Turkey's business circles invest over $700M in Vietnam

By Musab Turan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish business circles with over $700 million investments in Vietnam will take an opportunity to step further, according to head of Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK).

Speaking at the opening ceremony of Turkey-Vietnam Business and Investment Forum on Monday, Nail Olpak said DEIK continues its efforts to raise the trade volume between Turkey and Vietnam.

"This forum is a great opportunity to exchange ideas on how public-private sector cooperation projects can be implemented in Vietnam, especially in the construction and contracting sectors," Olpak said.

Olpak noted the economic infrastructure in both countries, qualified human resources, domestic market, export opportunities, and the growing and diversified production sectors are favorable for the growth of economies.

"I believe Turkish and Vietnamese economies will continue growing and creating employment for new generations through collaboration and cooperation," Olpak said.

Olpak stressed that DEIK is working on developing trade relations with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vietnam.

Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the head of the National Assembly of Vietnam, said the total foreign investment in his country reached $333 billion in 2018, and $180 billion of that was invested in the industry, real estate and tourism areas.

"Turkish investments with $708 million ranked 26th among countries investing in Vietnam. It is possible to increase this," she noted.

Describing Turkey a as “dynamic investor” in the world, Ngan said Vietnam created the most favorable conditions for Turkish companies to invest in her country.

Dang Hoang An, Vietnam’s deputy minister of industry and trade, said his country mostly exports mobile phones, leather shoes and textile products to Turkey, while Turkey mostly exports chemical products to Vietnam.

"Investments between the two countries are going well, but our potential is higher," he noted.

Last year, Turkey’s exports to Vietnam totalled over $237 million, while the country's imports from Vietnam were around $3.05 billion, according to Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data.