Promoting Cooperation between Vietnam-Cuba Chambers

 

Mr Orlando Hernández Guillen said his trip to Vietnam this time is to promote cooperation between the two chambers through the Vietnam-Cuba Joint Council to promote the development of the two countries. At the same time, the Cuba Chamber of Commerce wants to study the experiences of construction and orientation of VCCI.

 

Dr Loc said that the Chamber of Commerce of Cuba should note the specific actions to promote institutional reform and enhance integration, particularly the development of the private sector, and confirmed that VCCI was very willing to help Cuban partners in this issue.

 

Currently, many of Vietnam’s small and medium enterprises face difficulties in capital when doing business with Cuba businesses, while the Cuban counterparts want deferred payment. Thus, according to Dr Loc, both parties need to develop a mechanism to help limit difficulty in payment processes.

 

Earlier, at the seminar “Business and Investment Opportunities in Cuba” held by VCCI in Hanoi, Mr Orlando Hernández Guillen said that Cuba was in the process of changing and updating their economic development model, including changes in the State policy to attract foreign investment. Before Cuba issued the new Investment Law, the presence of foreign investors was regarded as only complement and support for the economic development of Cuba. But since Cuba issued the Law, there has been a change in the opinion. In a number of key areas, the foreign investment is seen as an important element for the economic development of the country. The areas that Cuba focuses on attracting foreign investment are mining, exploration and exploitation of oil and gas, and energy.

 

It is known that, under the new Law on Foreign Investment of Cuba, a form of 100 percent foreign investment is fully encouraged and accepted. Cuba does not create a monopoly for any business that provides goods and services to foreign investors in Cuba. Any company that is eligible, meets the standards of goods can fully participate in fair competition in the supply of goods for foreign investors in Cuba and for the Cuban economy. In addition, Cuba also established Mariel Special Economic Zone with the best conditions to attract investors, including investors from Vietnam.

 

Vietnam is one of the few countries that Cuba has signed medium and long term Bilateral Economic Agenda with. This programme has allowed the two countries to outline strategic development and economic cooperation plans in medium and long term. Particularly, Vietnam and Cuba enterprises set very specific goals to further boost trade and investment relations between the two countries in the future. The Chamber of Commerce of Cuba is responsible for supporting the two countries to meet, and support the joint committee of the two countries operate more efficiently, to gather the two countries join in the process of economic reform, develop relationships, seek and identify investment opportunities for each other.

 

According to statistics, in 2014, two-way turnover between Vietnam and Cuba increased by 45 percent to US$207.5 million, of which Vietnam exported to Cuba US$206 million (mainly Vietnam provides Cuba rice annually under the deferred payment) and imported more than US$1 million from Cuba. Vietnam exports mainly to Cuba food, cereals, confectionery, footwear, ceramic products, hygiene products, building materials, coal, textiles and chemicals, and imports from Cuba some kind of pharmaceuticals and functional food.

 

Regarding foreign direct investment, according to statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of December 2014, Cuba had one project in Vietnam with total registered capital of US$6.6 million. Vietnam currently has two investment projects of oil exploration of PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP) of PetroVietnam.