TPP help for Ha Noi businesses

Ha Noi had attracted the third largest foreign investment in Viet Nam, after HCM City and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, Nguyen Gia Phuong, director of the Ha Noi Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Centre, said at a seminar on advantages and challenges for Ha Noi when Viet Nam joins the TPP in Ha Noi late last week.

According to the Centre, when the nation becomes a TPP member, the capital city will have numerous opportunities to woo many sources of investment, especially direct investment to the high quality service industry, textiles and garments, support industry, and industrial infrastructure, in addition to the agricultural sector. Meanwhile, the city has advantages in terms of the high quality labour force, available production material and developed infrastructure.

The demand for office space and hotels is expected to increase so Ha Noi's property sector also has huge opportunities to attract more foreign investment. Via foreign investment projects, the city will also have the opportunity to seek superior technology, management skills and creation of high value-added services.

Phuong said Ha Noi would also receive large indirect foreign investment via merger and acquisition activities because it is one of the two cities with the largest number of enterprises in Viet Nam.

However, the city would face a challenge in trade and investment, experts said, including strong competition on the home and foreign markets with more complicated technical barriers and stricter standards in food safety.

Therefore, Ha Noi should promote co-operation with partners who are TPP members and solve difficulties in tax and customs for enterprises, Phuong said.

The city should focus on advertising its key export products to support its enterprises with regard to partners and expansion of the market, he said.

In particular, it should reform investment incentive policies to focus on their quality and have specific development policies for some key sectors such as textiles and garments.

Nguyen Hung Sinh, deputy director of Ha Noi Agricultural Product Export Company, said the city should receive support in expanding the export market for enterprises by building an international quality management system and implementing efficient trade promotion programmes.

Specifically, Ha Noi should develop human resources for development and expansion of the market. Meanwhile, enterprises should conduct thorough market research to usher in reasonable marketing plans.

The enterprises should also improve the competitive ability of their export products and the skills of their labour force to take full advantage of the TPP, he said.