Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The trend of international economicintegration has been opening up many trade opportunities for the Vietnamesebusiness community. However, there are also many scams that cause local firmsto suffer heavy losses.

This was heard at a workshop "Prevention of disputes and fraud ininternational trade - experiences for Vietnamese businesses from the case ofcashew nut containers" held in Hanoi on August 23.

In March, the business community expressed concern regarding a case in whichcashew nut containers had problems with shipping documents sent to Italy andTurkey, meaning there was a risk the shipments would be lost.

With the desire to share experiences on the case with the business community aswell as help improve their understanding of international commercial law, the VietnamChamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in collaboration with the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade organised the event. This also aimed to identify similarrisks in commercial activities; thereby preventing and avoiding disputes andfraud when implementing import-export transactions.

Dau Anh Tuan, head of VCCI’s Legal Department, said according to the GlobalAssociation of Anti-Fraud Professionals, every year, businesses globally arescammed and lose about 5% of their revenue. The average scam is worth aboutUS$1.7 million. In 2022 alone, up to 46% of global businesses said they werevictims of fraud and economic crime.
In Vietnam, 52% of businesses have experienced fraud or economiccrime in the two years before the survey, higher than the 46% rate in theAsia-Pacific region and 49% globally. Meanwhile, Vietnamese businesses have notpaid attention to anti-fraud measures. Also, there are few Vietnamese enterprisesreporting to the management agency for fear of information being leaked to thepublic.

He hoped that experts, associations and the business community seriouslyconsider this problem and find solutions to avoid such scams and minimiselosses due to fraud.

Bah Khanh Nhut, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Cashew Association (Vinacas),spoke about the fraud of 76 containers of cashew exports to Italy and gaverecommendations to associations and businesses in other economic sectors andfields.

He said in this case, Vietnamese businesses were overly trusting of brokeragecompanies and did not check out information. During the COVID-19 pandemic,large orders made it easy for businesses to be negligent because they wanted tosell goods; especially at a time when there were few transactions in themarket. In addition, the payment method has risks.

He said, in international business, the role of a broker is very important, butbusinesses need to have an independent check on partners. This is why the roleof the Trade Office in foreign countries is very important.

“Local firms need to be alert to unusual signs from partners; although,scammers often use very sophisticated tricks. They should use more securepayment methods and exchange information with colleagues to detect signs offraud. It is necessary to report it quickly and ask for the help of industryassociations when the incident occurs. At the same time, businesses need to beproactive and make efforts in solving their own cases," he added.

Ngo Khac Le, an arbitrator of Vietnam International Arbitration Centre andDeputy General Secretary of Vietnam Logistics Business Association, suggestedthat Vietnamese firms could appoint a collection bank or require a depositto limit losses and prevent risks. They should be more cautious when dealingwith new partners for the first time. They should also call to find out thespecific person's name, mobile number and use the company's email address tomake it easier to identify the person or company in the future.

Lawyer Phan Vu Anh, Head of the Legal Department, inspector of Northern FoodCorporation, said that when resolving disputes, businesses should pay attentionto the specificity of each country and market.

“For example, if in a country with strong businesses and long-standingpartners, we may be willing to accept the host country's arbitration agency.But in case we do not have a relationship, it is difficult to accessinformation, businesses need to change their approach,” he said.

He added that even when winning in overseas disputes, the enforcement is alsovery complicated. Therefore, businesses need to approach and choose a disputeresolution unit suitable to the actual conditions.

He also noted that businesses always have to build many scenarios to anticipateand respond to risks. At the same time, it is very important to determine howto build business relationships with the Vietnamese Trade Office abroad becauseeven if there is no dispute, businesses can still receive a lot of support fromthese agencies./.