Viet Nam is ripe for British trade and investment, say speakers
Viet Nam is ripe for British trade and investment, say speakers
A British trade official and an executive chairman told participants at a business briefing in London on September 4 that Viet Nam was an attractive destination for investment and that the country was ripe for British trade and investment.
These two speakers were Douglas Barnes, Consul general in HCM City and Director for UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) in Viet Nam, and Paul Smith, Executive chairman of Harvey Nash, a London-based company providing IT services, which has been doing business successfully in Viet Nam for 12 years. They briefed British businesspeople about the Vietnamese market at the conference, which was held by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry for British firms in a prelude to a trade mission which the chamber is organising for those interested in the market to visit Ha Noi and HCM City in November 12-16, this year. More than 30 representatives from a wide range of companies attended the briefing.
According to the London Chamber of Commerce, Viet Nam is rapidly becoming the powerhouse of Southeast Asia, recording GDP growth of 6.4 per cent in 2010 despite the global financial crisis.
Both speakers highlighted key strengths of the Vietnamese market, including a politically stable and safe environment; a strategic location with access to South East Asia, China and beyond and a growing population (87 million) which is young, dynamic, educated and pragmatic. They also noted other favourable conditions such as a growing domestic market; a burgeoning middle-class with significant spending power; accession to the World Trade Organisation and a signed strategic partnership agreement between the two countries to strengthen their bilateral relationship, including trade ties.
Douglas said other positive points of the Vietnamese market were that for three years running, British firms have ranked Viet Nam as the top destination outside of the BRICs in which they would like to invest and that the country has potential for long-term growth. One of the UK's 17 high growth markets, Viet Nam is estimated to be the fastest-growing economy in the world to 2050.
Paul Smith, who works closely with UKTI to support UK businesses wishing to enter the ASEAN region, will lead the mission, as his local knowledge and support network will benefit the delegates.
At the briefing, Paul spoke enthusiastically about Viet Nam, telling participants that the country was already a part of their everyday lives. When they bought rice, pepper, catfish, shoes or coffee, they were buying something produced in Viet Nam. He said he learned that Viet Nam had just become the number 1 coffee exporter worldwide, a fantastic achievement. He said: "Any time you go to Starbucks, Caffe Nero, think about Viet Nam."
He added that Viet Nam is important for technology too. "Over 1 billion people receive and send G3 calls using software developed in Viet Nam (Alcatel-Lucent). Nearly a million people found jobs using software developed in Viet Nam too (StepStone). By 2015, one in twelve microchips will be made in Viet Nam (Intel)," he said.
Paul said through his knowledge, Viet Nam had market opportunities in the areas of ICT services and R&D; retail; construction/mining; manufacturing; energy; outsourcing; digital and media; financial services; education; and tourism & leisure.
Paul's Harvey Nash now employs 4,500 staff members in both its Ha Noi and HCM City offices, developing software applications and carrying out R&S and maintenance services for clients in 33 countries world wide.
While recognizing his staff for being hardworking, loyal, trustworthy, honest and highly-skilled, he also warned the participants about challenges they would face doing business in Viet Nam. These included inadequate middle management; low-level corruption; infrastructure; regulation & legislation and consistency.
UK exports of goods and services to Viet Nam in 2011 were £520 million (around 820 million USD), an increase of 7.9 per cent year on year while Viet Nam's exports of goods and services to the UK were £1,75 billion, a growth of 33 per cent. In term of foreign-directed investment, UK is the third largest EU investor (17th world wide) in Viet Nam with 153 projects with a registered value of 2.7 billion USD by the end of the first quarter of this year.
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