Italian and German newspapers have run stories praising Vietnam’s business climate.

Italy’s best-selling daily Corriere della Sera described Vietnam as a market of 93.4 million people that presents a golden opportunity to Italian firms active in apparel, leather, footwear and precision engineering.

Its comments came in anticipation with Italy’s Deputy Foreign Minister Benedetto della Vedova’s visit to Vietnam and chair of the first meeting of the Italy-Vietnam joint committee on economy from November 24-27. The official is accompanied by 130 businesspeople.

Alessandro Terzulli, economic analyst of SACE export credit agency, said Vietnam’s manufacturing sector is expanding rapidly, which is what exactly happened in China many years ago and made the country known as a “factory of the world”. Vietnam is moving the same way thanks to low labour cost.

Italian enterprises are increasingly interested in Vietnam since it is their country’s fifth largest market in Southeast Asia and eighth biggest in Asia. In 2014, their exports surged 34.6 percent to 674 million USD.

Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW), meanwhile, named the German sportswear manufacturer Adidas as an example of successful commercial engagement in the country.

Vietnam, along with China and Indonesia, is one of the three major supplier countries for Adidas worldwide, Adidas' Simone Lendzian told DW.

"Furthermore, the importance of Vietnam as a consumer market is growing. The country's young population has a strong interest in international brands. We are seeing a high level of awareness about our brand and growing popularity for it, thus leading to increased demand for our products," he said.

While Japan and the Republic of Korea are the top sources of foreign investment in Vietnam, Germany is currently the 22 nd biggest foreign investor in the Southeast Asian nation.

As many as 750 representatives of the German business network attended the recently-concluded 14 th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business (APK) in Ho Chi Minh City, indicating their growing interest in the country.

"Vietnam would like to see more economic engagement with Germany, as the European country has good reputation as an investor," said Thomas Hundt of Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI), an economic development agency.

The article mentioned foreign direct investment as a contributor of almost 20 percent to Vietnam's economy that expanded by 5.4 percent in 2013.

It quoted the World Bank report as saying that management and professional training for workers need to be improved in order to attract more foreign investors .

Nevertheless, thorough preparation and professional advice for all businessmen who want to be active in Vietnam is essential, Hundt argues.

"Whoever wants to invest in Vietnam or conduct commercial transactions must be well prepared," he said. "And good legal advice must also be taken in advance."./.