Catching opportunities from ASEAN economic community – Part 7

Part 7: Overcoming challenges

The business community in Binh Duong is very eager to welcome new opportunities from the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). But, the AEC will also put great pressure on the province’s key industries like footwear, electronics, woodwork…When the AEC officially takes effect, the ASEAN market’s trade exchange will get more animated.

Vietnamese enterprises in general and ones in Binh Duong in particular will be presented with both challenges and opportunities when they join the AEC.

 Production of Kumho Vietnam Co. at Ben Cat town-based My Phuoc industrial park

Binh Duong has also made efforts in reforming administrative procedures, simplifying investment license-granting procedures, computerizing data storage in order to help enterprises save time in exporting and importing their commodities. But, the AEC playground mainly belongs to enterprises. They play a very big role in maintaining domestic market and promoting exports in the region.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Thai-made products now ranks second after China among the biggest imports to Vietnam. Clothing and household use goods sourced from Thailand are available at nearly 8.600 traditional markets in Vietnam. Along with Thailand, other countries like Japan, South Korea…are also approaching Vietnamese market with a series of outlets.

Indonesia has mapped out a roadmap for potential areas when the AEC comes into effect. Particularly, the country will put focus on domestic market with industries in terms of electronics, automobile, garment-textile and footwear while aiming at industries regarding agriculture, fisheries, home decoration, food and beverage in the Southeast Asian market.

According to experts, there is an increasing trend on the use of foreign goods with high quality among Vietnam’s middle class. This will be a challenge for the Vietnamese business community. Domestic enterprises need to have more active insights about advantages from the AEC. This is a chance for them to improve their production and management capacity for better results.

Ly Ngoc Bach, Director of Cuong Phat Porcelain Co.Ltd. in Thuan An town said that the AEC will create a large amount of goods for intra-regional trade, bringing customers more choices. The AEC will also help domestic enterprises expand markets, enhance their production capacity…

According to the latest report by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) will help boost Vietnam’s GDP growth and create more jobs. Therefore, domestic enterprises should change their thought of production and business to bring full into play their role in the global economic integration process. The AEC is also a chance for the national economy to further fly.

The report also shows that Vietnam will also be one of countries enjoying huge benefits from economic integration compared to other countries as Vietnam’s economy heavily depends on foreign trade. Vietnam is also predicted to reach a robust growth in the fields of construction, transport, garment-textile and food processing. If Vietnam makes further efforts, the country’s labor productivity will be double 2010’s figure by 2025.

Reported by Phung Hieu-Translated by K.T