A forum took place in the island city of Phu Quoc on July 7 to connect enterprises of Vietnam’s southern province of Kien Giang and Thailand so as to boost bilateral trade, investment, and tourism.
Vietnamese and Thai businesses sign memoranda on investment cooperation at the forum on July 7. (Photo: kiengiang.gov.vn)
Le Quoc Anh, Vice Chairman of the Kien Giang People’s Committee, said the province always welcomes domestic and foreign investors, affirming that it will create the best possible conditions for them to successfully carry out investment, production and business projects and guarantee sustainable development for the future.
According to the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand, overseas Vietnamese are running about 1,000 enterprises in Thailand, a number of which are operating profitably in many sectors such as industry, agriculture, food processing, export - import, goods distribution, logistics, services, construction, restaurant, and hospitality.
Some of those firms are moving to expand operation to Vietnam, but that number remains modest compared to businesses of Thailand.
Thailand currently ranks 9th among the foreign investors in Vietnam, with over 650 projects worth more than 13 billion USD. It is also the largest ASEAN trading partner of Vietnam as bilateral trade stood at 19.5 billion USD in 2021 and 5 billion USD in the first quarter of this year. The two countries are looking to raise trade revenue to 25 billion USD by 2025.
In Kien Giang, Thai enterprises are investing in five projects worth about 470 million USD.
The province is calling for investment to five pillars of socio-economic development, namely high-tech agriculture, renewable and clean energy, tourism, trade in services - education and training - health care, and maritime economy, local authorities said.
At the forum, Kien Giang introduced its potential, opportunities, and demand for export, import and tourism cooperation. Participants were also informed of investment and business demand of Thai enterprises.
The Thai - Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Association proposed local authorities organise more trade, tourism and investment promotion events in Thailand so as to help strong products of the province make inroads into Thailand while attracting more investors and tourists to Phu Quoc.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh recommended the provincial People’s Committee issue concrete mechanisms and policies to provide optimal conditions for overseas Vietnamese firms in the world, including those in Thailand, to invest in Kien Giang.
