Socialist Republic of Vietnam

HANOI, Aug 19 Asia Pulse - One of the concerns of foreign investors in Vietnam is the socio-political situation, which Vietnam has kept stable over the past years, said Low Sin Leng, Chairman of the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park.

Low spoke with reporters about the success of Vietnam-Singapore cooperation on the sidelines of the two-day forum, "Investing in Vietnam: Insights, Strategies and Prospects" which opened in Hanoi on Tuesday.

She said Vietnamese leaders are supportive of foreign investors and are determined to solve their problems.

"Having invested in Vietnam for almost eight years, our Vietnam-Singapore IP is a successful one in Binh Duong province. One of our key jobs is international marketing, which means, persuading investors to come and invest in our park. By doing so, we have contributed to the investment environment in Binh Duong province and Vietnam as a whole."

Low said investors in her park appreciate Vietnam's competitiveness, including low labour cost and efficient and productive workers.

"Vietnam's labour cost is low compared to other emerging economies but more should be done in terms of professional upgrading, which I think, the Vietnamese government is well aware of."

"The costs of infrastructure, however, including power, water supply and waste treatment, will decide the total logistical costs of production, which is an important consideration. So, Vietnam should continue to be proactive in making it easier for investors to come and invest in Vietnam given the global competition, in which investors are wooed by many countries."

Low's comments on Vietnam's labour market were echoed by Wong Chee Choy, General Manager of Keppel Communications, a subsidiary of Keppel Corporation - the forum's main sponsor. He added, "Vietnam's labour is of a good quality. Vietnam is an open market for investors like us, a communications service provider."

"Having listened to Prime Minister Phan Van Khai's presentation today, I think the Vietnamese government is determined to open the market and level the playing field," said Wong, whose company has a project in Ho Chi Minh City.

Unlike Low and Wong, Aikhong Tan, visited Vietnam for the first time, attending the forum as part of his attempts to look for business opportunities here.

"Before coming to Vietnam, I studied Vietnam's investment environment very carefully. I think there are positive signs for business here. It seems there are a lot of attractions in Vietnam."

"From the forum, I heard about business opportunities in Vietnam and I think investors are optimistic about the country's future," Tan said.

Tan's Rendezvous hotel chain has branches in Singapore, China and Australia. He interpreted the investors positive attitude towards the investment environment as an opportunity for his group to put stakes in Vietnam.

"There will be more business travellers to the country as your country is developing. Therefore, we want to work with Vietnamese partners to build hotels in Hanoi or HCM City.

"Singapore has experience in tourism because we have developed it for many years. I hope to see our cooperation in this respect so that when Western visitors come to one place they will come to others in the region.

"I also see in Vietnam a high quality service industry, the people are very friendly."