Thailand, Vietnam Boost Trade Promotion via Int'l Fairs

Attending international fairs is the best way to help enterprises promote trade and increase the export value. The theme is on the top agenda of the Vietnam-Thailand industrial forum and exhibition held on October 28 by the Thai Ministry of Trade’s Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) in conjunction with the Vietnam Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vinexad Company.

 

In term of the organisation of fairs and exhibitions currently, deputy minister of industry and trade Bui Xuan Khu said that in Vietnam more and more enterprises organise fairs and exhibitions, but to serve mainly the domestic demand. Meanwhile, almost all fairs and exhibition in Thailand were organised on international and large scale, thus ensuring the high specialisation. 

 

For that reason, Khu said, it is necessary to promote the trade between VIetnam and Thailand through organising international fairs and exhibitions.

 

Supawan Teerarat, exhibition director of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), said that the increasing organisation of international fairs and exhibitions is an opportunity for enterprises of both sides to share and learn from experiences in the organisation of exhibitions, contributing to develop further the two nations’ sector.  

Recently, ten leading exhibition firms of Thailand arrived in Vietnam to study and expand business in the market.

 

Under its plan by 2009, TCEB will focus on ASEAN markets like Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam in parallel with the expansion of markets of India and China.

 

During this year, TCEB has organised successfully some events such as ITU Telecom Asia 2008, FESPA Asia pacific. In 2008, TCEB won a contract to organise 30 trade exhibitions, earning revenue of over bat 2 billion.

 

Since Vietnam and Thailand set up the trade cooperation in 1988, the two-way trade value has represented a rapid growth. In 2007, Thailand ranked the sixth among Asian nations about the bilateral trade with Vietnam.

 

In the first six months of this year, the bilateral trade turnover reached US$4.2 billion, double that of the previous year. The figure is expected to hit US$10 billion by 2010.   

 

The two-way trade reached $5 billion in 2007, of which Thailand exported nearly US$4 billion worth of goods to Vietnam, an on-year increase of 32 per cent. 

 

In the first six months of this year, the two-way trade hit over US$3 billion.

 

Last year, Vietnam’s GDP growth reached 8.48 per cent. Moreover, Vietnam’s renovation policy is towards the market economy, aiming to encourage foreign investors to expand business in the country. 

 

TCEB’s conferences organised in Vietnam contributed to enhance not only the bilateral trade cooperation, but also reinforce the two nations’ relations.

 

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Bui Xuan Khu expressed that Vietnam has offered preferential policies to encourage as well as pledged to create favorable conditions to foreign investors. He believed that the organisation of fairs and exhibitions in Vietnam will help boost the trade cooperation and bilateral relations.