Wood furniture makers bag major deals
Viet Nam News, Vietnam
HCM CITY — Vietnamese furniture companies signed deals worth over US$10 million at an international furniture and handicraft fair held last week in HCM City.
The city furniture industry association credited special designs and handcrafting of products for the slew of orders at the five-day Expo 2006 which ended on Sunday.
Nguyen Chien Thang, chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCMC, said in other cases, though deals might not have been signed, business relations had been initiated between Vietnamese companies and foreign partners.
“This is of major significance since domestic companies then get the opportunity to study design and wood preferences of potential buyers and can promote their exports,” he said.
The fair was attended by 270 companies and attracted more than 11,000 domestic and foreign visitors.
Most prospective buyers were from the US, Australia, Canada, and South Korea.
The Vietnamese firms striking some major deals were the Phong Chau Company for US$1.1 million worth of indoor and outdoor furniture with US and South Korean customers and Nhat Minh Company for $3 million with the US and Canada.
Several seminars were organised on the sidelines, focussing on topics like the US-Viet Nam Furniture Trade and Applying E-Commerce in Promoting Furniture Exports. A discussion titled National brands: the Opportunities and Experiences of Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation Forum (APEC) Economies was also held.
The fourth annual expo was nominated by the Government as an official trade event for Viet Nam’s APEC Year. — VNS