Government chief desire Lulu Group’s stronger presence in Vietnam
VOV.VN - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked Lulu Group to continue to promote and introduce more potential Vietnamese products that are suitable for consumer tastes to approach and serve the UAE market as well as the Middle East and other markets in the group's hypermarket chain across the globe.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Yusuff Ali Musaliam Veettil Abdul Kader, Chairman and Managing Director of LuLu Group International, in Abu Dhabi on October 27, within the framework of his official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The group owns the LuLu Hypermarket chain in 23 countries over the world, and enjoys an annual revenue of more than US$8 billion.
Yusuff Ali said that Lulu has set up a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City to purchase Vietnamese products for its system of 265 hypermarkets around the world. He voiced his hope to receive support from the Government to boost its market expansion in Vietnam.
Appreciating the group for serving as a bridge to introduce quality Vietnamese products to consumers in the Middle East as well as other countries through its large-scale and widespread hypermarket chain, the Vietnamese cabinet leader stated that Vietnam is a country with a sustainably developing economy, a stable GDP growth rate, a large population with a rapidly growing middle class, and constantly improving per capita income.
Vietnam is set to be in the upper middle-income group by 2030 and a high-income developed country by 2045. With increasing consumer needs, the Vietnamese market holds great potential for the consumption of quality products.
Additionally, the country has deeply integrated into the international community with 19 free trade agreements (FTAs) signed with more than 60 countries, of which 16 have come into force.
Combined with a favourable geographical location and an increasingly improving logistics system, Vietnam offers numerous favourable conditions for imports and exports, and for connecting with major markets in the region as well as the world such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Europe, and America, Chinh told his host.
He said attention should be paid to considering investment cooperation with capable Vietnamese partners to open a hypermarket chain in Vietnam, a 100-million-strong market with great purchasing power, thus accessing the larger ASEAN market.
PM Chinh suggested that Lulu Group, with its extensive network of branches, will act as a bridge to attract potential investors from both within and outside the UAE to invest in Vietnam. Asking the group to speed up the building of an agricultural processing facility in Vietnam, he pledged that his country will accompany and create favourable conditions for foreign investors, including Lulu, in developing their business activities in alignment with legal regulations.
Noting that Vietnam is boosting the development of the Halal industry, Chinh said with its strategy to diversify products, production chains, and supply chains, Lulu should collaborate with and support Vietnam in advancing this sector.
Agreeing with the Vietnamese PM’s suggestions, the Lulu Group leader stated that the company will expand the list of goods and increase imports from Vietnam. It will increase closer coordination with Vietnamese agencies to launch Vietnamese goods fairs in the UAE and Gulf countries, thus enabling consumers to gain greater access to Vietnamese products.
PM Chinh said he hopes that Lulu will account for 10% of Vietnam's agricultural export market share in the future.
