HANOI: Nearly 30 Vietnamese firms have registered for an international trade exhibition in Malaysia (Intrade Malaysia 2009), Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

This is the fifth time Vietnamese firms attend the event, and this year willsee the largest contingent from the country to date.

The Vietnamese businesses are involved in import-export activities, construction and materials, food and beverages, tourism, information technology,design consultancy, machinery and industrial equipment.

Intrade Malaysia 2009, scheduled for Nov 10-12 in Kuala Lumpur, is among the largest international interdisciplinary exhibitions and is held annually by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE).

The event expo is an opportunity for businessmen to expand trade in specific areas of cooperation between the two countries’ business circles.

It also contributes to boosting economic-trade cooperation among nations in order to promote trade in Asean as well as in the Asia-Pacific region.

Last year’s expo attracted more than 500 companies from 60 countries. Contracts worth US$700 million were signed during the event.

Malaysia is one of Vietnam’s top 10 trading partners. It ranks third in Southeast Asia, behind Thailand and Singapore.

Malaysia’s foreign direct investment in Vietnam had by Oct 20 reached more than US$18 billion in registered capital, ranking third after Taiwan and the Republic of Korea. — Bernama