Saudi Arabian businesses want to double profits in Vietnam

Saudi Arabia imports twice as much from Vietnam as it exports, so it wants to boost investment in emerging sectors to balance trade and increase business profits.

This comment was shared by Mr. Hassan Al Hwaiziy, Chairman of the Federation of Saudi Arabian Chambers of Commerce (FSC) at the Vietnam - Saudi Arabia Business Forum on October 19, during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh 's visit to the country and his attendance at the ASEAN - GCC Summit.

Saudi Arabia is currently Vietnam's second largest trading partner in the Middle East, but Mr. Hassan Al Hwaiziy ​​said that the country's imports of goods from Vietnam are twice as much as its exports. Therefore, Saudi Arabia needs to increase exports to balance the trade balance and have more goods present in the Vietnamese market.

Last year, the "oil giant" exported 400 billion USD, of which non-oil products reached 84 billion USD. The FSC Chairman shared that Saudi Arabia's competitive advantages are megacities, megacities, along with global supply chain initiatives, economic corridors between India, the Gulf countries, and Europe. In the economic corridor chain, Saudi Arabia is a strategic axis and Vietnam is the starting point of this corridor.

With this advantage, he said, Saudi Arabian businesses want to double their profits in Vietnam. "Vietnam needs to create conditions to attract investment capital in areas with strengths such as steel, solar energy, or emerging industries, including food industry, textiles, tourism, " Mr. Hassan Al Hwaiziy ​​expressed.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh acknowledged that the two countries have room for development due to many similarities and breakthroughs. He hoped that after this visit, the two countries would further consolidate their political foundations to promote deeper and more sustainable business cooperation.

There is a lot of room for investment, but according to the Government leader, the issue is connecting with each other to cooperate in emerging industries, such as digital transformation, green transformation and development not based on oil and coal resources, but on innovation, science and technology.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the Vietnam - Saudi Arabia Business Forum on October 19, during his visit and attendance at the ASEAN - GCC Summit in Riyadh. Photo: Nhat Bac

More specifically, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong pointed out Vietnam's advantages compared to other countries in the region, such as political stability, high economic growth; young and abundant human resources; competitive production costs. In addition, Vietnam is a potential market and open policy with many competitive incentives, as well as a suitable strategic location for deep participation in the global supply chain.

Saudi Arabia is one of Vietnam’s leading economic partners in the Middle East. As of September 20, the country had 7 direct investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of over 8.7 million USD. Saudi Arabian investors invest in the fields of processing, manufacturing, retail, and auto and motorbike repair in Bac Ninh, Binh Duong, and Da Nang. Meanwhile, Vietnam currently has no investment projects in Saudi Arabia.

"Vietnam wants Saudi Arabian investment funds with abundant financial resources and a wide network to participate in connecting to attract financial resources, including green finance, to help Vietnam develop infrastructure and fulfill green and sustainable growth commitments," Deputy Minister Phuong expressed.

In the field of trade, according to Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, the import-export structure between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia is not directly competitive, but complementary.

With strong financial potential and a developed oil industry, he hopes that Saudi Arabian businesses will soon have investment projects in areas where Vietnam has demand and good investment incentives such as energy (oil and gas, clean energy, energy infrastructure development), manufacturing and processing industry, new materials, and logistics.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and FSC Chairman Hassan Al Hwaiziy ​​attended the Vietnam - Saudi Arabia Business Forum on October 19 in Riyadh. Photo: Nhat Bac

On the other hand, representatives of Saudi Arabian businesses attending the forum said that Vietnam has a great opportunity to export Halal products and food to countries in the Middle East and Gulf regions. Currently, the population of 57 Muslim countries accounts for about 25% of the global population, while the Middle East region alone "converges" many of the world's richest countries thanks to their large oil and gold reserves, such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, etc.

Mr. Waqas Akram, Director of Emi Viet Company (a consulting unit in the field of food, construction materials, and tourism according to Halal standards) said that Vietnam's agricultural products, vegetables, fruits, and spices (pepper, cinnamon, star anise) basically meet the standards, but frozen meat is still limited.

They cooperated with 10 Vietnamese businesses to connect and bring Halal products to the Middle East market. Mr. Waqas Akram suggested that Vietnamese businesses need to adjust, accept changes and invest to make products meet Halal standards, increasing the export of these items to the Middle East market. In turn, this will also help Vietnam attract more tourists, mostly wealthy businessmen, from the Gulf countries.

Regarding the development of the Halal agriculture and food industry , Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam can meet the needs of Saudi Arabia thanks to its abundant labor force. There are currently over 5,000 Vietnamese workers living and working in Saudi Arabia. In addition, Vietnam is negotiating a free trade agreement with the UAE, expected to be completed by the end of this year, which will help open up the markets of Gulf countries.

"The Vietnamese Government is committed to ensuring the legitimate investment rights and interests of enterprises, in order to enhance the interests of foreign investors in the Vietnamese market," said the Prime Minister.

Leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Planning and Investment attending the forum also pledged to create favorable conditions for Saudi Arabian investors to do effective and long-term business in Vietnam, and to support Vietnamese goods to penetrate deeper into the Middle East market.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is visiting Saudi Arabia and attending the first ASEAN-GCC Summit, at the invitation of Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, from October 18-20.

This is the first time the leaders of ASEAN and GCC countries have met after 33 years of establishing relations. The leaders are expected to adopt a Joint Statement after the Summit ends.

In the first seven months of this year, the two countries' import-export turnover reached 1.6 billion USD, up 7.4% over the same period in 2022. Many Saudi Arabian corporations are investing directly and indirectly in Vietnam.

Vnexpress.net