Scottish companies are exceptionally well placed to benefit from burgeoning opportunities in Vietnam, a delegation from the fast-growing communist country will tell business people next week.

Speaking in advance of a three day-trip next week at the invitation of the Asia Scotland Institute, Nugyen Thi Hong Thuy, commercial counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in London told the Sunday Herald: "The UK in general and Scotland in particular have so many areas of complementarity. Vietnam is a fast-growing country at a low level of development and Scotland is at the opposite end of the supply chain, and there are key industries where we can collaborate, from chemicals and fertilisers and the strong maritime industry which is of great interest to a country like ours with a long [3330km] coastline."

"There are other areas such as food and drink and textiles and garments, education and tourism where Scotland is famous and we think can help us with technology, management techniques and know-how. This trip is a rare opportunity to explore on both sides."

A semi-planned but increasingly free-market economy with a population of 90m, Vietnam last year grew at a breakneck 6 per cent, almost equal to its giant neighbour China. The nation has been a popular centre for offshore manufacturing since the "doi moi" reforms of the 1980s, particularly in the software and electronics industries, where it hosts a $2bn investment by Samsung.

To upgrade its still undeveloped infrastructure the Hanoi Government is calling for $58.2bn (£37.3m) in foreign direct investment for roads, health and education, sanitation and other essential sectors, all of which will be on the agenda of the delegation - also including the country's top diplomat in the UK Madam Ho Thi Kim Thoa and commercial attaché Pham Tuan Huy - next week in its three days of meetings with companies operating in Scotland, including Arup, who will host a visit to the site of the new Queensferry Crossing.

Roddy Gow, the chairman of the Asia Scotland Institute who last year visited Vietnam at the invitation of the government, said that the country was "in a hurry to get things done" and called on Scottish-based companies to seize opportunities for engagement.

Last month Vietnam dropped visa requirements for short-time visitors from five European countries including the UK.

The Asia Scotland Society will also next week stage talks in Edinburgh and Glasgow by Richard Heald, chief executive of the UK-India Business Council discussing "unlocking the Indian enigma".