Vietnam - An Attractive Place with Potential, Interviews Danish Ambassador

Vietnam is a very interesting investment country for Danish companies for many good reasons. First of all, you have a very stable economic and political situation; you have very high growth rates, last year, it was more than 8 percent; you have a very cheap and stable labour force; and you have a government which really wants to facilitate foreign investors. So all these together show that there is a lot of potential for Danish companies. Many Vietnamese private companies are also medium and small sized ones which are the same as Danish companies so it is easy for Danish companies to find good Vietnamese partners.

 

Vietnam has made a lot in legal reforms, we have seen the passing of quite a lot of new legislation in order for Vietnam to get ready for WTO membership which I hope will take place this year. Viet Nam is creating a level playing field, not only between private and state-owned companies but also between Vietnamese and foreign enterprises.

 

Now, the law on investment and enterprise (which will take effect in July) is a major step forward but we, of course, are waiting to see the decree which implements the law and we hope that the decree will put even more emphasis on the level playing field and that you will allow private and foreign companies to get involved in new sectors which they were not allowed to work in the past.

 

There is still work to be done in the legal sector in order to create a framework which is up to international standards.

 

I know Carlsberg has been here for long time. Apart from that, you would not find many Danish private investments 10 years ago. Now, of course, this has changed completely because Vietnam is changing and because Vietnam is really opening up to the international market.

 

There are many more Danish companies who are interested (in Vietnam) and I’m sure that you will see, at the end of this year, a lot of new long-term partnerships between Vietnamese and Danish companies.

 

The fact that, all most all of the long-term partnerships created via the Business-to-Business program still exist shows that that it is a good investment for both the Danish and Vietnamese companies. In other word, both of them are making money and that is essential if you want to establish partnership.

 

The marine and shipbuilding sectors are fields attracting Danish companies. I am happy to tell you recently, a Danish ship owner placed an order of ten ships with Vinashin worth more than 100 million US dollars, so it is very clear that, Vietnam is becoming an important shipbuilding nation. There was no doubt about that. I also see very good possibilities in oil and gas which is a new sector in Vietnam where there is a lot of potential for cooperation.

 

 

We have a Business-to-Business programme where we, from the Embassy side, can support JV partnerships between Danish and Vietnamese companies. For example, supporting the training of Vietnamese workers, support improvement in the environment and in working conditions.

 

Under the Danish Business-to-Business programme, we have established more than 60 long-term co-operations between Danish and Vietnamese companies. Last week, we had a business delegation of 23 Danish companies working in the marine sector and this week we have 15 companies from other sectors. At the end of April, our deputy Prime Minister will be returning along with a big Danish business delegation.