A delegation of Vietnamese business executives and government leaders visited Little Rock on Friday as part of a three-day tour of Arkansas that included visits to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Tyson Foods Inc.
Included on the trip, part of an effort to expand trade ties between the southern province of Vietnam and Arkansas, were representatives from the country's logistics, textile, agriculture and food-service companies. Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a memorandum of understanding on June 28 with officials from the province, a move that was hailed as a first step in growing business relationships in Vietnam.
"We have had a very busy trip and have met so many famous companies. We're finding we have a lot of chances to cooperate with them," said Tran Van Vinh, vice chairman of the People's Committee of Dong Nai Province. "For the future, there is a lot of opportunity."
Friday's tour included presentations from Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, the Arkansas Agriculture Council, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Entergy, Ritter Agriculture, Curtis Stout Inc. and Coulson Oil. Sessions were scheduled today with Biff Grimes Coffee, East Arkansas Seeds and York Pecan. In addition to the state's most well-known Fortune 500 companies, the Vietnamese delegation met Thursday with the Northwest Arkansas Council.
Meetings were scheduled by the Roberts Group, an international consulting and legal firm based in Little Rock. Roberts Group Chairman Mike Roberts, a commissioner with the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said he has visited Vietnam four times since June to help solidify trade partnerships.
"We want to make sure they meet the right companies to do business here and also help them find companies who are interested in doing business in Vietnam," Roberts said.
Tin Nghia Corp., a large Vietnamese company involved in agriculture, oil, real estate, building materials and logistics, opened a trade office in Bentonville last year. This week the company was investigating sites where it might operate warehousing and distribution operations for a coffee bean operation. Tin Nghia also has expressed interested in bringing at least a portion of its furniture-making operation to the U.S.
Le Van Danh, deputy general director of Tin Nghia Corp., said the company was looking at sites in both Northwest and central Arkansas. Tin Nghia hasn't committed to a date when the distribution center would open, but Van Danh said the company wants to "expedite the process."
"We are analyzing this to see what is best from a transportation perspective," Van Danh said. "The distribution center has to logistically be near Wal-Mart, but also a good distance to the Port of Houston."
With a population of 90 million and a growing interest in American food, Van Vinh said pursuing additional ties to Tyson Foods makes sense. Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman declined to get into specifics of what was discussed during Thursday's meeting, but said the company maintains an interest in learning about opportunities to grow its international business.
"We supply products to customers in more than 130 countries, so we occasionally meet with dignitaries, leaders and business people from other nations," Sparkman said. "Of course topics vary from meeting to meeting, but generally our discussions revolve around trade and agriculture. We're always pleased to learn more about global needs and consider ways we can help supply the growing demand for protein in other countries."
Trips to Dallas, Austin and Houston also were on the group's itinerary for the week. During one meeting Friday in Little Rock, Danny Games, deputy director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, offered what he described as a "detailed orientation" of incentives and financing that might be available for companies interested in pursuing projects in Arkansas. Vietnamese executives also asked questions of Games after the commission's presentation, which was closed to the media.
"We're inviting their questions and potential scenarios and obviously trying to set the stage to have more specific discussions in the future," said Games, who credited the Roberts Group for helping facilitate the meetings in Arkansas. "We're undoubtedly grateful to have the opportunity to showcase the state of Arkansas. This is an important step in the process."
Business on 04/02/2016