TheVietnam-Myanmar Trade, Service and Tourism Exhibition 2015 (HCM CityExpo 2015), one of the crucial trade promotional activities, is ongoingin Yangon city and some 80 leading Vietnamese enterprises involved insectors such as processed food, household utensils, garment, textiles,as well as electronics and interior decorations are participating.
Vice Chairperson of HCM City People's Committee Nguyen Thi Hong saidthe annual expo, which is to conclude on May 24, was an effective bridgethat connects Vietnamese enterprises and Myanmar customers and can helpenterprises in the two countries seek new business opportunities andpartners as well as exchange information.
In aneffort to explore the Myanmar market, Hong, along with a businessdelegation, worked closely with several agencies in Mandalay city andvisited some supermarkets and wholesale markets in the city.
Pho Nam Phuong, director of the municipal Investment and TradePromotion Centre, noted that Vietnamese firms have increased theirexports to Myanmar. Apart from exporting home appliances,pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, construction materials, and machinery andequipment, enterprises have also accelerated the export of services,especially in the IT sector.
"Most of the firms havepointed out that despite its huge potential, Myanmar remains achallenging market as Vietnamese goods have to compete with locally-madegoods and those from many other Asian countries," Phuong said.
If Vietnamese firms want to succeed in Myanmar, they should focus onproduct quality rather than selling prices. Proper investment in productdesigns to advertise their trademarks in a better way also deservedattention, he said.
Nguyen Van My, chairman of LuaViet Tours Co, said due to the disadvantage of distance compared toChina and Thailand, Vietnamese firms could compete only by makinginvestments in production in Myanmar.
Telecom, woodprocessing, food, tourism, and construction were some of the sectorsthat Vietnamese firms should focus on, he said, adding that there werenot many restaurants in that country, while tourism and IT services werepretty much in short supply.-VNA