German news website NTV has published an article highlighting the attractiveness of the Southeast Asian country to German businesses. (Photo: VNA) According to the September 14 article, Vietnam has long been famous for shoes, garment and textile, coffee and pepper. The country is always ready to innovate and absorb new technologies, so it has a good reputation as an electronics manufacturing hub.
Meanwhile, “Made in Germany” goods and machinery are also very popular in Vietnam, along with automobiles and chemical products. Germany currently has about 350 companies with offices and facilities in the Southeast Asia country, it said.
Two-way trade turnover reached 18 billion euros (19.2 billion USD) last year, of which shipments from Vietnam accounted for 14.7 billion euros. Germany is currently Vietnam’s most important trade partner in the European Union (EU) while Vietnam is Germany’s largest partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Ludwig Graf Westarp, the representative of the German Association for Small- and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW) in Vietnam, said Vietnam is a country with many development opportunities and a very vibrant market. Over the recent years, the country has poured much capital into infrastructure, roads, ports and airports. Vietnam is also expanding its renewable energy industry which requires not only experience but also technology from Germany.
According to NTV, the per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Vietnam has doubled in the past 10 years. It has a young population who are ready to learn and a stable political system. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the Vietnamese economy like other countries in the world, experts are still very optimistic about its economy.
The article also said that in addition to the economic field, Vietnam is also quite an attractive country for Germany in terms of geopolitics. A lot of countries such as the Republic of Korea and Japan have set up production bases in Vietnam to enjoy economic benefits.
These things clearly show Vietnam's potential to German businesses, given an increasingly volatile world order, it added./.
