[PHNOM PENH POST]
Trade between Cambodia and Vietnam increased by nearly 50 percent in the
first three months compared year on year, according to statistics from
the Vietnam Trade Office in Phnom Penh.
Officials credited a
general economic upswing in both countries for the increase yesterday,
as Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visits Cambodia this
weekend.
“The growing bilateral trade between Cambodia and
Vietnam is a result of the recovery of the two countries’ economies,”
said Kong Putheara, Deputy Cabinet Chief at the Ministry of Commerce.
The
Vietnamese government was promoting investment in Cambodia, he said,
also highlighting the Kingdom’s market friendly policies.
“That’s why we see more and more Vietnamese investment here,” he said.
Vietnam
Trade Office figures showed Cambodia’s total exports to Vietnam rose 48
percent between January and March to US$128.5 million, up from $86.7
million in the same period the year before. Vietnam’s exports to the
Kingdom jumped 49 percent to $515.8 million from $345.5 million
year-over-year.
Cambodia typically exports unprocessed
agricultural products such as wood, rubber, cashew nuts, unmilled rice
and corn. Vietnam’s exports to Cambodia include a wide range of items,
such as vegetables, fruit, cigarettes, and consumer products,
Vietnamese trade officials recognised the surge in business activity between the two countries in recent years.
“Now
many Vietnamese producers and manufacturers are looking for business in
Cambodia because demand is picking up,” said Tran Tu, Commercial
Attaché for the Vietnam Trade Office, adding that Vietnamese businessmen
now have better chances of finding investing partners in the Kingdom.
He
also added that a two day visit by Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung to Cambodia beginning Saturday – for the opening ceremony of
Cambodia-Vietnam Securities’ headquarters and the second
Cambodia-Vietnam Conference on Investment, Commerce and Tourism
Promotion – “must be a clear chance for both the Vietnamese and
Cambodians to seek partners and talk to each other about business
cooperation and investment.”
“We welcome any foreign investors to
the country,” said Kong Putheara of the Commerce Ministry, “because we
lack the production capacity necessary to boost exports and curb the
trade deficit.”
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