In October, two of our Liquidites, Chloe, our Head of PR, and Daisy, our Account Executive, had the opportunity to attend the Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce’s event, celebrating the potential of the Vietnamese business environment.

At Liquid we work with clients all over the world, including North Carolina and Quebec, so we work with the Transatlantic Chamber of Commerce to develop our understanding of foreign markets and to delve into international opportunities. Since opening our office in Brisbane in March 2023, we’ve been able to begin exploring the APAC region more so the opportunity to learn more about the Vietnamese market was right up our street.

The Chamber of Commerce hosted the Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK, Ambassador Nguyen Hoang Long, along with trade delegates from six different provinces across Vietnam to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the UK. Thanks to the Chamber, simultaneous translation was available for all speakers and guests through a set of headphones, meaning that each person could speak and listen in their native language during presentations.

The members of the delegation, who represent 14.7 million consumers from across the country, discussed mutual opportunities for trade relationships. The principal sectors that the nation is involved in are green energy and infrastructure, education, agri-tech, fin-tech and financial services.

One of the regions, that was represented at the summit, was Da Nang, which the City and the Chamber already have a pre-existing relationship with. The Embassy officials discussed the financial services and manufacturing opportunities.

Hearing from such a variety of speakers on a wide range of topics was incredibly eye-opening to all that Vietnam holds and the opportunities it presents, especially considering the 16% increase in bilateral trade, year-on-year, demonstrating the appetite for an increased relationship.

What’s more, there has been a proposed high-speed rail route that would connect the two most urbanised areas in the country: Hanoi, the capital situated in the North, and Ho Chi Minh City in the South. Connecting the North and South would open so many doors, not just for domestic businesses but for international companies as well. 

While the project is not scheduled for completion until 2050, it may be that now is the prime time for companies to firmly establish themselves in Vietnam in preparation for its launch and to take advantage of the current development drive.

At Liquid we have the pleasure of working with several agri-food companies, so we found the discussion on Vietnam’s development of high-tech agriculture really fascinating. Thanks to the local climate and landscape conditions, the land is ideal for crops, vegetables, and rice agriculture.

Annually, Vietnam produces a huge 410,000 tons of rice as well as 40,000 tons of corn. The next several years will only see this increase, with almost 25 thousand hectares of land set to be developed for wet rice cultivation. We’re looking forward to seeing how this market develops and how their products will be marketed and positioned globally.

Our resounding takeaways were that there is so much more to Vietnam than most of us are aware of and there is only more to come from the nation.

Have you considered expanding your operations into Vietnam? Let us know on social media! And if you’re looking for a Birmingham PR agency to support your organisation with strategic communications, get in touch with our team today.