Containers are loaded onto a ship at Chua Ve Port in Hai Phong city (Photo: VNA) Da Nang (VNA) – Asia-Pacific executives are increasinglylooking at Vietnam as a market and means as they see the population isincreasing but the economy is growing, and people have more income.
James Fatheree, Vice President of Asia of the US Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) made the remark while giving an interview to Vietnam News Agency onthe sidelines of the APEC CEO Summit 2017 held in the central city of Da Nangon November 8-10.
“Nowthey see opportunities to make more investment in the country in order to servethe local population but also American companies investing in here and employ alot of Vietnamese so it’s a win-win,” he said.
He cited an ASEAN business survey that the US Chamber of Commerce has conducted.The key findings show that executives who are based in the ASEAN countriesidentify Vietnam as the country that they would most want to do business with,other than the ones they are currently operating. So someone who is based inIndonesia when they were asked which country would you like to do business andthey said Vietnam.
“I think that the point to the excitement that executives have about Vietnamand the opportunities here is the growth. People speak very highly of people ofVietnam and their work level and so forth,” he said.
However,he noted that there are still some challenges in Vietnam. “I think what we wantto do is working together to overcome the challenges,” he said.
[APEC 2017: Vietnam’s economic changes between two APEC Years]
According to him, there are still concern of corruption, concern of certainregulations and how the government is regulating specific industries whether it’shealth care or electronic payments or other things.
“So we need to work together in order to find ways that allow those kinds ofindustries to operate in Vietnam so that they can contribute to the country’s economicgrowth,” he stressed.
He also said he is impressed with the progress Vietnam has made in the lastfew years in terms of opening the economy.
“We are very encouraged by Vietnam’s participation in the TPP and thecommitments that were made in the deal to reform the state and enterprisesectors to open the market more in order to provide more certainty forinvestors to open up services market and also the rules on digital economy,” hesaid.
If Vietnam continues those commitments, that will send a really powerful andpositive signal to foreign investors and they will see that Vietnam is a place wherethey want to do business, he added.-VNA
VNA
