US To Be Top Investor in Vietnam in Two Years
American groups believe that in the next 2-3 years, the US will be the largest investor in Vietnam, which also happens to be the wish of Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung.
Twenty-three US groups have finished their three-day visit to Vietnam, during which they had 15 meetings with Vietnamese officials. The visit was held by the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) and was the largest US business trip to Vietnam to survey the country’s business environment.
Speaking to the media on May 7, Matthew Daley, USABC’s Chairman, and Stuart Dean, Chairman of USABC’s US-Vietnam Business Committee and Chairman of General Electric in Southeast Asia, said they believe that the US will become the number-one investor in Vietnam in two years because Vietnam is being eyed by many US groups.
Daley said that at a meeting in New York last September PM Nguyen Tan Dung “ordered” the USABC to make efforts to turn the US into the top investor in Vietnam. Dung said US investment in Vietnam was still modest, ranking 6th.
Direct investment of US into Vietnam is $7 billion and it reaches around $9 billion if investment via a third country is added.
Daley said it is a well-founded goal to turn the US into the leading investor in Vietnam. The Vietnamese government is ready to negotiate a bilateral investment agreement with the US, which would make US investment into Vietnam rocket if implemented.
Dean announced that US groups plan to build factories, infrastructure facilities and seek Vietnamese partners for global production and export activities.
They also wish to transfer advanced technology to Vietnam in the fields of clean energy, aircraft manufacturing, and communication technology.
The USABC committed to lobby the US administration to extend the GSP (generalised system of preferences) for Vietnamese export items to the US.
According to Dean, around half of the 23 American groups are ready to invest in Vietnam and through 15 meetings with Vietnamese agencies, US investors received strong support for their investment projects in Vietnam.
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