Vietnam: a magnet for foreign investors

At the Vietnam-Australia Forum in Melbourne on March 5, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam prioritised attracting projects in green economy, semiconductor technology, and renewable energy.

The PM suggested that the two sides optimise traditional growth motivations of investment, export and consumption, and promote new driving forces such as digital transformation, green transition, circular economy, knowledge-based economy and sharing economy on the foundation of innovation, and sci-tech.

The two countries should also boost tourism and education cooperation, as well as people-to-people exchanges, he said.

Besides those from Australia, investors from other countries are growingly interested in Vietnam.

According to the report conducted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), as of February 20, total FDI inflows were $4.29 billion, up 38.6 per cent on year. The number of newly registered projects also increased by 55.2 per cent to 405 projects in the period.

Tourism, digital transformation, and green transition are among the sectors which have drawn in more foreign investors in recent times.

As shown in the statistics, foreign investment in technology made up 1.8 per cent of the country’s total in the first two months of 2024. Tourism is recovering, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Meanwhile, green growth and sustainable development is an inevitable trend bringing about more opportunities for domestic and foreign investors and promising to make the Southeast Asian country more attractive.

For instance, Ho Chi Minh City has announced that it is calling for investments in 28 projects, worth around VND160 trillion (over $6.7 billion), dedicated to green growth goals.

Gabor Fluit, chairman of European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) said, “An emerging trend in Vietnam is the shift towards green financing, particularly in renewable energy infrastructure and eco-friendly agriculture. This movement aligns with global environmental goals, presenting fresh investment opportunities in Vietnam’s green transition.”

Takeo Nakajima, chief representative of Japan External Trade Organization in Hanoi said, “When asked about the direction of the operating profit outlook in Vietnam for 2024, almost half of manufacturing and 53 per cent of non-manufacturing industries answered it would improve. The recovery in the manufacturing industry is slower. In non-manufacturing sectors, there are high prospects in travel and entertainment, education and medical care, and retail.”

Yudong Tan, CEO of Flights, Trip.com Group

The potential of Vietnam’s tourism market is huge, so competition is inevitable. Over the past few years, we have seen rapid growth in Southeast Asia, especially in Singapore and Malaysia. Our collaboration aims to take advantage of these opportunities, especially in markets such as Thailand, Singapore, and China.

Our goal is to help our partners expand globally, bringing Vietnamese tourists to destinations around the world at reasonable costs with guaranteed quality.

The recent cooperation between Trip.com and Vietjet is a strategic decision and we consider this relationship a win-win. Vietjet is a famous low-cost airline in Southeast Asia, and this is also our main market in recent years and in the near future.

We aim to expand in this region, and Vietjet's products and services are completely consistent with that goal. On the other hand, we value customers’ service experience and are considtently looking for reputable airline partners.

Along with our diverse services such as airport services and car rentals, this partnership aims to leverage the expertise and resources of both parties to help travellers around the world travel more easily and conveniently.

Dong Mai Lam - Cluster president, Vietnam and Cambodia at Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric’s goal in Vietnam and 100 markets worldwide is to empower all businesses and partners to maximise their energy and resources. Sustainability has never been a lonely journey. We have inspired and established a community with a shared vision to execute sustainable development strategies.

Sustainability in Vietnam demands a detailed process Integrating value systems and perspectives from the world, that is why we regularly have training programmes.

Schneider Electric brings the most comprehensive products for the sustainable development ecosystem of businesses. Specifically, we tackle problems about the challenge of balancing corporate profits and sustainable development for small and medium-sized enterprises.

We become an extended arm when consulting and providing professional training to partners who have just set their first footprints in the journey of sustainable development.

The strategy of Schneider Electric in the future includes supporting for human resource development; becoming a strategic digital partner of Vietnamese businesses; providing consulting services on digital transformation and sustainable development; and raising awareness about digital transformation.

Looking towards 2025, we will focus on achieving Environmental, Social and Governance goals and reaching carbon neutrality by 2025, increasing efforts to combat climate change and social inequality, and implementing local commitments.

Nguyen Lam Thanh - Representative of TikTok Vietnam

TikTok always strives to empower users to share their creativity, knowledge, and passion with the community. User safety is always TikTok's top priority. Therefore, we will continue to invest in content control and reporting technology to let users be creative, while still ensuring a positive, safe experience for the community.

Also, with strength in content, community, and commerce, TikTok also opens up opportunities to pull in and reach users for businesses of all sizes, especially small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) through many effective creative solutions such as short videos, LIVE Shopping, Shop Tab or Affiliate Marketing programme.

Leading the ‘shoppertainment trend,’ we are steadfast in our goal of bringing a safe, sustainable e-commerce ecosystem to users and businesses. To enhance digital transformation in business activities, thereby contributing to promoting economic development and promoting local tourism, in recent times, we have continuously implemented many digital support activities for businesses, including SMEs, and micro enterprises, small traders, and business households in markets and traditional business gathering places.

Going forward, TikTok will actively coordinate with the government, agencies, organisations, and local authorities to support local socioeconomic development, while constantly improving technology to bring seamless, comprehensive and safe entertainment - shopping - business experiences and solutions for users, businesses on the platform, and the community in general.

By the end of November 2023, there were more than 2.8 million Vietnamese micro businesses, and SMEs operating on the TikTok platform. In 2023, more than 140 free weekly training sessions and seminars were held, helping to improve competitiveness, brand recognition and optimise platform operations for more than 50,000 micro businesses and SMEs.

FDI prospects off to stellar start for 2024 Numerous ventures worth hundreds of millions of USD are pouring into Vietnam, promising positive results in foreign investment mobilisation and contributing to economic growth for 2024.

Holistic ideas can aid investment As we enter the Year of the Dragon, I am optimistic about Vietnam’s prospects for continued strong economic growth, despite global headwinds. The recent upgrading of the US-Vietnam bilateral relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership has created a true sense of momentum in the bilateral economic relationship.

FDI operations blossom on large scale Vietnam’s increasing allure for foreign investment is expected to brighten further for the rest of this year.