Standard Chartered online forum highlights Vietnam as rising star in FDI

The online forum is part of the ASEAN FDI mobilisation events by Standard Chartered Bank

Yesterday (September 7, 2020), the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) in collaboration with Standard Chartered Bank and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) held an online forum themed "Vietnam – The rising star" with the participation of numerous businesses from Asia, Europe, and the US.

This is a part of the events mobilising investment in ASEAN by Standard Chartered Bank, the initial event of which was the ASEAN Business Forum 2020 attended by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and 4,700 delegates from over the world.

At yesterday's forum, MPI Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said that conflicts among big economies, in combination with the global health crisis, have been interrupting global supply chains, halting production, and pressing multinational companies (MNCs) to restructure their supply chains and diversify their partner networks, creating a lot of chances for countries like Vietnam.

In order to welcome MNCs and receive new foreign direct investment (FDI) flows in a win-win basis, Vietnam has been preparing clean land, factories, and other necessary infrastructure. The country is also accelerating the training of human resources, welcoming experts and high-skilled employees to Vietnam, and strengthening the development of supporting industries. The MPI is building some very special incentives for large-scale and high-quality projects, as well as constantly improve the investment and business climate and national competitiveness.

"Vietnam will select FDI projects which can match all criteria on quality, performance, high-tech, and environmental protection. Projects applying new and clean technology, modern governance, creating high added value, and those that can link with manufacturing chains, and train human resources will be welcome," MPI Minister Dung said.

"With its wide network over the world, the MPI hopes Standard Chartered Bank can strengthen linkages among investors and encourage more MNCs to invest in the country, as well as support Vietnam in building specialised centres like the National Innovation Centre and the International Finance Centre, which will drive growth in the time coming," he added.

According to SBV Governor Le Minh Hung, during the fight against the pandemic this year, the SBV has done its utmost to manage monetary policies and maintain the development of the banking system.

"SBV has cut the interest rate twice for the development of credit, decreased the ceiling on deposit and loan interest, contributing to supplying low-cost capital for credit institutions and borrowers," said Hung. "In the time coming, the SBV will continue concentrating on projecting and building suitable policies for growth and macroeconomic stability, developing a transparent and effective investment climate for all investors."

Representatives of foreign investors from the US and Asia highlighted the reputation, potential, and improvement of Vietnam as a destination for foreign investors.

"With a young and dynamic population, developing local market, growing middle class, and very open economy, Vietnam offers a lot of attractive investment opportunities," Nirukt Sapru, CEO Vietnam, ASEAN Cluster Markets, Standard Chartered Bank said. "COVID-19 will take a while but cannot prevent us from finding opportunities and making plans to maintain and expand our operations in Vietnam."

Meanwhile, C.K. Tong, CEO of BW Industrial Development JSC said that there are many promising areas for investment in Vietnam. "I believe that Vietnam could utilise its resources to develop well and mobilise more capital flows. Vietnam could be the most advanced economy in the region, even surpassing Thailand and Singapore," he said.

After the forum, the MPI will continue to collaborate with Standard Chartered Bank to work with businesses that are setting eyes on the country to provide information related to policies and investment procedures, as well as support them to implement investment plans.