Garment production for export at an enterprise in HCMC. (Photo: SGGP)
Huge market
Analyzing the investment opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises in expanding market share in India, Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of HCMC People's Committee, said that India has a market size of more than 1.3 billion people. It will be an extremely large consumption market, especially in the context that Vietnam is a country with strongly-developed agriculture, fishery, textiles, leather, and footwear industries.
However, the development of market share, as well as investment, in the Indian market remains limited. At present, Vietnam has nine investment projects in India, with a total capital of more than US$6 million, mainly in the wholesale and retail sector, ranking 42 out of 78 countries where Vietnam has invested abroad. The bilateral trade turnover between India and Vietnam reached $13 billion in 2021, up 36.5 percent over the same period in 2020, and is expected to hit the target of $15 billion in 2022.
In particular, for HCMC alone, two-way trade turnover reached $1.45 billion, an increase of 30 percent compared to 2020. “Now India has risen to the top agricultural product exporting country. Therefore, Indian enterprises need to increase the import of agricultural products, especially rice products, vegetables, and fruits. However, along with the increase in the import of agricultural products, including Vietnamese agricultural products, technical barriers will also be tightened because this is a requirement to maintain the export market share of Indian enterprises”, said Mr. Harsh Vardhan, an expert in the field of agricultural products and food.
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, Sales Director of Sao Khue SG Co., Ltd., said that technical barriers to quality standards in the Indian market were not a concern of enterprises because domestic enterprises had been familiar with being imposed many strict technical barriers in export markets. For instance, the company has experience in exporting agricultural products to Japan, South Korea, and China. In these markets, food safety and quality standards are always tightened. Since the beginning of the year, Japan has issued 25 new notices on adjusting food safety and quality standards related to the use of plant protection chemicals on agricultural products but cannot cause difficulties to his company. Currently, on average, the company exports from three to seven 20-foot or 40-foot containers each week. The company has also standardized the quality of input products thanks to the close connection with the cooperatives in the raw material growing area. The company's concern with the Indian market is finding a reliable partner to avoid risks when exporting.
Combining the strengths of each country to catch the investment wave
Vice-Chairman of HCMC People's Committee Vo Van Hoan said that in the past two years, the world had experienced the heavy impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, with efforts to prevent the pandemic, Vietnam and India have gradually controlled, reopened, and are gradually recovering their economies. Currently, HCMC has developed a socio-economic recovery plan for the 2022-2025 period, in which the recovery phase starts from now until the end of 2022, and the development phase is from 2023 to 2025. Therefore, 2022 is considered a crucial year, laying the premise for the next development phase. To achieve the goal of economic recovery, the city government needs the support of the business community at home and abroad, including the Indian business community.
With their competitive advantages, Vietnam and India are at the center of the shift of global supply chains. It is reflected in the fact that both countries are receiving large foreign investment, opening up opportunities for the two countries to forestall the post-Covid-19 economic recovery period, creating advantages for both countries in the global supply chain. With the close cooperation between the two countries, businesses will seize opportunities to accelerate development, take advantage of investment opportunities, as well as participate more deeply in the global supply chains that are heading to the two countries.
Vice-Chairman of HCMC People's Committee Vo Van Hoan (L) and Mr. Pranay Verma, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam, at the forum. (Photo: SGGP)
HCMC calls for investment in Smart City Project
According to Mr. Le Quoc Cuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Information and Communications of HCMC, HCMC set the theme for 2022 as safe adaptation, flexibility, and effective control of the Covid-19 pandemic, continuing to improve the quality of building the urban administration, improving the investment environment, and accompanying businesses. With this theme, the city has determined that one of the important tasks for economic recovery and development is to carry out comprehensive digital transformation, develop the digital economy, build a digital society, promote the application of information technology, build a digital government, synchronously design, build, and rely on the operation of integrated systems, interconnection of large-scale databases, and application of artificial intelligence (Al) into the deployment of smart and creative cities. Therefore, the city has been calling on Indian businesses and investors - who have strength in digital technology to step up research and promote investment in the above matters.
