Vietnam trade office opens in Milan

The statement was made by Vice President of Lombardy Industrial Federation (Assolombarda) Alessandro Spada at an April 4 inauguration ceremony of a Vietnamese trade office in Lombardy.

The opening of the trade office coincided with a seminar on Vietnam-Italy investment promotion held on the same day.

At the seminar, President of the Lombardy Investment Promotion Agency Riccardo Maria Monti pointed out the fact that Vietnam has a stable political and social climate, and a government inclined to grant many incentives for foreign investors.

He said Vietnam’s economic development strategy prioritises such fields as renewable energy, food processing, construction materials, and mechanical engineering, which are Italy’s strength, creating many cooperation opportunities for the two business communities.

For his part, Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh briefed the audience on the country’s Renewal achievements and its specific policies designed to attract foreign investors.

He emphasized that in the context of global economic integration, Vietnam and Italy, Lombardy in particular, should further strengthen cooperation, particularly in economics, to foster the strategic partnership the two countries established in January 2013.

Vinh affirmed that Vietnam is an attractive destination for Italian investors as the country lies at the heart of ASEAN, and has socio-political stability, highly skilled human resources and a highly competitive investment environment.

Vietnam is willing to support Italian companies in seeking investment opportunities and doing business in Vietnam, he said.

During the seminar, Vinh and Lombardy business officials cut a ribbon to open the Vietnamese trade and economic office in Milan, Lombardy. The office is tasked with updating Italian businesses on Vietnam’s trade and investment information.

Earlier, on April 3, a similar investment promotion forum was successfully held in Bologna, Emillia Romagna.

Emilia Romagna is famous for the automobile and motorbike manufacturing industry with renowned trademarks of Lamborghini, Ferrari, Maserati, Ducati and Pagani Zonda.

Currently, Italy is the fifth largest trade partner of Vietnam in Europe, accounting for nearly 10% of Vietnam’s import-export value with the EU.

Two-way trade turnover hit US$3.1 billion in 2013.

By the end of last year, nearly 52 Italian businesses had invested in Vietnam with a combined capitalization of nearly US$280 million, ranking 29th out of 101 foreign investors in Vietnam.