EXIM Thailand Joins Hands with Vietcombank in Supporting Thai-Vietnamese Trade and Investment with Growth Forecast of 10,000 MB in Trade and Investment Value in 2023
EXIM Thailand has collaborated with Vietcombank in promoting Vietnamese entrepreneurs' import of Thai goods and services to a greater extent, and supporting Thai investors in Vietnam with offering of revolving credit facility for business operation to grow Thai-Vietnamese trade and investment value, the growth of which is predicted at approximately 10,000 million baht in 2023 and 10% average per year afterward. This is part of a synergized move toward sustainable development in Asia-Pacific.
General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of Thailand, and Mr. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, witnessed the signing ceremony of the trade and investment support agreement between Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Thailand) and Vietcombank, with Dr. Rak Vorrakitpokatorn, EXIM Thailand President, and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tung, Deputy CEO in charge of the Board of Management of Vietcombank, as the agreement signatories at the Government House on November 16, 2022.
Mr. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Minister of Finance, congratulated this occasion where the bilateral cooperation between EXIM Thailand, a state-owned specialized financial institution under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance with a mission to promote and support export and investment conducive to national development, and Vietcombank, the first state-owned bank listed on the Vietnamese stock exchange and mandated to provide supports through credit facilities for export and import and international financial transactions has taken place. The agreement covers both financial institutions' collaboration in offering reciprocal credit lines and customer referrals and facilitating international transactions, e.g., security agent service and disbursement agent service. This would help make available full-fledged financial and non-financial facilities and services for Thai-Vietnamese entrepreneurs, aiming to stimulate Vietnamese entrepreneurs' import of goods or services from Thailand and encourage greater emergence of investment or joint-investment projects between Thai and Vietnamese investors. The synergy built by the two institutions is anticipated to generate higher Thai-Vietnamese trade and investment value by approximately 10,000 million baht in 2023 and an annual average growth of 10% in the following years.
EXIM Thailand President revealed that EXIM Thailand has synergized with public and private entities alongside working with Thailand Team under its role as "Thailand Development Bank" seeking to build strong and sustainable Thai economic warriors on the global front. The Bank has envisaged Vietnam as a new frontier with high potential, recording a population of almost 100 million and consistent economic growth rates. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Vietnamese economy is predicted to grow by as high as 6.2% in 2023 and by an annual average of 6.6% for the next 5 years. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government has a policy to promote free trade and foreign direct investment (FDI). Vietnam has been among top of the list of countries having inked highest number of free trade agreements (FTAs) and one of target destinations for investors from around the world. This has been reflected by Vietnam's FDI net inflow over 2012-2021 which recorded an average growth of 7.9% per year, compared with that of global FDI of only 3.3%. In view of this, Thai entrepreneurs would have ample opportunities to expand their trade and investment to Vietnam.
In 2021, Thai-Vietnamese trade value was as high as around 620,000 million baht, making Vietnam the 2nd largest ASEAN trade counterpart of Thailand, following Malaysia. For the past decade, Vietnam has played a significant role as a principal market for Thai export with an almost doubled growth in export value. Meanwhile, Thailand has been the 8th largest foreign investor in Vietnam with accumulated investment value of around 13,000 million US dollars or approximately 470,000 million baht. Thai investment in Vietnam has been scattered in diverse businesses, such as industrial estate, energy, processed food, petrochemical and packaging businesses.
"Vietnam has today turned over from a competitor to a major trade counterpart on which Thailand has increasingly relied and depended. EXIM Thailand is fully equipped to perform beyond banking to assist Thai entrepreneurs in building up connectivity with production supply chains for export to Vietnam and global markets. Most businesses in Vietnam aim to drive Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economy, which is in response to Thai government policy and global efforts toward net zero emissions, as well as solid and sustainable development from local to Asia-Pacific regional and global communities at large," added Dr. Rak.