Swiss businesses and diplomatic and economic officials see Vietnam as a promising investment environment and potential.
These assessments were made at the Vietnam-Switzerland Cooperation Seminar on Trade, Investment and Technology organized by the Vietnamese Embassy on September 8 in Zurich. The event, called Vietnam Day 2023, will be held annually from 2022 to celebrate Vietnam's National Day.
This is a great effort by the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland to promote economic diplomacy, accompanying ministries, localities and businesses to strengthen international economic cooperation. The event probably also marks the first time that Vietnamese diplomatic agencies abroad have played a proactive and leading role in organizing large-scale business promotion activities. Participating in the organization this time are the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, the charity organization Keep It Beautiful Vietnam, the Association of Vietnamese Intellectuals in Switzerland , the Swiss-Asian Chamber of Commerce, and financial investment funds Bellecapital and AQUIS Capital.
The event attracted about 150 participants including representatives of ministries, economic experts, financial investment funds and businesses of the two countries. Notably, the seminar was attended and delivered a speech by Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh during his working trip to Switzerland. Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Thomas Gass, Director of the European-American Market Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Ta Hoang Linh, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Science and Technology also participated in the online speech from Hanoi. Representatives of a number of Vietnamese financial and technology investment enterprises such as SSI Securities, Innolab Asia, Finhay also participated in the discussion remotely.
Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Thomas Gass speaks online from Hanoi
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Upgrade economic relations
Speaking at the opening of the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Phung The Long emphasized that after more than 50 years of establishing diplomatic relations, the senior leaders of the two countries both wished and agreed to soon bring the bilateral cooperation relationship to a new level. "In February 2023, the Swiss Federal Government issued the Southeast Asia Strategy for the period 2023-2026, identifying Vietnam as the most dynamic economy in Southeast Asia and an increasingly important partner of Switzerland.
On the Vietnamese side, the Government always attaches importance to the friendship and cooperation with Switzerland, considering Switzerland one of Vietnam's important partners in Europe. The two countries are actively negotiating to soon sign a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which Switzerland is a member," said Ambassador Phung The Long.
Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh said in his speech that so far, Swiss enterprises have invested 109 million USD in the capital city of Hanoi in the fields of technology, manufacturing, processing industry and education. He also expressed his desire to promote cooperation with Switzerland in research and development (R&D), high-tech economic sectors, green and sustainable economy. "In the context that Vietnam is aiming to become a developed, high-income country by 2045, with the strengths in technology, engineering and experience of Swiss enterprises, the room for economic cooperation between the two countries is particularly large, especially in Hanoi - one of the two largest economic centers of Vietnam," said Mr. Thanh.
From Hanoi, Swiss Ambassador Thomas Gass shared his impressions of Vietnam's dynamism and potential for economic growth and political cooperation in the region and the world. He also said that within 8 months of arriving in Hanoi, he had visited and witnessed the success of Swiss businesses in Vietnam. Many large Swiss businesses such as Sika, ABB, and Nestlé have and are about to celebrate their 30th anniversary of operations in Vietnam.
"If you want to see the Swiss presence in Vietnam, don't look for signs, but go to manufacturing plants, laboratories, agricultural and food processing plants, construction works, flood management works, climate change response works... in Vietnam. You will see Swiss technology, techniques, and management processes there," he said. Ambassador Gass also suggested that in the coming time, the two countries should promote cooperation in the fields of R&D, higher education as well as human resource training in the private economic sector, and jointly implement innovation projects in Vietnam.
Ambassador Markus Schlagenhof of the Swiss Ministry of Economic Affairs (second from right) is optimistic about the prospect of concluding FTA negotiations between Vietnam and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) by the end of this year.
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Meanwhile, Ambassador Markus Schlagenhof, Director General of the World Trade Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and a member of the Swiss Federal Government's trade agreement negotiation delegation, recognized Vietnam as Switzerland's second largest trading partner in Southeast Asia. Over 100 Swiss companies, from multinational to small and medium-sized, in the fields of construction, machinery manufacturing, precision tools, food processing, medical technology, information technology, transportation and logistics, etc., are operating in Vietnam with a total workforce of 20,000 people.
"The increasing trend of bilateral trade and investment from Switzerland to Vietnam confirms that Vietnam is a promising market for Switzerland. In addition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also made many optimistic forecasts about Vietnam such as an average economic growth of 6.9% in the coming years, and per capita income increasing from the current level of about 4,000 USD to 7,000 USD in 2028," Ambassador Schlagenhof confidently stated.
Regarding the FTA between EFTA and Vietnam, Ambassador Schlagenhof said: "In the past few weeks, many high-level contacts have taken place, and I believe that both sides have understood each other's flexibility and know what to do to receive support from both sides. At least, we have a clear path forward." Mr. Schlagenhof also said that a few days before he spoke at the seminar, the Swiss Parliament had a meeting on the FTA with Vietnam. This was the result of the visit to Vietnam in June by President of the Swiss House of Representatives Martin Candinas.
Negotiations on the FTA between Vietnam and EFTA began in 2012 and stopped in 2018 after 16 rounds of negotiations. Since then, the issue has been strongly mentioned in every meeting between the two countries, but there has been little progress, until recently. "I have never been as optimistic as I am today," Ambassador Schlagenhof affirmed, adding that there will be expert-level meetings in October, and the next round of negotiations will be re-established so that by the end of this year all the basic elements of the agreement will be clear. "I believe we will reach the destination. The new trade agreement will further strengthen legal guarantees for Swiss investors, promoting direct investment in Vietnam," he said.
Swiss government business adviser for Southeast Asia, Angela Di Rosa (second from left), encourages businesses to explore opportunities in Vietnam
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While waiting for the new agreement, Ms. Angela Di Rosa, Senior Advisor for Southeast Asia at the Swiss Global Enterprise Development Agency (S-GE) under the Federal Economic Directorate, encouraged Swiss businesses to boldly come to Vietnam to learn about the market and business conditions, seek local partners and promote trade and investment activities if appropriate.
Investment opportunities in Vietnam
During a discussion on investment opportunities in Vietnam, Dr. Laurent Sigismondi, Head of the CEO Office and member of the Executive Board of the Swiss trading and services group DKSH, assessed Vietnam as one of the important investment destinations in the Southeast Asia region. Returning to Vietnam since 1991, DKSH sees Vietnam as a place where the group has been very successful and is also bringing attractive opportunities to other investors.
Dr. Laurent Sigismondi of DKSH Group sees great opportunities for Swiss businesses in the Vietnamese market.
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Meanwhile, Ms. Xinyue Hou, manager of two investment funds in Asia and Vietnam of Bellecapital based in Zurich, said that with impressive growth and increasingly developed infrastructure, Vietnam is attracting the attention of international investors. Mr. Thomas Erdmann, Head of Fund Management and Sustainable Investment Solutions at Credit Suisse Bank, sees great potential in Vietnam for developing sustainable investment projects. Therefore, Vietnam's sustainable development support policy will attract the attention of investors, he suggested.
On the Vietnamese side, Mr. Pham Luu Hung, Chief Economist of SSI Securities Company, updated the situation of the Vietnamese stock market and the fields and industries that foreign capital is pouring into. Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the Department of Economic Synthesis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dang Khanh Linh, affirmed that in the field of foreign investment cooperation, the Vietnamese Government prioritizes attracting investment in the fields of advanced technology, innovation and research and development, thereby promoting the digital economy and circular economy for sustainable development.
Young entrepreneurs discuss cooperation to develop startup ecosystem in Vietnam
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Developing a sustainable startup ecosystem in Vietnam
During the discussion session on the startup ecosystem in Vietnam, young entrepreneurs in the fields of digital technology such as blockchain, fintech (financial technology), digital health (digital health) ... from the two countries shared a lot of interesting information and startup experiences in this field. They said that startups need guidance from experienced people to have the opportunity to access capital and a supporting ecosystem. Ms. Tran Hoai Thu, representative of the Market Development Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam, emphasized the commitment of the Vietnamese Government in creating favorable conditions and environment to develop a vibrant and sustainable startup ecosystem, promoting innovation in Vietnam.
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