Vietnam remains a top destination for cross-border investment

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The findings are extracted from PwC’s most recent survey “Doing business across borders in Asia Pacific 2019-2020”. Survey results include responses of over 1,000 business leaders from 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies, which collectively account for half of world trade and more than half of the world’s GDP. 

Among APEC leaders with a footprint in Vietnam, 44% plans to increase investment in the country over the next year, making Vietnam once again the most attractive destination for foreign investment. 

In addition to being positive on cross-border investment, 62% of Vietnam’s respondents expect to increase their domestic investment in the next 12 months, higher than other economies such as China, Japan and Singapore. 

The responses from Vietnam leaders showed noticeable prioritisation on advanced technology and equipping the workforce with the necessary skills to stay competitive in the market, which are both in line with global trends. 

Approximately 80% of Vietnam business leaders see technology advancement as a strategic priority. Thus, it is encouraging that a majority plan to increase budget allocation, especially in integrating data and systems, as well as accelerating digital skills development in the next two years. 

However, as automation and AI advances in the workforce, this year’s survey highlights that employee roles are also being redefined. 23% of Vietnam leaders struggle to recruit people with appropriate skills to accommodate automation. And only 5% of Vietnamese leaders, as compared to 12% of total APEC businesses, say with automation, they are creating more jobs with the right talent fit.