PM chairs conference with FDI firms

Vietnam will continue to build a safe, transparent and highly competitive business and investment environment, enabling businesses and investors, including foreign ones to operate for a long term in the country, stated Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh while chairing a conference with foreign direct investment (FDI) firms in Hanoi on October 16.

The conference, which drew representatives from 15 associations and 180 FDI firms, follows the PM’s meeting with foreign investors held in April, affirming the Government's special attention to and companionship with the business community and foreign investors.

Highly valuing foreign businesses’ selection of Vietnam as their investment destination and their contributions to the country’s socio-economic development, PM Chinh vowed that the Government of Vietnam always protects the legitimate rights and interest of businesses in any circumstances, and accompanies businesses to overcome difficulties and challenges for their long-term and stable operations in Vietnam under the motto of “harmonious interest, shared risks”.

Vietnam will not criminalise economic and civil relations, and will work to ensure a healthy, stable and sustainable business investment ecosystem, he said.

The Government leader affirmed that the Party and State of Vietnam define the foreign-invested sector as an important component of the Vietnamese economy, and provide optimal conditions for the sector to develop in a long-term manner, cooperate and healthily compete with other economic sectors. The State respects and protects the legitimate and legal rights and interest of investors, he underlined.

Highlighting Vietnam’s special attention to creating driving forces for growth, especially emerging industries such as semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, e-commerce, green energy, green economy, circular economy, and sharing economy, the PM said that Vietnam advocates selective investment cooperation, taking quality, efficiency, technology and environmental protection as the main evaluation criteria. The country commits to creating the best business environment towards OECD standards, he added.  

PM Chinh asked ministries, sectors and localities to continue effectively implementing policies and laws regarding the improvement of investment and business environment, while reviewing, adjusting and supplementing foreign cooperation policies to suit the reality, and listening to the ideas of businesses and investors, including foreign ones, to settle all arising problems.

He proposed that the business community continue to build long-term, sustainable and environmentally-friendly business strategies, reforming their production and business models towards green economy, digital economy, circular economy, knowledge economy, and climate change response.

The success of investors is the success of Vietnam itself, everyone wins and no one is left behind, he stressed.

It was reported at the conference that in the first nine months of this year, Vietnam showed strong socio-economic performance, with a growth rate of 4.24%, average consumer price index rising 3.16%. State budget collection reached 75.5% of the yearly estimate, while the exemption, reduction, extension of taxes, fees, charges, and land rent worth 152.5 trillion VND was implemented.

In the January-September period, Vietnam’s exports rose 4.6% and imports increased 2.65% year on year, with a trade surplus of 21.68 billion USD.

In the period, Vietnam drew 20.21 billion USD of FDI, up 7.7% year on year, while 15.91 billion USD of FDI capital was disbursed, representing a rise of 2.2%. As of the end of September, 144 countries and territories had invested in Vietnam with more than 38.3 trillion projects worth over 455 billion USD, generating jobs for millions of labourers.

The US-based Heritage Foundation placed Vietnam at the 72nd position among 176 countries and territories in its Index of Economic Freedom rankings for 2023 with 61.8 points, 1.2 points higher than that recorded last year. Meanwhile, Financial Times magazine identified Vietnam as one of the seven outstanding economies in a world full of change. Vietnam's national brand value is the fastest growing in the world in the period 2019 - 2022, reaching 431 billion USD in 2022.

At the conference, FDI firms pledged to continue accompanying Vietnam in promoting business and investment in line with the country’s priorities such as science-technology, innovation, digital economy, circular economy, sharing economy, green and sustainable growth, and climate change response.

They proposed solutions to rapid recovery and sustainable, and shared their plans on investment and expansion in Vietnam.

Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham Vietnam) John Rockhold said that the upgrade of the US-Vietnam relations is an ideal opportunity for Vietnam to improve the policy framework and investment environment to draw new investment inflows and support investors and businesses operating in Vietnam.

AmCham will coordinate with the Government of Vietnam to build a legal environment to global standards, he said, expressing hope for the Vietnamese Government’s support in administrative procedure and access to power supply, especially renewable energy.

Representatives from foreign business associations and FDI firms gave some proposals to the Government regarding many issues of their interest, including tax and emission reduction policy.