Vietnam Welcomes Chinese Investors

This special forum was hosted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in coordination with the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong - Vietnam Chamber of Commerce. The forum attracted the participation of 300 businesses and investors from China, Vietnam and many countries in the world.

 

At the forum, Prime Minister Phuc announced outcomes of the talks and meetings with Chinese high-ranking leaders as well as strategic orientations to upgrade the two nations’ relationship with the focus placed on promoting economic and commercial ties more effectively and sustainably. These constructed an important foundation and provided a favourable opportunity for successful cooperation between Vietnamese and Chinese Hong Kong businesses. Vietnam and China are striving to raise two-way trade to US$100 billion in 2016.

 

Putting emphasis on the Vietnamese business environment, he affirmed Vietnam's economy is very much open. Its trade turnover has grown an average of 15 per cent a year for years, reaching US$330 billion last year. More than 110 countries and territories worldwide have invested in Vietnam with more than 21,000 projects with total registered capital of nearly US$300 billion. Vietnam signed 12 free trade agreements (FTAs), including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Vietnam- EU FTA. The country is negotiating four other trade deals, including a free trade agreement between ASEAN and Hong Kong. FTAs open vast free trade spaces between Vietnam with 55 countries and partners, including all G7 members and 15 G-20 members, covering two thirds of global population and three quarters of global GDP.

 

Furthermore, Vietnam climbed three places in its business climate rankings rated by the World Bank (WB), he said, adding that the country is striving to be in the top four of ASEAN in 2017. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of the Vietnamese manufacturing sector - an indicator of the economic health of the manufacturing sector - rose to 52.2 points in August 2016 from 51.9 points in July, according to Nikkei. Export orders increased sharply.

 

With a desire of building a facilitating government to better serve the people and business, Vietnam wants Hong Kong businesses in particular and Chinese businesses in general to continue to invest in Vietnam for mutual benefit and development. Vietnam pledged to create favourable conditions for Hong Kong businesses to invest in such as areas as banking, finance, insurance, maritime transportation, infrastructure development, electronic spare parts support industry, and agricultural product processing and trading.

 

Prime Minister Phuc also hoped that, as a leading regional and global financial centre, Hong Kong will be a favourable destination for Vietnam to mobilise credits for development, particularly for infrastructure investment.

 

Dr Jonathan Choi, Permanent Honorary President of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and Chairman of the Hong Kong - Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, hailed the Vietnamese Government’s efforts, solutions and determinations to spur the country’s economic growth over the years. He added that the Government of Vietnam is carrying out a lot of ambitious market reform programmes with appropriate policies in order to draw more investment capital from every country in the world.

 

Rimsky Yeun, Acting Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, affirmed Hong Kong’s desire for long-term cooperation and investment in Vietnam. Hong Kong will continue to expand investment in Vietnam and strongly support Vietnamese companies to make inroads into Hong Kong and mainland China.

 

Dr Vu Tien Loc, President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), noted that the visit to Hong Kong by the Prime Minister inspired and promoted the trend of expanding business investment and long-term cooperation for Vietnamese - Chinese companies in general and Vietnam - Hong Kong businesses in particular.

As many as 10 cooperative agreements and contracts worth US$10 billion were signed at the event. VCCI inked cooperation agreements with three partners, including the Hong Kong Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, the Hong Kong - Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.