Ho Chi Minh City integrates AI into trade promotion, seeking international buyers

The signing ceremony of the strategic partnership between Director of Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre Pham Quang Nhat (front row, right) and Arobid Chairman Tran Van Chin.

On October 1, the Ho Chi Minh City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC) and Arobid Technology Joint Stock Company signed a strategic partnership agreement to apply data, technology, and AI in the city's trade and investment promotion activities.

The signing ceremony was attended by Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, along with leaders from ITPC, Arobid, and other delegates.

Not Just Bringing Fairs Online

The focus of the partnership is to build and operate the ITPC Digital Trade & Investment Platform (ITPC Platform), a digital platform supporting fairs, exhibitions, trade connections, trade promotion delegations, and business support programs in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to ITPC, the platform's uniqueness lies not only in transitioning fairs and exhibitions from physical to online but also in reorganising the entire trade promotion journey in the digital environment.

From standardising information, introducing products, finding markets and buyers, to maintaining connections post-program, all are conducted on a single platform.

The ITPC Platform is designed to integrate a global B2B e-commerce marketplace, a Digital Trade Expo, and AI tools to assist businesses in building profiles, conducting in-depth searches, identifying needs, and matching with suitable buyers and partners.

The platform operates on a Before-During-After cycle. Before the program, businesses standardise data, build electronic profiles, and set up digital booths.

During the program, the platform facilitates product introductions, B2B connections, and matches with buyers and partners. After the program, data and connections are maintained to track opportunities and develop transactions.

Mr. Pham Quang Nhat, Director of ITPC, believes that digital transformation in trade promotion should not stop at moving existing processes online but should reorganise the journey to serve businesses based on data.

The platform's data focuses on businesses, products, buyers, requests for quotations (RFQ), markets, projects, and investors, guided by the principles of “accurate – sufficient – clean – live”.

According to Mr. Quang Nhat, the data is owned by the city and stored at the city's data centre. AI will assist in data mining, need identification, searching, and suggesting connections. However, decisions on cooperation, investment, and transactions remain with businesses, investors, and related parties.

ITPC and Arobid collaborate to build a digital trade and investment promotion platform that connects data, B2B, and AI, supporting businesses in expanding their markets, partners, and investment opportunities.

Big Data Finds Markets, Buyers

Mr. Tran Van Chin, Chairman of Arobid, stated that the ITPC Platform will connect to the global B2B e-commerce platform, leveraging data and AI to help businesses find markets and partners.

Arobid currently holds data on approximately 1.5 million businesses worldwide that can be used by AI to assist in analysing industries, identifying markets, and identifying potential buyer groups.

“After two months of trial operation of Ho Chi Minh City's digital investment promotion platform, the system recorded over 26,000 visits from 116 countries, with more than 100 investors expressing interest, and some investors have requested meetings,” Mr. Chin said.

According to the plan, the Digital Trade Expo series is expected to be implemented in 2027, with industry and market selection based on big data analysis.

The construction of the ITPC Platform is taking place in Vietnam, promoting science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation. According to Decision 1968/QD-TTg, the 2025 - 2030 period aims to have 60% of fairs and exhibitions organised in the digital environment.

Under the cooperation agreement, ITPC is responsible for managing and operating the platform, directing programs, developing networks, connecting businesses, and managing data within its authority.

Arobid assumes the role of technology partner, building and optimising infrastructure, integrating B2B solutions, data, Digital Trade Expo, and AI.

Mr. Pham Quang Nhat further stated that the cooperation aims to enhance the capacity to serve businesses and investors in a fast, accurate, and continuous manner with measurable results.

Both parties will continue to concretise the cooperation content into plans, define products, timelines, responsibilities, and evaluation criteria, and periodically review to adjust or expand as needed.

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