Trade between Hong Kong and Vietnam is expected to enjoy significant growth this year despite the effects from the global economic downturn, according to a Vietnamese senior official.
Vu Thinh Cuong, Vietnamese deputy consul general for Hong Kong and Macau, told The Saigon Times Daily on Tuesday, quoted figures of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HK-TDC) that two-way trade in the first nine months of this year grew 13.6 percent year-on-year to more than US$3 billion.
During the January-September period, Vietnam exported $812 million worth of telecommunication equipment and spare parts, footwear, electrical parts, seafood, meat, office appliances, fruit, leather and textiles to Hong Kong, up more than 14 percent year-on-year.
Cuong said Vietnam’s exports to Hong Kong accelerated quarter after quarter this year, from 11.4 percent in the first half to 15.2 percent in the third quarter.
HK-TDC also revealed that Hong Kong’s domestic exports and re-exports to Vietnam in the first nine months of 2009 totaled $2.28 billion, up 13 percent from the same period last year.
The council’s assistant chief economist, Dickson Ho, said the January-September period saw a surge in Hong Kong’s shipment of goods to the Southeast Asian country with meat items making a whopping 313 percent growth.
Cuong advised Vietnamese firms to consider Hong Kong as a gateway to boost their exports to other markets.
“Hong Kong is a major center of trade and services, home to the offices of many multinationals and companies from different parts of the world,” he said. “So it’s easy for Vietnamese firms to find buyers and sellers.”
Cuong suggested local firms should take part in exhibitions and trade fairs in Hong Kong to secure orders and look for potential buyers and partners from international markets.
Late last year, Hong Kong signed a comprehensive agreement on double taxation avoidance with Vietnam, a move which is aimed at boosting investment laws, technology, talent and expertise between the two sides.
In 2008, Vietnam was Hong Kong’s 23rd largest trading partner, 19th largest market for domestic exports, 17th largest market for re-exports and 25th largest source of imports.
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