HCMCity (VNA) – Vietnam and Taiwan (China) boast a lot of potentialfor investment cooperation in the field of industry, heard a forum in Ho ChiMinh City on December 7.

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce andIndustry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc said Vietnam is now an attractive investment andbusiness destination for many foreign enterprises, including those from Taiwan. 

Vietnam’s advantages include high economic growthrate, political stability, and strategic geographical location, while its consumptionmarket has grown rapidly with an increasing middle class, he said

Thecountry has also continually reformed institutions and policies to create thebest possible conditions for foreign firms to do investment and business, henoted.

Loc added that Taiwan used to lead theinvestment inflow into Vietnam in the 1990s and is currently the fourth biggestinvestor in the country.

Pham Tuan Anh, Deputy Director of the Departmentof Industry under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said Vietnam and Taiwanare important economic partners of each other.

Taiwanhas recently invested in many large-scale mining, metallurgy andtextile-garment projects in the Southeast Asian nation, creating a big numberof jobs for local people.

However, Taiwanese companies haven’t formedconnections with Vietnamese firms, he said, noting that Vietnam prioritisesprojects using high technology and creating more added value. Therefore, ithopes Taiwanese businesses will actively team up with Vietnamese companies andpromote a new investment inflow into the country.

Xu Sheng Xiong, Chairman of the Taiwan IndustryAssociation, said Taiwan’s total investment in Vietnam has exceeded 31 billionUSD. Including projects invested through a third party, this figure isestimated at around 100 billion USD.

According to Xu, Vietnam and Taiwan have manysupplementary conditions to develop processing-manufacturing industries andproduction of goods for export. Vietnam has rich mineral resources, abundantworkforce and low production costs while Taiwan has experience and greenproduction technology. Therefore, the two sides should connect their businessesto form production-consumption chains.

Aside from stronger investment, they can also increasethe exchange of experiences in international cooperation, manpower training,and hi-tech application to improve the capacity of Vietnamese small- andmedium-sized enterprises, Xu said.-VNA