Representatives cut the ribbon to open Trade Office of the Austrian Embassy in HCM City.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Harald Mahrer, President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, said that HCM City is an ideal destination for investment in Southeast Asia. Therefore, the number of Austrian firms seeking partnership opportunities in the city is rising, he said.

Mahrer said that the office aims to provide accurate and full information about the Vietnamese market to Austrian companies, while linking them with their Vietnamese peers and authorised agencies.

He noted that HCM City is developing impressively, becoming an attractive business destination, adding that the establishment of the office shows Austria’s interest in investing in the city and Vietnam as a whole.

Nguyen The Hung, Vice Director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)’s HCM City Branch, said that the Vietnam-Austria economic-trade cooperation has developed positively over the years.

Vietnam is currently the biggest trade partner of Austria in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while Austria is now the 6th largest trade partner of Vietnam in the European Union, with two-way trade reaching 4.3 billion USD in 2018.

In HCM City, Austria is now the fourth biggest foreign investor with total investment of 41 million USD, he noted, adding that the results have yet to match the potential of both sides.

Hung said that Austrian firms are strong in high technology and innovation, while HCM City is building a smart city and strengthening renovation. Thus, the partnership opportunities between the two sides are abundant, he said.

The setting up of the Trade Office of the Austrian Embassy in HCM City will enable both sides to increase information sharing and foster collaboration in implementing investment projects, he added.

Dietmar Schwank, Austrian Trade Councilor in Vietnam who manages the office, showed his belief in HCM City’s growth in the future.

He pledged that the office will carry out various Vietnam-Austria trade promotion and business connection activities, while popularising the potential and business chances in HCM City to the business community of Austria, thus improving two-way trade.-VNA