Vietnam among five biggest investors in Cambodia
Vietnam among five biggest investors in Cambodia
Vietnam is among the top five investors in Cambodia, with nearly US$3.1 billion registered in 214 projects, including 176 operational projects worth US$2.77 billion.
At the Vietnam-Cambodia Business Forum, held in Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh last week, Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh said Vietnamese enterprises have mainly invested in agriculture, banking, telecom and information technology, industrial manufacturing and processing sectors in Cambodia.
The bilateral trade revenue between the two countries reached US$4.7 billion last year, up 23.8% over 2017. In the January-October period of this year, the figure was US$4.4 billion, rising 13.8% year-on-year.
The trade revenue was expected to reach US$5.2 billion this year, helping the two countries achieve the bilateral trade target of US$5 billion one year earlier than expected, Minh added.
Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of US$1.7 billion with the western neighbor in 2017 and US$2.8 billion last year.
Meanwhile, Cambodia has executed 21 projects with total registered capital of nearly US$64 million in Vietnam, ranking 54th among 132 countries and territories investing in the country.
Speaking with the Saigon Times on the sidelines of the forum, Nguyen Phuong Lam, director of the Can Tho Branch of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI Can Tho), noted that this was the first time the VCCI Can Tho had held the Vietnam-Cambodia Business Forum and it would annually hold the event in not only Cambodia but also other countries.
The VCCI Can Tho chose Cambodia as the first venue for the event as Vietnam wants to enhance its cooperation with other ASEAN countries, Cambodia’s demand for Vietnamese products is increasing and the two countries are adjacent.
The Vietnamese Government has directed large enterprises in the finance and banking, rubber, telecom and processing sectors to promote investment in Cambodia. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the two countries will later bolster their cooperation, Lam added.
He pointed out that Vietnamese firms have always considered Cambodia an important and reliable partner.
Doan Huu Duc, vice chairman of the Tien Giang Business Club in HCMC and director of Vietnam Consulting Group, remarked that SMEs would follow larger firms in investing in Cambodia in the coming years.
The Vietnam-Cambodia Business Forum was jointly held by the VCCI Can Tho, the Tien Giang Business Club in HCMC, the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce and the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia.
The forum attracted 150 Vietnamese SMEs, mainly from the Tien Giang Business Club in HCMC. SMEs from the Mekong Delta have a deep understanding of Cambodia’s culture and are flexible in applying new technology.
