The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mzwandile Masina has urged Vietnamese companies to invest in the South African manufacturing sector and contribute in the industrialisation of the country.
Deputy Minister Masina was speaking during the 3rd Session of the South Africa-Vietnam Joint Trade Committee (JTC) which took place at the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) offices in Pretoria today. The session was co-chaired by Deputy Minister Masina and his Vietnamese counterpart, Mr Do Thang Hai.
“A concerted effort must be put on promoting bilateral investments between South Africa and Vietnam. I would like to invite Vietnamese companies to seek investment opportunities in our manufacturing sector. In particular, there are sizeable investment opportunities for Vietnamese companies in the manufacturing of wood products, textiles and garments, as well as in mining beneficiation,” said Masina.
He added that for SA the key priority remained the promotion of investment in infrastructure and manufacturing in order to break out of the commodity dependence, and to increase the manufacturing base for value-added products.
Masina urged the Vietnamese to undertake trade missions to SA with the aim of promoting sourcing of value-added products and bring investors that will invest in key sectors of the SA economy as provided for in the country’s Industrial Policy Action Plan.
“Investing in South Africa will put Vietnamese companies in an economy that has access to the rest of Africa which provides a market of over one billion people,” explained Masina.
He said total trade between the two countries has increased from R3.7 billion in 2010 to R18.4 billion in 2015.
“This represents a marked improvement in our trade. This was due to SA’s demand for Vietnamese products such as footwear, printing machines and furniture. SA on the other hand exported primary products including fresh fruits. I believe that there is a scope to improve our trade relations and focus on targeted sectors that are aligned to our objectives of industrialising our economy,” said Masina.
He added that SA would continue to pursue export opportunities in Vietnam through undertaking Outward Selling Missions to promote SA’s value-added products in Vietnam. He announced that the dti will be leading a delegation of fifteen SA companies on a mission to Vietnam this month. The companies are operating in the agro-processing, water management, oil and gas, mining and capital equipment sectors.
Deputy Minister Thang Hai said his country was impressed by the expansion of total bilateral trade volumes between SA and Vietnam. He added that there was a need for the two countries to create more favourable conditions for trade and investment for business people from the two countries to do business.
Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mzwandile Masina and his Vietnamese counterpart, Mr Do Thang Hai exchanging the minutes of 3rd Session of the SA-Vietnam Joint Trade Committee after signing them.
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe
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E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
