Seventeen Indian businesses have arrived in Ho Chi Minh City in order to seek greater investment opportunities across multiple fields in southern provinces of Vietnam.

They aim to enhance cooperation opportunities with Vietnamese enterprises in the fields of agriculture, garments and textiles, education, fisheries, food processing, railway infrastructure, health, and energy.

At a recent trade exchange held to learn more about the Vietnamese market, Madan Mohan Sethi, consul general of India in Ho Chi Minh City, pointed out that India is currently the country’s seventh largest trading partner, with key areas including agricultural and aquatic products and pharmaceuticals.

The Indian diplomat expressed a keen desire to act as a bridge for future ties between the two countries to promote trade, investment, healthcare, and tourism cooperation.

With regard to the potential for further investment attraction, Nguyen Thi Diem Quynh, deputy director of the Long An provincial Department of Planning and Investment, revealed that as many as 1,200 FDI projects capitalised at about US$10.3 billion have been implementing in the province. Of the total, seven projects valued at US$215 million are invested by Indian firms specializing in food processing, agricultural products, animal feed, garments and textiles.

Long An will prioritise attracting more investment in supporting industries, processing and manufacturing, automation, manufacturing components - electronic equipment and software, industrial semiconductor, artificial intelligence, and urban development, said Quynh.

A representative of the southern province of Dong Nai stressed that there remains plenty of room for further co-operation opportunities between the two countries moving forward. 

In fact, import and export turnover between Dong Nai and the Indian market has witnessed a trade surplus over recent years with the province’s key export items to India including plastic raw materials, curtain fabrics, technical fabrics, machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts, fibers, and textile yarns of all kinds.

Meanwhile, Indian businesses also boast strengths in fields such as information technology, biotechnology, education, and health, all of which are areas of interest for the southern province.

VOV