Foreign experts urge updated investment attraction strategy

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Hong Sun, Vice Chairman of Korean Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam. (File photo: VOV)

According to Nobufumi Miura, Chairman of the Japan Business Association in Vietnam, the robust growth of the Vietnamese economy has acted as a catalyst for Japanese firms to intensify their production and business activities in the Southeast Asian country. Indeed, many have mapped out new investment schemes and capital injections for the future.

Despite this, a number of investors have made complaints about the difficulties they met from their operations in Vietnam. During the Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019 which took place in Hanoi this week, Miura raised his concerns regarding the low predictability of the nation’s policies and legal regulations. In fact, many businesses have been unable to react promptly to the rapid changes in such policies and some have even been forced to stagnate their production and business on occasions.

"We hope that the Vietnamese Government will set forth adequate solutions to help enterprises avoid damage when it executes new policies and legal regulations."

He claimed that cumbersome administrative procedures have hindered enterprises from increasing their investment. He added that he hopes the Government would implement a proper solution aimed to quicken the decision-making process of authorities through further decentralizing power and clarifying the responsibilities of competent agencies.

Hong Sun, Vice Chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce (KorCham) in Vietnam, said many companies from the Republic of Korea have pumped additional capital into the country’s high-tech sector. However, in order to further absorb investment inflows into high-tech production, Vietnam must make vital adjustments to existing laws and institutions.

The KorCham vice chairman stressed that now is the right time for the Government to offer new, daring, yet preferential policies to firms, thus giving a boost to promising industries such as electric vehicle production and solar power.

Virginia Footer, Vice Chairwoman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Amcham), said Amcham can see great opportunities in Vietnam, for both domestic and foreign enterprises.

She elaborated that ongoing US-China trade tensions serve to escalate the probability of production facilities gathering together within a country, and to activate the restructuring of supply chains.

There has been a partly shift of production facilities from China, then Vietnam is well placed to take advantages of this opportunity, she asserted.

However, she noted that tax rates and policy-related issues are considered major barriers for foreign firms operating in Vietnam, while calling for greater attempts into addressing the growing shortage of power nationwide, particularly in the southern region.

Kyle Kelhofer, International Finance Corporation’s Country Manager for Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, proposed the Vietnamese Government work on updating its foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction blueprint in which focus should be placed on providing more incentives for businesses and investors as well as developing firms based on their long-term competitive advantages.