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| The plan to build a regional and international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City and possibly Da Nang later is being gradually promoted by Vietnam. (Source: Lao Dong Newspaper) |
New focus of cooperation: semiconductors and finance
A series of meetings and seminars between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leading corporations in Europe were held within the framework of the recent European tour of the head of the Vietnamese Government.
And as expected, these corporations, whether in Switzerland, Romania or Hungary, whether Gedeon Richter, Visa, Baracoda Group, or Google, Siemens, Qualcomn, Ericsson, even leading banks such as SEB, UBS... all affirmed their special interest and were eager to explore new investment opportunities in Vietnam.
An interesting point is that during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Europe this time, although there were no billion-dollar agreements signed, the general atmosphere was exciting, full of expectations and belief that the potential for investment cooperation between Vietnam and the EU is expanding more than ever and is expected in emerging fields such as finance, semiconductors, AI, etc.
Right in one of the world's largest financial centers - Switzerland, a seminar on the potential and investment opportunities in the Vietnamese financial market was held, with the presence of many big names such as SEB Bank - the largest in Northern Europe, UBS Bank - the largest in Switzerland, Blackrock Switzerland - the number 1 asset manager in Switzerland, then Standard Chartered, Commerzbank Switzerland...
The plan to build a regional and international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City and possibly Da Nang later is being gradually promoted by Vietnam. But as Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said, Vietnam is in dire need of advice, initiatives and support from large financial institutions in building a financial center in Ho Chi Minh City. Perhaps that is the reason why the seminar on the potential and investment opportunities in the Vietnamese financial market was jointly organized by the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
“Vietnam is one of the countries with very good conditions to develop a financial center, and also has a very special opportunity to transform itself through technology and avoid the 'mistakes' and wrong choices of previous countries,” said Mr. Claudio Cisullo, representative of UBS Bank.
More positive information is that right at the Seminar, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh agreed with the opinions of ministries, branches, corporations, and the world's leading financial investment funds on the establishment of a Working Group to research and advise on the construction of a financial center in Vietnam, chaired by Dr. Philipp Rösler (former German Deputy Prime Minister), Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai.
Opportunities are opening up in the fields of semiconductors and AI. A discussion on this topic was held during the Prime Minister's visit to Europe, with the presence of a series of large corporations in the world, such as Google, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, H&M Hennes & Mauritz, Siemens, Mahindra, PSA International, JANZZ.technology, Qualcomm...
These corporations all hope that the Vietnamese Government will continue to create conditions for businesses to invest and develop in the fields of technology, innovation, semiconductors, AI, strategic infrastructure, etc.
Unleashing billion dollar capital flow
The opportunity is huge, but how to turn the opportunity into a capital flow worth billions of dollars is not a simple story.
In fact, EU investment in Vietnam is not yet commensurate with its potential and advantages. However, the situation has improved recently since Vietnam and the EU signed the Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). The White Book recently published by EuroCham said that since the EVFTA was signed, EU investors have committed more than 26 billion USD to nearly 2,250 projects in Vietnam.
Among them, the Danish LEGO Group has invested more than 1.3 billion USD in a zero-carbon factory in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Adidas has 51 suppliers in Vietnam with more than 190,000 employees. “This demonstrates the growing presence of EU companies in the process of economic integration,” the EuroCham White Paper stated.
The results of the EuroCham Business Confidence Index survey confirm this trend, with 63% of surveyed businesses ranking Vietnam in their top 10 investment destinations. More impressively, 31% rated Vietnam as one of their top 3 investment targets, of which 16% considered Vietnam as the best investment destination.
Mr. Gabor Fluit, Chairman of EuroCham in Vietnam, also mentioned the confidence that European businesses have in Vietnam. The clearest sign of this confidence is the increase in EU investment in Vietnam. He also mentioned the recent announcement by Nestlé Vietnam about the plan to expand the factory in Dong Nai, with an investment capital of 100 million USD.
But along with confidence, concerns remain for EU investors. The White Paper shows that 59% of EU businesses surveyed said that administrative difficulties were their main challenge when operating in Vietnam. Uncertainty about rules and regulations, obstacles in obtaining permits and strict visa and work permit requirements for foreign workers were also cited as prominent barriers.
To attract billions of dollars in capital from Europe, businesses believe that Vietnam needs to streamline its administrative apparatus, strengthen the legal environment, upgrade its transport infrastructure, and loosen visa and work permit requirements for foreign experts.
Barriers will be removed, as Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said: “Policies must be open, infrastructure must be smooth, and governance must be smart. Even if the world is in turmoil, we will persist with these policies, in the spirit of harmonizing the interests of the State, people, businesses, investors, and sharing when there are risks.”
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