Vietnam, Cambodia vow to reach two-way trade of $2 bln in 2010

People's daily News
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August 17, 2009

Vietnam and Cambodia expressed their strong will in reaching the bilateral trade of two billion U.S. dollars in 2010, the local newspaper Vietnam Investment Times reported Monday.

The target was made at a conference on opportunities for Vietnam to do business in Cambodia. The conference, which was recently-ended in Ho Chi Minh City of Vietnam, drew participation of relevant agencies of both Vietnam and Cambodia.

Cambodia will be a potential market for Vietnam as Cambodian people has turned their eyes on consuming Vietnam's goods and products instead of Thailand's ones, said Yeav Kim Hean, a commercial counselor of Vietnam-base Cambodian Embassy.

Cambodia is calling for foreign investment in its key sectors of hydropower, mining, cultivation of industrial plants, and telecommunication. This opens more opportunities for Vietnam's businesses to invest in Cambodia, said Huynh Tan Phong, vice director of Ho Chi Minh Trade Promotion Agency at the conference.

To reach the target, Vietnam will conduct a wide range of trade promotion activities in Cambodia from now on. These activities include market surveys, conferences on trade cooperation and trade fairs, said Phong.

In 2008, the two-way trade between Vietnam and Cambodia was 1.7billion U.S. dollars, up 31 percent year-on-year. Of which, Vietnam's exports to Cambodia earned about 1.45 billion U.S. dollars, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade.

With 513 businesses having operations in Cambodia, Vietnam ranks 8th among foreign investors in Cambodia, said Yeav, the Cambodian commercial counselor.

Source: Xinhua