WB to Help Vietnam Improve Trade Competition

The World Bank (WB) will support Vietnam to promote export competitiveness, the government said on its website Oct 12. The information was released at a conference on evaluating the status of trading and improvement strategic system, held by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and WB in Ho Chi Minh City on Oct 11. The conference, which was in the framework of the WB’s program that was designed to support Vietnam to outline favorable policies for trading activities, aimed to assist Vietnam in issuing policies and solutions to boost exports. It also expects to sharpen the national competitiveness, encouraging Vietnamese businesses to join the global supply chains, reducing expenditure for export products and raising price competitiveness on the market. Vietnam has to create an export development strategy that should focus on human resources, trade promotion activities, forecasting works and update market information, experts said. Vietnam is forecast to fetch $95 billion from exports this year, rising 36% from a year earlier, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Thanh Bien said. (www.news.gov.vn Oct 12)