Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Chamber of Commerceand Industry (VCCI) and the Vietnam Intellectual Property Association (VIPA) helda seminar in Hanoi on October 29 to discuss trademarks in corporate developmentstrategy.

VCCI Vice Chairman Hoang Quang Phong described trademarkbuilding as a crucial factor to help firms better compete with domestic andforeign ones.

He said that most small- and medium-sized enterprises haveyet to pay attention to the building of trademarks and so consumers tend tochoose foreign brands despite similarities in quality and design betweendomestic and foreign-made options.

According to a survey recently conducted by the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade, only 20 percent of Vietnamese enterprises invest in brandbuilding, and most of them register trademarks at home instead of on foreignmarkets.

Phong said several well-known Vietnamese brands such asTrung Nguyen coffee, Vinamit dried jackfruit, and Bitis footwear were copiedabroad, making it hard for them to expand markets and compete with foreign brands.

Although Vietnam is among the top exporters of quality rice,coffee, and pepper, demand for farm produce labelled with Vietnamese brandsremain modest, he said.

Nguyen Nhu Quynh, deputy chief of inspection at the Ministryof Science and Technology, said that if firms are unaware of the role of branding,they will lose development opportunities on the international arena.

Nguyen Duc Son, Director of Richard Moore Associates, said thattrademark building should go hand-in-hand with the rise in product and servicequality. –VNA