EuroCham and EVBN promoted Vietnam towards Belgian enterprises in Brussels

On 14 June 2017 in Brussels, Mr. Miguel Charneco, former EuroCham Executive Committee Member, represented both EuroCham and the EU-Vietnam Business Network (EVBN) during the business seminar “Opportunities for Belgian enterprises in Asia”. The event was co-organised by the Brussels Enterprises Commerce and Industry (BECI) and the EU-Asia Business Link (EALink) project. The seminar attracted over 30 Belgian enterprises interested in Asian markets.

With his presentation on “Doing business in Vietnam”, Mr. Charneco promoted Vietnam as a potential business destination and one of the most dynamic markets among the emerging Asian economies.  In addition, his presentation also focused on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and its potential to is unlock many opportunities in Vietnam. These stem from the various commitments contained in the EVFTA, such as those related to massive tariff reduction, trade facilitation, investment protection, sustainable development and economic restructuring. 

Mr. Charneco also highlighted investment trends in those which are expected to become the key relevant sectors in Vietnam after the EVFTA, including Clean Energy, Food, Agriculture & Aquaculture Business, Machinery, Nutritional Food, and Pharmaceuticals. He referred to some of the challenges in doing business in Vietnam and the importance of understanding its cultural dimension.

Mr. Miguel Charneco presenting on business opportunities in Vietnam 
 

At the seminar, several presentations were delivered on a number of Asian markets, including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines. Vietnam attracted much attention from the audience, which showed enthusiasm for the improvement of the business environment and Vietnam’s current efforts to integrate into the world economy, in particular with the EVFTA’s implementation.

After the presentation, Mr. Charneco manned the Vietnam desk for one-on-one meetings with Belgian enterprises. He discussed in more detail about Vietnamese market, sharing his local market knowledge, cultural understanding and sharing contacts with Belgian enterprises interested in doing business in Vietnam.

Mr. Miguel Charneco during one-on-one meetings with Belgian enterprises
 

Mr. Miguel Charneco during one-on-one meeting with Belgian enterprises. Both the audience and the organizers highly appreciated the valuable and energetic contribution of EuroCham Vietnam and EVBN to the seminar, towards a strengthened presence of European enterprises, and Belgian enterprises in particular in the Vietnamese market.