Vice President of European Chamber of Commerce, Tomaso Andreatta, told The Sun24 hours” that Vietnam has served as an important bridge for Italian businesses to penetrate the East Asia region, particularly the ASEAN market with a population of 610 million.
He said it is high time Italian businesses realized the importance of this potential market in the years up to 2015 when ASEAN becomes a common economic bloc to expand trade ties with other major economies in the region.
He emphasized that Vietnam is now one of the fastest growing economies with skilled workers in Southeast Asia. It is pity that Italian businesses cannot seize such good opportunities and lag behind other businesses.
Italy’s leather and footwear sector is moving its plants from China to Vietnam. Its two-way trade exchange with Vietnam reached US$2.8 billion last year and US$2.3 billion in the first eight months of the year. However, Italy is placed 29th among 98 nations and territories investing in Vietnam.
