Government pledges to facilitate Nike’s long-term operation in Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnamese Government is willing to create favourable conditions for Nike to operate in the long run in Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said while receiving Nike Vice President Chris Helzer in Hanoi on December 17.

He added that the Government is intensifying administrative reform and other efforts to improve business investment environment and facilitate business development for foreign investors, especially those from the US.

The Government has submitted to the Politburo for approval a project on increasing the efficiency of foreign investment attraction, Hue said, adding that Vietnam is institutionalising this issue by amending the Law on Investment and Law on Enterprises.

The Deputy PM hoped Nike will expand the list of raw materials sourced from Vietnam, increase the local content of its products, and help Vietnamese businesses improve capacity to join the group’s supply chains.

He affirmed that Vietnam does not pursue policies on trade surplus with the US and monetary manipulation. In fact, the country is trying to buy more made-in-US products to balance bilateral trade, he said.

Hue told his guest that 2020 will be an important year, and suggested the group have initiatives to mark this year such as providing exclusive products for the SEA Games 31 to be hosted in Vietnam.

For his part, Chris Helzer said Nike’s factory in Vietnam is the largest and most important of its kind worldwide.

Besides business operation, Nike also pays attention to social activities and has coordinated with some schools in Vietnam to implement programmes developing sport and outdoor activities for Vietnamese children, he said.

Helzer made some proposals relating to cooperation with Vietnamese partners in high-tech human resources training to serve Nike’s factory in Vietnam, and favourable conditions for the group to sign contracts on the use of renewable energy in line with its policy of switching to environmentally friendly energy.

He also asked the Vietnamese National Assembly to early ratify the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA)./.