Considered the last golden investment destination in Southeast Asia, Myanmar has become highly attractive to foreign investors including Vietnamese businesses, the Vietnam Economic News said on June 17.

Director of the Ho Chi Minh City's Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) Pho Nam Phuong was quoted as saying recent surveys in Myanmar show that the country is an attractive, potential market for Vietnamese goods, as it imports 90 percent of its industrial and consumer goods. In addition, many Myanmar companies want to cooperate with Vietnamese counterparts.

According to the statistics, Vietnam-Myanmar trade came to 228 million USD in 2012 and 300 million USD in 2013. However, Vietnam still lags behind many countries, including Singapore, China, Indonesia, Japan, the US, Thailand and the Republic of Korea in terms of goods exports to Myanmar.

As of the end of 2013, there were 45 Vietnamese businesses licensed to operate in Myanmar, while 19 others waiting to be licensed. Seven Vietnamese projects with a total registered capital of more than 600 million USD were licensed to invest in Myanmar. Of these, notable projects included the Hoang Anh Gia Lai hotel, trade centre and office and apartment building complex, Simco Song Da Corporation's marble mining project and the PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP)'s oil and gas exploration joint venture project.

Phuong said that Vietnamese businesses can export to Myanmar cattle, poultry and seafood disease prevention drugs and seafood, farm produce and forest product processing and preservation equipment and technology. They can strengthen investment cooperation with Myanmar partners in agricultural, forestry and fishery technology, farm development, health and education.

According to the newspaper, many Vietnamese businesses have said that Myanmar is a potential market and they will improve competitiveness through quality improvement.

Vietnam targets to increase its trade with Myanmar to 600 million USD in 2015 and its direct investment in the country to the 2 billion USD level.

By VNA

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