France will again lead EU investors in Vietnam, French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean-Francois Blarel said at the Vietnam-France business forum in Hanoi on March 27.
The French Government will continue offer the most favorable conditions for French businesses to invest in the Southeast-Asian country, the Ambassador said.
Speaking at the forum, Vietnamese Trade Deputy Minister Tran Duc Minh pledged that the Vietnamese Government will create opportunities for French investors in Vietnam, particularly in the areas of their interest, like infrastructure construction, electricity and water.
Minh emphasized that, as one of leading economies of the EU, France is an important economic partner for Vietnam.
French companies to date have 177 operating projects in Vietnam with registered capital of US$2.2 billion, including more than US$1.1 billion disbursed, said the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The disbursement rate of French projects is 40 per cent higher than the average rate of other foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Vietnam.
France now stands ninth among 77 foreign investors in Vietnam, and second out of EU investors, just behind the Netherlands.
France’s projects, in the forms of BOT (build-operate-transfer), BT (build-transfer), BTO (build-transfer-operate) and business cooperative contracts, concentrate on services and industry, with 71 projects valued at US$1.1 billion in services, and 81 projects valued at US$830 million in industry.
Many French investors are keen on construction, telecom, pharmaceuticals, and environment projects, as well as vegetable growing and processing in the Central Highlands city of Da Lat.
France is also leading EU member countries in providing official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, with over EUR1.2 billion for some 210 projects. (VNA)
Vietnamese
