Swedish firms look to expand operations in Vietnam

Stockholm (VNA) – Several leading Swedish businesses expressed their intention to expand investment in Vietnam, during a meeting with visiting Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Stockholm on May 27.

Most of the participating companies, including Electrolux, Oriflame, Scania, ABB, Ericsson, and Volvo, have already been investing in Vietnam for many years.

In his speech, PM Phuc highly valued the Swedish firms’ prestige in the global market, including Vietnam.

The Swedish government and people have always been a good friend to the country, giving enormous assistance to the Vietnamese people during the fight for national independence in the past, as well as national development at present, the PM noted.

He expressed his hope that Swedish businesses will continue investing and applying new, cutting-edge technologies in Vietnam, as well as further taking part in local socio-economic development.

At the meeting, CEO of Business Sweden Ylva Berg thanked the PM and relevant agencies of the Vietnamese Government for helping to successfully organise the recent visit by Crown Princess of Sweden Victoria Ingrid Alice Desiree. She said she believes that the official visit to her country by PM Phuc will create a new milestone in the promotion of bilateral economic, trade, and investment ties.

Leaders of Swedish companies shared the hope that the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will be signed soon, thereby facilitating Swedish trade with Vietnam.

Jonas Samuelson, CEO of home appliance manufacturer Electrolux, said the Vietnamese market generates 15 million USD in annual revenue and is the most important market of his company in Southeast Asia.

Hakan Buskhe, CEO of defence and security solution provider Saab, said his group invests 25 percent of its revenue in research and development every year. It has had cooperation activities in terms of air space and seaport management, and it is ready to transfer technologies to Vietnamese partners.

Meanwhile, Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President of telecom giant Ericsson, noted that the group has invested in Vietnam since 1993 and cooperated well with Vietnamese telecom service providers. 

The group is working to set up a coordination mechanism for providing 5G infrastructure in Vietnam, and wishes to contribute more to the country’s innovation process through software and technological solutions, he added.

Johan Soderstrom, Managing Director of ABB Sweden that has been operating in the Southeast Asian nation since 1998, spoke highly of the Vietnamese market’s potential. He expressed a strong commitment to bolstering cooperation with Vietnam, especially in developing the power grid network.

Welcoming the companies’ plans, PM Phuc affirmed that authorised agencies of Vietnam will provide the best possible support for Swedish businesses to expand investment. He also promised to directly listen to their opinions and remove obstacles so that major companies of Sweden can help bring advanced technologies to Vietnam.

As a gateway of ASEAN markets and with many new-generation free trade agreements already or about to be signed, Vietnam is an open market for Swedish enterprises, the PM added. –VNA