US-China trade war's pains and gains: Hanoi firm hopes trade spat will furnish further opportunities

As US-China trade talks were on the verge of collapse two months ago, furniture firm Xuan Hoa was approached by Ikea to make office chairs and desks, says the firm's general director Le Duy Anh.
As US-China trade talks were on the verge of collapse two months ago, furniture firm Xuan Hoa was approached by Ikea to make office chairs and desks, says the firm's general director Le Duy Anh. ST PHOTO: JEFFREY HUTTON
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HANOI • For Hanoi-based furniture company Xuan Hoa, the intensifying trade war between the United States and China is manna from heaven.

After Vietnam's government sold its stake in the company in 2016 as part of a privatisation drive, Xuan Hoa pumped millions into training and equipment to yank the one-time state-owned bicycle maker into modernity and tap foreign markets.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 17, 2019, with the headline US-China trade war's pains and gains: Hanoi firm hopes trade spat will furnish further opportunities. Subscribe