Austria-Vietnam ties can heat up with EVFTA

Thomas Schuller-Götzburg

It is hoped that the EU-­Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is to be inked and take effect this year. What trade and investment opportunities do you see for Austria?

I expect that the EVFTA will be inked and come into force soon. On July 1, 2018, Austria took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union for the third time after 1998 and 2006. Austria actively supports the EVFTA and hopes the agreement will help further increase economic, trade, and investment ties between Vietnam and ­Austria.

There will be many opportunities for Austrian companies thanks to the EVFTA. The agreement will help Austrian companies consider Vietnam as a new potential market, because it will push Vietnam to boost its reforms to attract more foreign companies. Currently, Austrian companies are talking more and more about Vietnam.

A number of Austrian companies have already invested in Vietnam, but there is a lot of room for an increased number of projects and investments. I expect that Austrian investment in Vietnam will surely increase. At present, Austrian companies feel very content with doing business here, and they stand ready to expand their investments in the country.

What aspects of the country could attract potential ­Austrian funders?

According to the Austrian Business Council, Vietnam has great potential for overseas investment. The country has a quite stable political and social environment. The Vietnamese government is trying to bring a favourable business climate to all investors and enterprises. Besides, Vietnam has a large population of young people, with a reliable workforce full of qualifications and potential. This is a big development impetus for Vietnam.

In comparison to other Asian nations, Vietnam’s production costs remain lower. In addition, Vietnam has a very convenient geographical location suitable for companies to produce goods and export them to markets across Southeast Asia, wider Asia, and other nations in the world.

Vietnam has been posting impressive growth over recent years. As far as I am concerned, not many nations have as many advantages as Vietnam does. Thus, Vietnam is considered a good investment destination for Austrian companies.

Many Austrian businesses are small- and medium-sized, but they have strong financial and technological lead in various sectors. Tourism can be a good co-operative sector between Austria and Vietnam.

In the time to come, what other sectors in Vietnam are Austrian investors and ­enterprises interested in?

I think there are many companies wanting to do business and invest into Vietnam in many sectors, such as construction, engineering, and high-technology.

The Vietnamese government is now strongly upgrading the country’s infrastructure system to attract more overseas investors. The efforts include plans to build many plants operating in the sectors of electricity, steel, oil and chemicals, and urban development.

In the railway sector, besides plans to construct metro lines in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, it is expected that new railways and roads will be expanded nationwide in the future.

Infrastructure projects in telecommunications, public security, and healthcare have and will continue being developed.

All of these will give big opportunities to Austrian companies in Vietnam. Furthermore, Vietnam is also interested in Austrian educational and training projects.

With tourism co-operation, I think that many Austrians can come to Vietnam to travel and then invest and implement their projects. Many Austrian investors consider Vietnam a high-end market, not only for them, but for investors from the EU, the US, and Australia. In general, Vietnam is a big market for Austrian financiers.

What are today’s biggest ­challenges facing Austrian ­investors?

Difficulties can be seen in any market, and in Vietnam, the government is making the greatest efforts to boost administrative reforms, reduce red tape, and create a more business-friendly climate.

Vietnam and Austria have a longer-standing and closer relationship than many other countries. Previously, Austrian companies were looking at big markets like China and the EU, but now they are looking at other markets, including Vietnam, which has been making great strides in economic growth and the quality of workforce, and they are putting Vietnam among their overseas investment destinations.

How do you see Vietnamese economic prospects in the time to come?

The Vietnamese economy has been positively growing at an average rate of over 6 per cent per year over the past few years, and by 7.08 per cent in 2018 – far higher than many other countries.

I think that Vietnam will continue growing strongly over the next few years, as many investors from other countries will ­continue coming here to put money down, thanks to a much-improved business environment.