Vietnamese market to debut in Malaysia next March

The first Vietnamese market in Malaysia is scheduled to be inaugurated in March 2020 with a scale of 20 pavilions, the Investment & Trade Promotion Centre of Ho Chi Minh City (ITPC) announced at a ceremony held in the city on November 9.

Tansri Matshah Safuan, Chairman of Safuan Group (Malaysia), introduces the Vietnam Market project. (Photo: VNA)
Tansri Matshah Safuan, Chairman of Safuan Group (Malaysia), introduces the Vietnam Market project. (Photo: VNA)

Tansri Matshah Safuan, Chairman of Safuan Group (Malaysia), said that Vietnam Market in Kuala Lumpur is the first large-scale trading center for Vietnam-Malaysia cooperation, which has been formed on the basis of real needs for Vietnamese goods and services in Malaysia. He hailed the market as an important bridge to boost the exports of Vietnamese commodities to Singapore, Thailand and other ASEAN markets.

The Vietnam Market will feature six floors in the Safuan Plaza building, located in the most dynamic area of Kuala Lumpur, next to major shopping centres, commercial streets and famous tourist sites. The venue will be open to Vietnamese exporters of agricultural products, seafood, handicraft and fine art products, garment & textiles, mechanics, machinery, cosmetics, proprietary technologies and service industries. It is also an ideal place for Vietnamese businesses to conduct investment and expand their operations in Malaysia.

According to Nguyen Tuan, Deputy Director of ITPC, Malaysia is currently the sixth largest trading partner of Vietnam, behind China, the Republic of Korea, the United States, Japan and Thailand, and the second largest trading partner of Vietnam among ASEAN countries. Vice versa, Vietnam is the 12th largest trading partner of Malaysia, the fourth largest of the country in the ASEAN bloc, and one of the largest rice suppliers to Malaysia.

ITPC Deputy Director Nguyen Tuan speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: VNA)

In 2018, Vietnam exported US$8.47 billion worth of products to Malaysia and imported US$4.77 billion worth of commodities from the country. The major exports to Malaysia included computers, electronic products and components, phones and accessories, iron and steel, glass and glass products, and rice. In the first six months of 2019, Vietnam’s export revenue in the Malaysian market reached US$3.52 billion, with strong growth seen in machinery and equipment (up 66.3%), means of transport (up 21.6%), aquatic products and seafood (up 13.2%), footwear (up 17.3%), and garment & textiles (up 11.2%).

The Vietnam Market project is expected to contribute to further accelerating Vietnam-Malaysia trade exchange and boost the exports of Vietnam’s strength goods to Malaysia, thereby approaching other markets. It also creates favourable conditions for Malaysians to directly select and purchase quality products of Vietnam.