HCMC – Enterprises from other ASEAN countries have invested massively in Vietnam over the last three years and the trend is expected to continue in at least five more years, said Pham Hong Hai, chief executive officer of HSBC Vietnam.
Speaking to the media just ahead of the ASEAN anniversary celebration which will be held
in the Philippines next Tuesday, Hai said investors in ASEAN consider Vietnam not only a consumption market but also a production base.
For the last three years, HSBC Vietnam has held road shows in some ASEAN nations to call for investment in Vietnam. Particularly, Thai companies claimed that Vietnam is the top priority in their investment plans.
There will be massive investments from ASEAN firms in Vietnam for at least the next five years, Hai said, and many of them are now waiting for opportunities from the equitization of many Vietnamese state-own firms.
This investment trend is helped by Vietnam’s political and macroeconomic stability, low-cost labor and government incentives. Besides, Vietnam is right next to China, so ASEAN firms can get supplies from this country easily.
Considering Vietnam a consumption market, companies from Thailand have invested heavily in the domestic retail market and production of consumer goods, said Winfield K Wong, head of wholesale banking of HSBC Vietnam.
According to data of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, total investments from ASEAN firms in Vietnam in quarter one reached US$1.14 billion, accounting for 14.81% of the total in the period.
In January-March, there were 50 new investment projects from ASEAN countries approved with new investments of US$605 million, and 30 operational projects with extra investments of US$367.3 million. Besides, there were 116 deals by ASEAN enterprises to acquire stakes in Vietnamese firms with a total value of US$169.66 million.
As of March 20, there had been 3,219 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects from ASEAN countries in Vietnam, with total investments of US$61.65 billion.
Most investment projects from ASEAN are in the processing and manufacturing industry, accounting for 50% of the total. The top ASEAN investors in Vietnam are Singapore, Thailand and Brunei.
HSBC: ASEAN enterprises continues strong investment in Vietnam
