Vietnam footwear maker Biti's opens office in China
HANOI, Feb 13 Asia Pulse - Vietnam's best known maker of durable footwear, Biti's, has made its first foray into the giant
Chinese market with the opening of a representative office in China's southern province of Yunnan.
The representative office marks Biti's first step towards eventually setting up its own factory in Vietnam's northern neighbour.
The office will promote the company's business in China, build up relations with local authorities and secure a foothold in this
huge market.
Pham To Uyen, chief executive of Biti's Northern Areas Agent, said the office would assist the company to operate effectively
in China.
"It will deliver advantages such as simplified import-export procedures, and opportunities to sell huge volumes of our products,"
he said.
"In addition, China's tariff rate for imports is 3 per cent lower than for imports to the United States."
Biti's Deputy Director Le Phung Hao said China's export advantage into the US will soon be levelled-off when the Vietnam-US
Trade Agreement comes into effect.
But instead of trying to edge their way into the US, Biti's will focus on tapping the Chinese market. He added that the running
costs of the Chinese office were small, but advertising there is still very expensive.
The Vietnamese footwear giant's products are already exported to nearly 40 countries. In China, Biti's products first appeared
in 1990 and have became popular there.
Last year, the company earned US$1.5 million from exports to China, and the figure is expected to increase to $2 million this
year. That accounts for a quarter of its total export revenue.
At present, the representative office is run by three staff, one Vietnamese and two Chinese, and is supported by 30 business
officers working in Biti's Lao Cai branch on Vietnam's northern frontier, just 1km across the border from the Chinese province
of Yunnan.
Biti's is currently preparing to launch representative offices in other countries, and executives said the recent China move would
give the company invaluable experience, especially in techniques for negotiating local business laws and administrative
formalities.
Vietnam news Agency - February 13, 2001.
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