Muhammad Saleem

The Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) is exploring joint venture opportunities with entrepreneurs from Vietnam.

Waheed Khaliq, an industrialist and member of the FCCI, told WealthPK that Vietnam was exhibiting impressive growth in the industrial, agriculture, and services sectors. Pakistan needs to collaborate with the thriving economies to generate jobs for its youth, he said. He pointed out that a study of Vietnam’s strategies revealed that its broad-based economic transformation approaches fueled the country’s rapid growth.

He said the entrepreneurial spirit of industrialists of Faisalabad, coupled with their innovative approaches and business achievements, spoke volumes for their potential. “The industrialists of Faisalabad are capable of meeting the international standards. However, the skyrocketing cost of energy is hampering their businesses. We cannot gain ground while grappling with the surging prices of energy, fluctuating supply, and uncontrollable raw material costs,” he added.

He said the entrepreneurs in Vietnam were well aware of the impressive potential of the textile sector of Pakistan. It is the need of the hour to build bridges with them so that the Pakistani investors and businessmen can launch joint ventures, he added. He praised the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) for its efforts towards opening doors for business collaboration with Vietnam. He noted that Faisalabad accounted for 30 percent of Pakistan’s textile production and 44 percent of textile exports.

Highlighting the business volume of Vietnam, he said that last year, its global exports surpassed $405.5 billion, while imports stood at $380.8 billion. Besides, he said Vietnam also managed to secure about $25.35 billion in foreign direct investment. “We have also learned that Vietnam is expanding business relationships, having signed agreements with 34 countries. Pakistan must follow in its footsteps to foster global business relations, as the textile sector of Faisalabad can efficiently meet their requirements,” he said.

“We can efficiently enhance our trade with Vietnam, as the bilateral trade of both countries stood at around $750 million in 2023 – a figure that shows we are already on the right track.” He said the total import ($328million) and export ($522million) turnover reached about $850 million last year. Beyond textiles, he said Pakistan could join hands with Vietnam in other sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, information technology, tourism, and processed meat.

Pakistan needs business-friendly policies and sustainable strategies to boost trade and investment in these sectors. Waheed Khaliq said that despite bilateral trade, both sides knew their trade volume was negligible compared to the potential of their industries and economic strengths. He said that a couple of weeks ago, the Vietnamese envoy visited the FCCI and met with its members. Both sides put their heads together to share ideas of mutual interest, aiming to boost bilateral trade volume.

Credit: INP-WealthPk