There will be a substantial injection of investment into Vietnam from Thai businesses in the near future, said the Chairman of the People’s Committee of southeastern Dong Nai province, Dinh Quoc Thai.

The Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper recently reported that following the colossal flooding in Thailand a few months ago, Thai investors are now looking for destinations to move their factories to. A large number of Thai companies conducted market surveys in Vietnam and now many are considering moving their production and business activities to Vietnam. Thai added that many Thai businesses chose Vietnam rather than any of the other ASEAN member nations.

At the same time, the head of the management board of Binh Duong industrial zones Tran Van Lieu, said that the cheap and abundant workforce in Vietnam and its strong economic growth have attracted many Thai investors as floods and high costs in Thailand have cost them dearly.

In August, 2011, the Royal Foods Company invested 420 billion VND into its second project in the country, in central Nghe An province, its first one being in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.

At the end of last November, the Rayong Refinery Company and the company STFE, both from Thailand, put forward a proposal to build an oil refinery and thermo-electric power station in the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone in central Binh Dinh province.

Other Thai companies making a move towards Vietnam include Skhon Kaen, who specialise in manufacturing canned foods and sausages. Berli Jucker also has plans to build two plants in Vietnam in the first half of this year to manufacture glass bottles and cans for the beverage industry.

At present, Thailand is already one of the 10 largest foreign investors in Vietnam, with more than 250 projects totalling more than 5.8 billion USD.-VNA