Italy seeks cooperation in transport, energy and environment

Representatives of an Italian food processing firm meet local businesspeople at a B2B session in HCMC on Thursday - Photo: Nguyen Huy HCMC – A delegation of Italian engineering companies and contractors in the transport, energy and environment sectors will start a three-day visit to Vietnam this Sunday to sound out business opportunities here.   The Italian Trade Commission (ITC) Trade Promotion Section at the Italian Embassy says in a statement that it will hold several events in Hanoi including a ministerial-level seminar on October 4 and business-to-business (B2B) meetings the following day. The Vietnam trip aims to present Italian companies from the transport, energy and environment sectors and cooperation opportunities with Vietnamese businesses.     According to ITC, over the past five years infrastructure investments in Vietnam have not kept pace with its average annual GDP growth of 7.3%. Citing official sources, it said the country would need about US$165 billion to upgrade its infrastructure over the next five years to meet development goals. A comprehensive study done by the ITC shows the current projects, which will be completed by 2015, in the key sectors of transportation, energy, environment and infrastructure are worth US$85 billion. Besides, Vietnam is encouraging public-private partnerships in infrastructure development. Therefore, Italian companies in the relevant sectors are exploring opportunities in Vietnam and interested in projects to build underground car parks, traffic management systems, highways and green energy facilities. “Vietnam’s steady growth needs increased investment in infrastructure, as acknowledged by the Vietnamese government and by foreign and domestic investors. The seminar will be an excellent chance for Vietnamese companies to forge business and investment opportunities with Italian partners,” Marco Saladini, Italian trade commissioner in Vietnam, said in a statement. The delegation includes four engineering companies – Ideas, Majone and Partners, Molinaro Architettura and Studio Roberto Cortesi, one provider of energy production and transmission products and technologies – Finmeccanica, one major general contractor –n Cmc di Ravenna, one contractor specializing in hydraulic works – Seli, and one company providing turn-key solutions for environmental protection – Perteco. * Italian enterprises in the food processing sector had a business matching event with Vietnamese companies in HCMC on Thursday. Marco Saladini, Italian trade commissioner in Vietnam, said at the incorporated business matching and seminar in the city that Italy would promote Italian machinery for food and vegetable processing in Vietnam. “As there is a strongly growing market for Italian goods in Vietnam with a population of 86 million and GDP growth of about 7%,” he said. The Italian Trade Commission (ITC) targets fostering technological and business collaboration among Italian and Vietnamese enterprises in the field through this event.