HKVCC organised a meeting for HKVCC members with 18 delegates from 10 Ministries of Vietnam, headed by H.E. Mr Ho Xuan Son, Member of the Party Central Committee and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs on 31 July 2013 to discuss the latest economic and investment prospects in Vietnam and cooperation projects with Hong Kong companies. Hong Kong was the last leg of the delegation’s visit to China for the implementation of cooperation for mutual development in the Tonkin Gulf Economic Belt.

The 10 Ministries led by H.E. Mr Ho Xuan Son were the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Office of Government of Vietnam, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Ministry of Defense.

Speaking at the meeting, Dr Jonathan Choi, Chairman of HKVCC said, “This meeting offered a good chance for HKVCC members to meet with the 10 Ministries from Vietnam to learn about the latest information of Vietnam, including the business and investment opportunities in Vietnam and the cooperation between China and Vietnam in the Tonkin Gulf Economic Belt. Vietnam is one of the ASEAN countries with great potential for business development. Recently, the ASEAN countries have agreed to start discussions on Hong Kong joining the ‘ASEAN Free Trade Area’ as a separate entity.”

Dr Choi emphasized that, "The relationship between Hong Kong and Vietnam will be further strengthened and this will benefit Hong Kong’s role to promote the development of the Tonkin Gulf Economic Belt, particularly for the development of the Hong Kong – Guangxi – Vietnam tri-party cooperation."

H.E. Mr Ho Xuan Son, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, is a former Consul General of Vietnam in Hong Kong. On the recent developments of China – Vietnam and Vietnam – Hong Kong, he said, "As Vietnam and China have already strengthened their relationship, it was decided that the two countries will further promote their economic and trade cooperation, and strive to increase bilateral trade from US$ 50 billion to US$ 65 billion in 2015.”

He added that, “I hope that HKVCC will continue to contribute more in the future to further strengthen the bilateral cooperation between Vietnam and Hong Kong. I also hope that Hong Kong companies will be more active in making investments in Vietnam, including the Tonkin Gulf Economic Belt which is still under development now, for the promotion of the Sino-Vietnamese bilateral connections.

During the meeting, HKVCC members spoke highly on recent improvements on the business and investment environment made by the Vietnamese Government. One member reported that its company will build a second garment plant in Vietnam with a budgeted investment of more than US$ 200 million and hope that the Vietnamese Government will provide preferential investment policies to long-term foreign investors, such as land policy. Other members also raised questions relating to labour, stabilization of exchange rates and government support for technological testing. All questions were answered in detail by senior officials from various Ministries.

During the Q & A session, HKVCC members raised questions on the latest economic environment and policies of Vietnam to the delegation.

Dr Jonathan Choi, Chairman of HKVCC hosted the meeting.