Hanoi (VNA) – Many Vietnamese firms haveshifted their focus to new markets like Myanmar but doing business in theonce-isolated nation is not easy, largely due to its poorly-crafted businessregulations.
Vietnam is one of the first countries to promote tradewith Myanmar, said Vu Cuong from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, addingthat made-in-Vietnam goods are popular among Myanmar consumers due to theirquality and prices.
However, Vietnamese exporters have experienced bumpyrides shipping their products to Myanmar. According to Cuong, in addition tohigh transportation costs, Vietnamese products are facing stiff competitionfrom similar ones from countries such as China and Thailand.
Legal issues remain one of the biggest barriers for doingbusiness in Myanmar, said Nguyen Thanh Nam, director of Viettel Myanmar.Military-run group Viettel is the largest Vietnamese investor in Myanmar withtotal committed investment of approximately 1.4 billion USD to develop a mobilenetwork joint venture.
In Vietnam, building a base transceiver station onlyrequires two or three permits from the local departments of information andcommunications and construction. But to do this in Myanmar, a company mustapply for up to seven permits, from local people to authorities at differentlevels, Nam explained.
Even after getting approval from the government,ministries and other public agencies, a foreign firm must continue working withstate and district governments to complete a number of other administrativesteps, he added.
As Myanmar has just started opening its economy, it hasto regularly amend the legal system. Hence, firms have to be active to keepabreast of changes, the director noted.
Echoing Nam’s view, Dang Hai Nha, Director of the Bankfor Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), Yangon branch, said manylegal documents in Myanmar are too general and briefly explained, making themdifficult for businesses to comprehend.
Cuong from the Ministry of Industry and Trade suggested the Vietnamese producers put more effortsinto improving the quality of their products and studying local consumerculture. They must also invest in branding and label their products in Myanmaror English languages to better inform customers.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, tradebetween Vietnam and Myanmar has grown steadily in recent years. Two-way tradeexpanded at an average pace of 27.3 percent annually from 2010-2016. The twocountries saw a year-on-year surge of 50.9 percent in trade to 828 million USDlast year.
Since 2012, Vietnam has enjoyed a trade surplus withMyanmar which was estimated at 375 million USD in 2017. But trade with Myanmaronly accounted for 0.2 percent of Vietnam’s total foreign trade and less than 2percent of Vietnam’s trade with ASEAN nations.
Vietnam mostly exports telephones and accessories,iron and steel products, vehicles and parts and machinery to Myanmar while mainimports include fruits and vegetables and maize.-VNA
Vietnam is one of the first countries to promote tradewith Myanmar, said Vu Cuong from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, addingthat made-in-Vietnam goods are popular among Myanmar consumers due to theirquality and prices.
However, Vietnamese exporters have experienced bumpyrides shipping their products to Myanmar. According to Cuong, in addition tohigh transportation costs, Vietnamese products are facing stiff competitionfrom similar ones from countries such as China and Thailand.
Legal issues remain one of the biggest barriers for doingbusiness in Myanmar, said Nguyen Thanh Nam, director of Viettel Myanmar.Military-run group Viettel is the largest Vietnamese investor in Myanmar withtotal committed investment of approximately 1.4 billion USD to develop a mobilenetwork joint venture.
In Vietnam, building a base transceiver station onlyrequires two or three permits from the local departments of information andcommunications and construction. But to do this in Myanmar, a company mustapply for up to seven permits, from local people to authorities at differentlevels, Nam explained.
Even after getting approval from the government,ministries and other public agencies, a foreign firm must continue working withstate and district governments to complete a number of other administrativesteps, he added.
As Myanmar has just started opening its economy, it hasto regularly amend the legal system. Hence, firms have to be active to keepabreast of changes, the director noted.
Echoing Nam’s view, Dang Hai Nha, Director of the Bankfor Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), Yangon branch, said manylegal documents in Myanmar are too general and briefly explained, making themdifficult for businesses to comprehend.
Cuong from the Ministry of Industry and Trade suggested the Vietnamese producers put more effortsinto improving the quality of their products and studying local consumerculture. They must also invest in branding and label their products in Myanmaror English languages to better inform customers.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, tradebetween Vietnam and Myanmar has grown steadily in recent years. Two-way tradeexpanded at an average pace of 27.3 percent annually from 2010-2016. The twocountries saw a year-on-year surge of 50.9 percent in trade to 828 million USDlast year.
Since 2012, Vietnam has enjoyed a trade surplus withMyanmar which was estimated at 375 million USD in 2017. But trade with Myanmaronly accounted for 0.2 percent of Vietnam’s total foreign trade and less than 2percent of Vietnam’s trade with ASEAN nations.
Vietnam mostly exports telephones and accessories,iron and steel products, vehicles and parts and machinery to Myanmar while mainimports include fruits and vegetables and maize.-VNA
VNA
