmar companies is easy.
But, it is not easy to penetrate into this market. According to experts, pricing is very important here. This market is being flooded with goods from China and Thailand, which pose fierce competition to any rivals. The gap between the rich and poor is widening, and two market segments are taking shape.
Therefore, to make inroads into the Myanmar market, according to experts, companies need to perform market surveys to seek opportunities and suitable market segments before setting up long-term business plans. They should, first of all, contact the embassy because this agency has close ties with Myanmar’s chambers of commerce and powerful corporations. The Embassy of Vietnam in Myanmar is releasing a Handbook entitled "Investing in Myanmar, things to know" and it will be provided to Vietnamese enterprises. Mr Van Duc Muoi, General Director of Vissan, said, for Myanmar market, companies should not be discouraged by initial difficulties and they must be persistent. Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group noted that, to do business in Myanmar, there are two options: One setting up business in Myanmar needs to form joint ventures with local companies to set up distribution channels, and another is to entirely depend on Myanmar distributors. Before investing in this market, it is necessary to learn about investment fields, investment policies and administrative procedures among others.
For the time being, the quickest and most accurate communication channel in Myanmar is the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar. With the support of this agency, businesses will save a lot of time. Mr Tran Kim Chung, Chairman and CEO of CT Group, said his company will seek suitable, capable Vietnamese companies in various fields to guide doing business in Myanmar, particularly agricultural production.
With the efforts of the two governments and businesses of the two sides, the two-way trade turnover is expected to reach US$500 million and investment capital is forecast to top US$1 billion in 2015.
Le Phuong
Vietnamese
