HANOI - The Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade in cooperation with China's Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in Vietnam hosted the workshop "Successful business in Hong Kong Market" in southern Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday to promote trade ties.

During the conference, participants discussed issues of branding, designing and marketing divisions to serve market expansion strategies, assert positions and images of companies as well as creative trends for small and medium-scale businesses operating in different sectors.

Loretta Wan, HKTDC's Regional Director, Southeast Asia and India said that HKTDC hopes to further cooperate with Vietnam's trade organizations, especially in fields of exhibition and fair activities.

China's Hong Kong is not only a potential market but also an important gateway for goods entering the Chinese mainland and other countries.

Recently, the Vietnam-Hong Kong trade relations have seen a strong growth. The two-way trade turnover reached $8.4 billion in 2011, and in the first two months of this year, the figure was $526.4 million, an increase of 103.4 percent year-on-year.

Vietnam's exports to Hong Kong mainly with electronic and spare parts, cables, rice and seafood products.

As the end of 2011, Hong Kong invested in 49 projects in Vietnam, with a total capital of about $3 billion, accounting for 26 percent of the country's total foreign direct investment.