Dr. Rak Vorrakitpokatorn, President of Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Thailand), revealed that EXIM Thailand opened its fourth representative office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in June 2021. Mr. Jakkrit Piyasirikul has been appointed Chief Representative Office to work in collaboration with the public and private sectors under the Thailand Team to drive Thailand's international trade and investment in various countries in the Greater Mekong Subregion and ASEAN. Loan approvals for Thai entrepreneurs in the CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam) are to be expanded with loan outstanding targeted to reach 50,000 million baht by 2025, a frog-leap growth of 45% from that of 34,500 million baht in 2020. The Bank established its first representative office in Yangon of Myanmar in 2017, followed by those in Vientiane of Lao PDR and Phnom Penh of Cambodia in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The official opening ceremony of the EXIM Thailand's Ho Chi Minh City representative office will be held around the end of 2021 through early 2022.
EXIM Thailand President said that EXIM Thailand has completely established four overseas representative offices in CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam) in accordance with the Ministry of Finance's policy to support Thai exporters and investors in exploring fresh business opportunities in overseas markets to a greater extent, especially in neighboring countries. It is because these countries have great business potential and to which Thai entrepreneurs have familiarity in terms of culture and consumer behaviors that are close to those of Thailand. Besides, having the representative office in Ho Chi Minh City is in line with EXIM Thailand's Dual-track Policy to support Thai entrepreneurs under the Bank's role as "Thailand Development Bank" in conjunction with "One Stop Trading Facilitator for SMEs" in the Vietnamese market.
Vietnam is a market with high trade and investment potential. It has population of almost 100 million, hence adequate labor force to serve business growth and manufacturing of products at lower costs than those of other countries. There has been high demand for goods for people's consumption and for foreign investors' manufacturing. Coupled with the Vietnamese government's policy to promote free trade and foreign direct investment, the country's economy has been growing favorably. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic for the past year, Vietnam has been able to maintain its economic growth at almost 3%, in contrast with most countries around the world which have seen economic contraction. For 2021, the Vietnamese economy tends to grow by as high as 6.5%. In view of this, there are ample opportunities for Thai entrepreneurs to expand their trade and investment in the Vietnamese market. Vietnam is currently the Thailand's 4th largest export market, following such principal markets as the US, China and Japan, respectively. Major export goods from Thailand include motor cars, parts and accessories, plastic resin, chemical products, air-conditioners and parts, and refine fuels, while Thai direct investment in Vietnam go to diverse businesses, such as industrial estate, energy, processed foods, petrochemicals and packaging. Thailand is the 7th largest foreign investor in Vietnam.
Dr. Rak further said that, in promoting consistent expansion of Thai-Vietnamese trade and investment, EXIM Thailand is fully equipped to support Thai exporters by linking value chain with Vietnamese entrepreneurs with export of electronic parts, machinery and construction materials to serve Vietnam's manufacturing sectors. These include promotion of Thai investors in such supporting business as packaging to serve other industries in Vietnam, and food and agricultural product processing in which Thai entrepreneurs have expertise. This has been in line with the Vietnamese government's policy to support value added production and upgrading of agricultural products, as well as investment in renewable energy business in the context of green economy which has been a global priority today and businesses in the New Normal era like e-commerce, fulfillment and digital business.
"EXIM Thailand is ready to promote Thai export and investment in principal markets and new frontiers. Opening of a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City is a part of our effort to synergize EXIM Thailand Team and Thailand Team in joint support and facilitation for trade and investment by Thai entrepreneurs who have potential to drive international trade and investment strategies. This will subsequently contribute to Thailand and ASEAN's development amid changes and challenges of the new business world," added Dr. Rak.