The Chilean online newspaper Mercurio quoted Director of Chile's export promotion agency (ProChile), Alicia Fohmann, as saying that with changes in consumption habits and the increasing purchasing power, Vietnam becomes a potential market for Chilean small and medium enterprises.

Speaking at a ceremony in the capital Santiago to mark the opening of a representative office of ProChile in HCM City, Ms Fohmann praised Vietnam’s open-door policies and potential as well as the country’s role in helping Chile expand its economic cooperation with other countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Ms Fohmann said with an average annual growth rate of 8 percent in the three years to come, Vietnam can be considered a “strong tiger” in Asia and attract Chilean enterprises to seek business opportunities in the country.