A conference connecting Bangladeshi and Thái Bình businesses is held in the northern province of Thái Bình on August 5. — VNA/VNS Photo

THÁI BÌNH — The Business Association in the northern province of Thái Bình on August 5 coordinated with the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry to organise a conference connecting Bangladeshi and Thái Bình businesses.

Besides representatives from the province, the association, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade), 200 businesses from Bangladesh and Thái Bình province attended the conference.

Vice Chairman of the Thái Bình provincial People's Committee Lại Văn Hoàn briefed participants on the province’s socio-economic situation. Despite difficulties and challenges in 2023, Thái Bình reached GRDP of nearly US$2.7 billion, export turnover of $2.6 billion and import value of $1.8 billion, and attracted over $3 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), ranking 5th in the country.

He affirmed that the province was ready to welcome and committed to providing maximum support for Bangladeshi investors in terms of policies, legal procedures for investment, import and export of goods, and customs as well as ensuring a favourable investment, production and business environment. It will always listen to and promptly resolve difficulties, meeting all essential conditions for investors to operate stably and smoothly in the province, Hoàn added.

For his part, Ashraf Ahmed, President of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that with more than 5,000 Bangladeshi member enterprises, the chamber played an important role in developing the Bangladesh economy on the global scale.

Bangladesh currently has competitive investment regulations with many financial and non-financial benefits and a favourable legal environment for investors, such as 100 per cent tax exemption for foreign ownership, bonded warehouses, and protection of intellectual property rights, according to Ahmed. Bangladesh has established Bilateral Investment Agreements (BITs) and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTTs) with 35 countries, including Việt Nam.

He said Bangladesh and Việt Nam had launched many initiatives to enhance economic cooperation, and the bilateral trade partnership between the two countries had been growing. However, there was still much potential, and the two sides needed to strengthen cooperation to exploit each other's strengths, Ahmed said.

The official also emphasised that Bangladeshi enterprises wished to boost business cooperation in Việt Nam, especially in the fields of agricultural product and food processing; finance; healthcare; construction materials; electronics, and garments.

He also hoped that Vietnamese investors in general and Thái Bình province in particular would come to Bangladesh to explore investment cooperation opportunities. — VNS