Vietnamese businesses need to the make the best of Hong Kong as a
gateway for bringing their goods to other markets, said economic
experts.

They also highlighted Hong Kong as a
potential export market for Vietnamese goods during a recent seminar to
discuss ways to boost exports to the territory.

According to Director of the Export Assistance Centre under the Vietnam
Trade Promotion Agency Le Xuan Duong, despite its population of more
than seven million, the Hong Kong Administrative Region recorded a very
high per capita income of 36,000 USD in 2012.

He said
that Hong Kong primarily imports food and foodstuffs from abroad due
to its shortage of cultivated land, which creates favourable conditions
for the Vietnamese agricultural sector to promote exports to this
lucrative market.

Its main advantages are modern
transport infrastructure, low tax rates, minimal government interference
in business, and well developed services for retail and wholesale
trade, he added.

Experts also said that Hong Kong
has the busiest airport in the world for transporting international
cargo and the third busiest container port.

As an
important financial and trade centre for Asia and the world, Hong Kong
is considered an ideal destination for major Asia Pacific companies as
well as a trade and investment gateway linking China with other
countries.

A double tax avoidance agreement between
Vietnam and Hong Kong that became effective on January 2010 has also
helped increase Vietnamese exports to Hong Kong .

In
2012, Vietnam ranked 17 out of 30 countries with the strongest trade
ties with Hong Kong, raking in 4.7 billion USD in total export-import
turnover, of which Vietnam exported 3.7 billion USD, up 12 percent,
and import 1 billion USD worth of goods, up 10.7 percent over a year
earlier.

Key Vietnamese exports include agricultural
produce, office and telecommunication equipment, computers, electronic
and semi-conductor components.-VNA