Swedish firms' investment targets innovation in Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) - Despite macroeconomic challenges, Vietnam has emerged as an innovation hub, attracting many foreign investors, especially those from Sweden, said Eliseo Barcas, CEO of Tetra Pak Vietnam.

Bloom, Vietnam’s first-ever global innovation centre for the food and beverage (F&B) industry, was launched in Binh Duong province in early July. The state-of-the-art innovation centre, designed by Tetra Pak in partnership with DenEast of Sweden, aims to revolutionise the country’s F&B industry through its innovative and cost-efficient product creation model.

According to Eliseo Barcas, the Bloom innovation centre signifies Tetra Pak’s commitment to strengthening long-term and sustainable investment in Vietnam, contributing to the nation's innovation and transformation targets as well as unlocking the immense potential of the local F&B industry.

According to Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Ann Mawe, numerous renowned Swedish companies such as ABB, AstraZeneca, Atlas Copco, Electrolux, Ericsson, IKEA, Oriflame, SKF, Volvo, and Tetra Pak have established their presence in Vietnam.

With the signing of the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Swedish companies are increasingly showing a keen interest in Vietnam, considering it an important destination for their investment expansion plans, she stressed.

Statistics from the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment show that Swedish investors poured nearly 168 million USD into Vietnam in the first half of 2023, including five newly-registered projects worth 154.6 million USD.

As of June this year, the accumulated capital invested by Swedish companies in Vietnam had been nearly 680.5 million USD.

David Liden, Trade Commissioner of Sweden to Vietnam and Country Manager for Business Sweden, emphasised that the top priority of Swedish firms when investing in Vietnam is ensuring sustainability.

This is clearly demonstrated through efforts of corporations like Ericsson, Assa Abloy, Polarium, and Hes, he noted.

Notably, in 2021, AstraZeneca announced its commitment to help enhance Vietnam's pharmaceutical production capacity, increasing its total investment in the Southern Asian nation to 308 million UDS for the period of 2020-2024.

Pham Hong Quat, Director of Science and Technology Enterprise and Market Development Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology, highlighted the “Triple Helix' cooperation model of Sweden which tightens the interaction between universities, industries, and government agencies to foster comprehensive socio-economic development.

Vietnam should learn the model, he said./.