EDC and FPT Announce Partnership to Enhance Strategic Cooperation Between Canada and Vietnam

OTTAWA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 6, 2024--

Export Development Canada (EDC) and global technology corporation, FPT, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) under EDC’s Market Leaders Partnership program. This agreement underscores the commitment of both organizations to deepening trade relations and advancing cooperation in key sectors, including information and communications technology (ICT), healthcare, retail, and financial services, while promoting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241105362498/en/

Under the MOU, FPT will leverage its expertise and extensive network in Vietnam to support Canadian companies by facilitating their market entry, providing strategic connections, and exploring co-investment opportunities. FPT will assist a minimum of 20 Canadian companies in engaging with its subsidiaries over the next three years.

EDC will offer FPT access to Canadian exporter and investor networks, innovative financing solutions and help facilitate business engagements with Canadian companies. EDC will also engage in knowledge sharing of ESG best practices to support FPT’s sustainability efforts.

With a mutual dedication to advancing sustainability initiatives, both parties will engage in knowledge sharing with FPT offering access to its ESG frameworks, tailored as knowledge resources, to support the engagements with Canadian businesses. This partnership is part of EDC’s broader Indo-Pacific strategy to support Canadian businesses in expanding their international presence and engaging in high-potential markets like Vietnam. In line with the strategy, EDC will be opening its first representation in Vietnam in late November. The MOU is the culmination of ongoing engagement since 2023 between EDC and FPT and will focus on strategic areas where Canadian businesses can contribute expertise, particularly in software development, system integration, and energy efficiency for FPT’s expanding data operations.

“This partnership reflects our dedication to supporting Canadian companies as they explore and expand into international markets, particularly in Vietnam, which is one of Asia’s most dynamic economies,” said Todd Winterhalt, Senior Vice-President, International Markets and Head of Communications and Public Affairs at EDC. “FPT is a market leader with the sector access, knowledge, and connections to positively impact Canadian exporters, investors, and the overall trade ecosystem. Through this MOU, we look forward to creating new avenues for cooperation that will benefit both Canadian exporters and Vietnam’s growing ICT sector.”

“Through this partnership with Export Development Canada, we aim to connect Canadian businesses with Vietnam's vibrant and rapidly evolving market. By leveraging our technology expertise and deep industry insights, we are well positioned to assist Canadian companies in their market expansion ambitions. This collaboration aligns with FPT’s commitment to fostering sustainable growth and innovation while further strengthening the ties between Canada and Vietnam," said Phuong Nguyen, Managing Director of FPT Canada, FPT Corporation.

About FPT

FPT Corporation (FPT) is a globally leading technology and IT services provider headquartered in Vietnam. FPT operates in three core sectors: Technology, Telecommunications, and Education. During over three decades of development, FPT has constantly provided practical and effective products to millions of people and tens of thousands of business and non-business organizations worldwide, establishing Vietnam’s position on the global tech map. Keeping up with the latest market trends and emerging technologies, FPT has developed the Made-by-FPT ecosystem of services, products, solutions, and platforms, which enables sustainable growth for organizations and businesses and offers distinctive experiences to customers. In 2023, FPT recorded a total revenue of USD 2.17 billion and 48,000+ employees. For more information about global IT services, please visit https://fptsoftware.com/

About EDC

Export Development Canada (EDC) is a financial Crown corporation dedicated to helping Canadian businesses make an impact at home and abroad. EDC has the financial products and knowledge Canadian companies need to confidently enter new markets, reduce financial risk and grow their business as they go from local to global. Together, EDC and Canadian companies are building a more prosperous, stronger and sustainable economy for all Canadians. For more information and to learn how we can help your company, call us at 1-800-229-0575 or visit www.edc.ca.

The MOU signing ceremony between EDC and FPT was facilitated by the Canada-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce in Montreal, Canada (Photo: Business Wire)

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — In a critical election year, Democrats are looking to flip a once reliably Republican Louisiana congressional seat, where political boundaries were recently redrawn to form the state’s second mostly Black congressional district.

Five hours after the polls closed in Louisiana the question of whether Democrat Cleo Fields would win the the election outright, or if Republican Elbert Guillory would force a December runoff between the two candidates was still too early to call.

Under Louisiana’s open primary system — in which candidates of all parties appear on the Election Day ballot — if no candidate is the majority winner, earning one more than 50% of the total votes cast, then the two top vote-getting candidates head to a runoff that will be held on Dec. 7.

Based upon the Louisiana Secretary of State's unofficial voting results early Wednesday morning, Fields held a lead but narrowly met the threshold to avoid a runoff.

With five people on the ballot for Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District, Democrats have thrown their support behind longtime politician Fields, 61. The state senator has been involved in state politics for three decades and served two terms in Congress after being elected in 1992.

Across the aisle, Republicans are looking to preserve the seat, especially in an election year where the GOP is trying to hold on to their majority in the U.S. House. The only Republican on the ballot is former state lawmaker Guillory, 80.

For nearly 50 years, only one Democrat has won the seat in Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District. But the district’s boundaries have recently been recrafted.

In January state lawmakers passed Louisiana’s new congressional map with a second majority-Black district, marking a win for Democrats and civil rights groups after a legal battle and political tug-of-war that spanned nearly two years.

The new 6th District boundaries stretch across the state in a narrow and diagonal path, from the state capital, Baton Rouge, to Shreveport in the northwest corner. Black residents account for 54% of its voters, up from 24% previously. Both Fields and Guillory are Black.

A lower court ruled that the new map was an illegal racial gerrymander, but in May the Supreme Court ordered Louisiana to use it in this year’s congressional elections — boosting Democrats’ chances of gaining control of the closely divided House.

Currently, out of Louisiana’s six congressional seats, there is one Democrat, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, the state’s sole Black member of Congress.

Noticeably absent from the race is incumbent U.S. Rep. Garret Graves. The white Republican announced that he would not seek reelection, saying that it did not make sense to run under the new map.

All of Louisiana’s six congressional seats are up for election. The five other races feature incumbents, including two of the country's most powerful Republicans – U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

Also seeking reelection are Carter and Republicans Clay Higgins and Julia Letlow. All the incumbents are facing lesser-known challengers on the ballot.

Kendra Franklin looks for assistance as she votes with her children, Mi'Kayla and Kendall, right, at a campus polling place at Southern University, an HBCU, in Baton Rouge, La., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Students and a member of the Zulu Tramps march to a campus polling place on Election Day at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Students line up to vote at a campus polling place at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Students and members of the Zulu Tramps march to a campus polling place on Election Day at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Jaqquelyn Germany reaches out for a hug as students march and dance to a campus polling place on Election Day at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Students march and dance to a campus polling place on Election Day at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Students march and dance to a campus polling place on Election Day at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Voting machines are loaded onto trucks from a warehouse in New Orleans East to be delivered across the parish on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, the day before the presidential election. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)

Voting machines and signs are loaded onto trucks from a warehouse in New Orleans East for delivery across the parish on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, the day before the presidential election. (Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP)