'Good scope for Indian & Vietnamese textiles to cooperate'

27 Jun '13

2 min read

There is great potential for cooperation in the textile sector between Indian and Vietnamese textile firms, which can cooperate to launch Joint Ventures (JVs), Abhay Thakur, the Indian consul general in HCM City, has said.

Vietnam is a leading apparel exporter, but the country imports nearly 80 percent of its raw material requirements, whereas India is strong in textile materials and machinery, and hence an alliance between the two can benefit both sides, Mr. Thakur said.

He was speaking at the India-Vietnam Investment Round Table in Ho Chi Minh City, which was attended by members of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and representatives of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

The bilateral trade between India and Vietnam has grown 20-fold in the last 12 years and doubled since 2009 to US$ 4 billion, and the turnover is expected to be around US$ 5 billion this year, and reach US$ 7 billion in 2015, Mr. Thakur said.

However, the participants in the Round Table agreed that trade and investment cooperation between India and Vietnam is much below their actual potential.

Indian delegates at the conference expressed optimism that Vietnam would further strengthen cooperation with Indian firms, especially in the textile sector.

Le Phuoc Vu, chairman of the Vietnam-India Business Forum, said it is important potential investors are kept informed about policies and specific opportunities, in order to boost investment and trade between the two countries.

At present there are about 150 Indian firms in Vietnam, which have together invested around US$ 800 million in various sectors.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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