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Sep 08, 2016 / 10:52

France-Vietnam business forum promotes trade and investment cooperation

Participating in the France-Vietnam Business Forum in HCM City on September 7, enterprises of the two countries have a opportunity to boost their partnerships, especially in the field of agricultural and food and medical products.

The French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam held France-Vietnam Business Forum in HCM City on September 7.
More than 200 business leaders attended the forum with the aims to promoting trade and investment between the two countries.
The event was organised to coincide with the visit of President François Hollande to HCM City on the second day of his state visit to Vietnam.
Speaking at the forum, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong highlighted the relationships between Vietnam and France has been constantly enhanced, adding that the French President's visit to Vietnam creates the foundation to promote the bilateral economic cooperation, opening up new trading opportunities for the business community of the two nations.

 
Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong speaks at the forum.
Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong speaks at the forum.
According to Nguyen Thanh Phong, the city is the economic hub of Vietnam and an attractive investment destination for foreign businesses. 
He pledged that the municipal government will facilitate investments, including those from France. Chairman Phong also called for French businesses to deepen their ties with local firms in the city. 
At present, France is one of the largest European investors in Vietnam with a total investment of 3.4 billion USD. The country is the 10th biggest investor in HCM City with 185 projects totalling 848 million USD. Two-way trade between France and the city in the first seven months of this year reached 423 million USD. 
Addressing the event, Chairman of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam Nicolas Du Pasquier spoke highly of recent improvements of Vietnam’s investment environment. 
Nicolas Du Pasquier said Vietnam is a dynamic country with striking growths through three decades of renewal and has become an attractive destination of foreign investors, including French businesses.
Chairman of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam Nicolas Du Pasquier said the French business community is eager to increase its commercial connection to the Vietnam economy.
He said there are a lot of opportunities in infrastructure, power and energy, agriculture, consumer goods, health care, and information communication technology.
Vietnam markets hold many untapped opportunities for French investors and companies – and capitalizing on them would create jobs and improve lives both for citizens of France and Vietnam.
Vietnam should continue speeding up its reform and restructuring of the economy and the banking and financial systems to tap its development potential, he said, and believing that the Vietnam-France future cooperation will be strengthened in various fields.
In the forum’s framework, a number of trade deals on agriculture and health care were signed by enterprises of both sides.
In the forum’s framework, a number of trade deals on agriculture and health care were signed by enterprises of both sides.
Ms. Dang Thi Minh Phuong, Chairman of HCM City CEO Club also expected that the forum will help the two countries' businesses seek measures to boost their partnerships, contributing to the sustainable development in Vietnam. 
Martine Pinville, French Minister of State for Commerce, Small-Scale Industry, Consumer Affairs and the Social and Solidarity Economy, asserted that Vietnam is a country recording the strongest growth in the region.
Pinville highlighted the high potential of bilateral affiliation, pointing to tourism and creative medical products. 
In the forum’s framework, a number of trade deals on agriculture and health care were signed by enterprises of both sides, including the one between French medical Sanofi Group and the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Corporation, and the other on sustainable pig breeding in the Mekong Delta region.