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Italian machinery firms look for local partners
Viet Nam is a potential destination for Italian mechanical and engineering businesses, especially companies from Emilia Romagna region, the most heavily industrialised area.
At a working session of two countries' businesses held yesterday in HCM City, Filippo Petz, Fareast Asia expert of Italian Trade Commission, said a delegation of six Italian mechanical and engineering companies in Emilia Romagna was visiting Viet Nam from June 7 to 11 to look for business opportunities.
"Viet Nam is known as a country that does good business with Western countries with advantages including political stability, abundant workforce, fairly good services and infrastructure and cheap workers' salaries," he said, basing his remark on Italy's surveys.
"There will be four to five business delegations from Italy's different regions coming to Viet Nam from now to the end of this year aiming to promote investment and trade relationships."
The expert said the Emilia Romagna region's strength was agricultural product processing machines and post-harvest technology, which are useful for Viet Nam, an agricultural country.
The six Italian visiting businesses were preparing for 10 meetings each with different counterparts in HCM City and elsewhere.
"They include sportscar and spare-parts makers, foodstuff processors, hydraulic and agricultural equipment manufacturers. Some already have openings in Viet Nam like Ducati Motor, Sai Spa, and Galtech," he said.
Macro Saladini, Italian trade commissioner in Viet Nam, said "Viet Nam is emerging as a fast-developing economy in the Asia-Pacific region, and is expected to be an industrialised country by 2020. However, the country should upgrade production technology at industrial parks."
Last year Viet Nam spent 163 million euros to import machinery from Italy, of which 46.6 million euros were spent in Emilia Romagna.
Currently, Italian mechanical and engineering equipment holds a market share of 5-10 per cent in Viet Nam.
A representative of Viet Nam Trade Promotion Agency said "The two-way trade between Viet Nam and Italy is still modest, lack of information about the market and partners were among the main reasons."
Nguyen Anh Ngoc, Deputy Director of HCM City's Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, said Italian investment in Viet Nam was small as Italian companies had invested only US$46 million in two projects in the country last year.
He said hoped the meeting would help increase Italian investment in Viet Nam in the near future.
Ngoc noted the mechanical and engineering sector was one of four industries that enjoy priority to develop in HCM City.
"The Italian enterprises should find partners for joint ventures in Viet Nam which can minimise their business risks."
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