Sydney (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said he believes a new wave ofinvestments, both direct and indirect, from Australia, will land in Vietnam forwin-win benefits, following the freshly-established Strategic Partnership.

He noted that thepartnership will provide a very favourable environment for Australian investorsto come to Vietnam faster, as it creates a crucial foundation for Vietnam andAustralia to lift their cross-the-board cooperation to the next level.

He made these remarks at a working session with leading groups and investors ofboth Australia and Vietnam on the afternoon of March 16 in Sydney during his on-goingofficial visit to Australia.

[꧒Australian press highlights Vietnamese Prime Minister’s visit]

 Twelve groups, finance investment fund, and businesses managing an investment capitalamount worth over 500 billion USD with keen interests in Vietnam’s marketjoined nine prestigious groups of Vietnam in the session, which was held byVinaCapital and Macquarie Group.

Peter Warne, Macquarie Chairman, showed his great interest in Vietnam’spriorities in infrastructure development, as he said Vietnam is urbanizingstrongly and its need for infrastructure, roads, transport and electricity ishigh.

Meanwhile, VinaCapital CEO Don Lam noted the Vietnamese Government has exertedgreat efforts to reform institutions and speed up the equitization ofState-owned enterprises. He hailed the PM for working actively to drawbusinesses and investment to Vietnam.

Accordingly, he said Vietnam’s business and investment environment has beenunceasingly improved and the country’s market has become more attractive to internationalinvestors.

PM Phuc welcomed the Australian groups’ interests in Vietnam and spoke highlyof the organization of the session by VinaCapital and Macquarie.

He told the investors that 2017 was a successful year as Vietnam posted the GDPgrowth rate of 6.81 percent, the record high in many years, maintained a stableexchange rate, soundly reined in inflation, and achieved a record foreignreserve. The country also drew in 37 billion USD in FDI, the highest level in adecade and its stock market achieved a growth rate of 48 percent, one of thehighest rates in the global markets.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese Government has undertaken many policies toensure the economy has been developing sustainably and the rights and benefitsof investors have always been safeguarded.

He noted that Vietnam has set to achieve a fast but sustainable growth on thebasis of defending the rights of people and investors, and the country has alsobeen persistent in pursuing the goal of building a facilitating, transparentand efficient government and continuing improving the investment and business environmentto meet OECD standards.

He also told theinvestors that the country will continue transforming its growth model,restructuring its economy, State-owned enterprises, human resources and othersectors of its strength.

“Vietnam is concentratingon developing a sustainable and healthy finance market that is friendly toinvestors,” he noted.

The country has sofar signed 12 free trade agreements and the latest the Comprehensive andProgressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) whose membershipincludes Australia, and is negotiating the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) with the aim of forming a bigger market to attractinvestors.

During the intensive and extensive economic integration, Vietnam hasunceasingly worked to facilitate the development of the private economy, the PMtold the investors.

At the session, the PM and ministry and sector officials of Vietnam fieldedquestions pertaining to Vietnam’s foreign investment attraction and agriculturedevelopment policies and its priorities in infrastructure development.

As scheduled, the PM will chair the Vietnam-Australia Business Forum later.-VNA