Bangladesh keen to raise cooperation with Vietnam

Speaking at the Vietnam-Bangladesh business forum in Hanoi on November 3, the Bangladeshi PM stated that Bangladesh has created incentives to attract domestic and foreign investment and ensure legal protection for commitments to capital investment and profit sharing. She said the country has also implemented preferential tax policies for investors to operate their business for five to seven years.

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc said that over the years, two-way trade between Vietnam and Bangladesh has doubled year-on-year, reaching US$500 million in 2011 and that figure is expected to increase to US$1 billion in the next two or three years.

Loc said he hopes PM Hasina’s visit will promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two nations in their fields of strength, such as consumer goods, agricultural products, food, infrastructure construction, shipbuilding, tourism and information technology.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said that bilateral trade is still far from matching the potential of both countries, recording only US$290 million in the first nine months of this year.

Vietnam and Bangladesh are two markets with great purchasing power, therefore, their governments should implement measures to encourage cooperation, particularly in the industrial and agricultural sectors, Phat said.

VCCI Chairman Loc also announced the decision to establish a Vietnam-Bangladesh Business Council and appoint Nguyen Tien Dat, the director of the Vissai Export-Import Company (part of the Hoa Phat Group), as its chairman.

A delegation from Bangladesh representing more than 20 major companies and groups operating in pharmaceuticals, garments and textiles, construction, transport, agriculture and trade also joined the forum aiming to seek new business opportunities.