Numerous foreign firms eye stronger investment in Vietnam

Nearly 1,000 foreign enterprises from 28 countries and territories, including giants such as Boeing, Walmart, and Central Retail, have entered Vietnam to explore investment opportunities and seek partners since early September.

Unlimited demand for goods
According to Avaneesh Gupta, Senior Vice President of General Merchandise & Apparel Sourcing at Walmart – the world's number one retailer, Vietnam is among the top five countries for exports of wood and agricultural products, and ranks 10th globally for textiles and footwear exports.

Notably, Vietnamese products are increasingly gaining popularity among consumers worldwide, Gupta said.

As part of the 2024 supplemental sourcing strategy for the Walmart network, the firm has deployed procurement teams to Vietnam to explore sourcing opportunities in the country, with the product categories including seafood, cashew nuts, soy milk, coffee, fresh fruits, and fruit-based snacks, he said.

Lionel Adenot, Director of Decathlon Vietnam Group, has mentioned that his company is expanding its textile product supply with unlimited volume.

However, to become suppliers of the firm, Vietnamese businesses need to meet specific conditions, including ensuring that factories do not use coal and have a roadmap to eliminate the use of fossil fuels by 2025, achieving self-sufficiency in raw material supply, favouring environmentally friendly, on-site material usage, and implementing digital transformation in their production processes, he said.

Decathlon Vietnam Group will prioritise businesses that meet criteria related to responsibilities towards workers and the community, he added.

Agriculture also represents an enticing industry for foreign investors.

Central Retail Group has offered technical assistance and methodologies for cultivating organic honeydew melons to Danny Green Corporation, which has successfully established and currently operates a 120-ha organic honeydew melon farm in the south-central province of Binh Thuan.

Insiders said that foreign companies are willing to collaborate with Vietnamese businesses to standardise farming and production processes in order to improve the supply capacity of these businesses, thus stabilising the supply of goods for their supply chains.

Abundant opportunities of direct investment

Besides seeking reliable supply sources, numerous businesses from the RoK, the US, and Europe are keen on directly investing in Vietnam.

Jean Jacques Bouflet, Vice-Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), said with its strategic geographical location, stable economy, young workforce, and favourable policies, Vietnam is emerging as an increasingly important destination in the global supply chain.

Since the signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in 2019, European enterprises have invested in 2,250 projects worth 26 billion USD in Vietnam.

In addition, the race for investment in Vietnam has attracted numerous leading US corporations such as Apple, Qualcomm, Nike, Morgan Stanley, Intel, GE, ACORN International, General Dynamics, and Google. Recently, Boeing also explored opportunities to expand its investment in Ho Chi Minh City, especially in material supply facilities and establishing technical centres, Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspaper reported.

According to Maxime Dourdan, Director of Supply Chain Development for Boeing in Southeast Asia, Japan, and the RoK, compared to Japan and the RoK, Vietnam holds a significant advantage when it comes to production costs.

Additionally, the capacity of the Vietnamese supporting industry has significantly improved in recent years, with many Vietnamese businesses becoming part of the global supply chains of large corporations like Samsung, Sanyo, Intel, and others. This serves as a foundation for Boeing to explore cooperation and expand its supply chain investments in Vietnam, Dourdan said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment show that foreign firms invested 18.15 billion USD in Vietnam in the first eight months of 2023, representing an increase of 8.2% compared to the same period last year.

To attract more sustainable investment inflows, there should be consistency in investment incentive policies to reassure investors about long-term business operations in the Southeast Asian nation, said Hong Sun, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Business in Vietnam.