India-Vietnam bilateral trade likely to reach USD 20 bn by 2020

Vietnam is currently India’s tenth largest trade partner. The two-way trade between Vietnam and India is expected to touch USD 8 billion this year and could rise slowly to USD 10 billion in 2015 and is likely to reach USD 20 billion by 2020, country’s ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh said during his meeting with the members of the Exim Club Association of Exporters and Importers, yesterday.

Thanh is in Gujarat to attend the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit held in Gandhinagar. The ambassador thanked India for offering a USD 300 million line of credit for trade diversification and strengthening of commercial ties, hoping that it will enable Vietnam to import more polyester fabrics and yarns from India.

Currently, nearly half of Vietnam’s imports of raw yarn and fabrics come from China. India’s offer of a line of credit aims at diversifying Vietnam’s source of materials and thus reducing its dependence on China.

Thanh said that Vietnam wants to import cotton from India and seeks investment of Indian companies in textile, chemical dyes and other sectors. Also, Indian companies will be allowed to have joint venture in Vietnam.

India ranks 30th on Vietnam’s investment ladder. Figures for the number of projects financed by Indian direct investment vary from 69 to 84 as of September 2014.