Vietnam News Agency (VNA)

Foreigners interested in Viet Nam’s investment market

25/01/2008 -- 3:57 PM

Ha Noi (VNA) – Representatives of many international organisations and businesses have expressed their keen interest in Viet Nam and continued to consider the nation an attractive investment market.

They were quoted by the Viet Nam Investment Review newspaper’s special issue released at a conference held in Ha Noi on Jan. 24 to review foreign investment activities in Viet Nam for the past 20 years.

Both Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Ha Noi Adam Sitkoff and Chief Representative of the Ha Noi-based Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Kenjiro Ishiwata said that their member businesses are paying special importance to Viet Nam . “ Viet Nam ’s strategic position in the region has brought Japanese investors in,” said JETRO Chief Representative. Meanwhile, AmCham Director Sitkoff said that many US businesses consider Viet Nam the world’s most attractive emerging market.

World Bank Country Director Ajay Chhibber also admitted that more and more foreign companies consider Viet Nam an attractive investment destination in the region for its low cost, active reform and socio-political stability. As a result, the annual foreign direct investment (FDI) influx in Viet Nam compared with its gross domestic product (GDP) is always high in Southeast Asia , he added.

Sharing the same opinion, General Director of the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency in Ha Noi Kim Won Ho said that Viet Nam has surpassed China to become an attractive investment destination for his country’s investors. Viet Nam ’s admission to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the ASEAN-RoK free trade agreement which became effective in June 2007 have helped “ Viet Nam become an extremely important market” and our current top priority is to promote investment in Viet Nam ,” he affirmed.

These officials and executives also praised the Vietnamese Government for its efforts in implementing business and investment environment reform. “ Viet Nam could not have become a favourite destination for FDI unless the nation made its pledge for business environment improvement and FDI promotion,” WB Country Director Chhibber said. “Forty percent of FDI businesses in Viet Nam are wholly foreign-invested enterprises, 37 percent are joint ventures and the remaining are business cooperation contracts,” he noted.

AmCham Director Sitkoff said that Viet Nam’s implementation of measures to improve its business and investment environment and its amendments and supplements to its legal documents have contributed to protecting the country’s regulations and mechanisms and making them in line with the global standards. “These laws have laid a favourable foundation for business and investment activities and helped promote Viet Nam ’s socio-economic development,” he elaborated.

However, they also pointed out the nation’s shortcomings in attracting FDI such as poor infrastructural facilities, lacking high skilled human resource and a strong subsidiary industry.

In order to maintain a sustainable growth rate, Director of the Asian Development Bank in Viet Nam Ayumi Konishi suggested Viet Nam further improve its investment environment, continue to finalise its macro-economic policy mechanism, conduct structural reform and invest in skilled human resources.

He took the occasion to affirm that “ADB has been actively support Viet Nam in development process and committed to form a good investment environment in all over Asia .”

The WB Country Director said that Viet Nam ’s implementation of its commitment in the WTO is a key factor for the nation to maintain its position as an attractive destination for FDI.-Enditem

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