The project was announced at a recent ceremony held by the Vietnam Exporters Association (VEXA) under the Investment and Trade Promotion Center of Ho Chi Minh City, in association with the Safuan Group of Malaysia and the Beyond World Company Limited (Vietnam).
The six-floor market, located in the 24-floor Safuan Plaza in Kuala Lumpur, will host 200 booths selling Vietnamese agricultural products, seafood, handicrafts, garments, mechanical equipment, machines, cosmetics, proprietary technologies, and services.
The Vietnam Market in Malaysia will create a business-to-business (B2B) platform for Vietnamese companies to promote exports to this market. Through Malaysia, Vietnamese goods can also access Singapore, Thailand and other ASEAN markets. Malaysia is the world’s most attractive emerging market, according to Bloomberg’s 2018 rankings, and the World Bank Doing Business 2020 Report has ranked Malaysia in 12th position amongst 190 economies worldwide.
Tansri Matshah Safuan, Executive Chairman of the Safuan Group, said the group would provide Vietnamese companies with legal support. The Beyond World Company Limited will be responsible for managing the Vietnam Market project and leasing booths directly to businesses.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Malaysia is Vietnam’s sixth largest trading partner, after China, the Republic of Korea, the US, Japan and Thailand, and the second largest ASEAN market. Malaysia is also one of the top importers of Vietnamese rice. Data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs show that in the first nine months of 2019, Vietnam exported US$2.9 billion worth of goods to Malaysia and spent US$5.4 billion on imports from this market, meaning that bilateral trade still leans towards Malaysia. The Vietnam Market in Malaysia is expected to facilitate Vietnamese goods’ penetration into this market, contributing to balancing bilateral trade.
The business environment in Malaysia is favorable due to stable economic growth and government business support and investment attraction policies, as well as adequate infrastructure and a strong banking system. Like Vietnam, Malaysia is also a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). It has undergone industrialization and due to unfavorable soil conditions for agricultural production, Malaysia has high demand for rice, fruit, vegetables, seafood, coffee, pepper, textiles, garments, footwear and many other kinds of goods.
However, to penetrate the Malaysian market, businesses should use local distributors or sales agents in the initial stage and open representative offices in Malaysia. They also need to learn carefully about local partners to avoid risks.
Businesses can contact the Malaysia-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce (MVCC) and the Vietnam Business Association in Malaysia (VMBiz) for information about the Malaysian market and partners. |
Source: ven.vn