(Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Multinationalsare looking to set up their bases in Vietnam despite various challengesthat the country poses as a manufacturing destination, according to theFinancial Times in the UK.
The newspaper cited Michael Kokalari, chiefeconomist of VinaCapital in Ho Chi Minh City, as saying that more and more foreigncompanies are moving their production activities to Vietnam, and one prominentexample is Apple, which began mass production of some of its AirPods wirelessearbuds in Vietnam in the second quarter of this year when most of the worldwas in lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19.
According to Financial Times, Vietnam’s labour markets are not as deep asChina’s. Industrial park space is in brisk demand, especially around HCM City,where the bulk of Vietnam’s clothing, furniture and other exporters are based.
The city’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport has long operated at well overcapacity. Meanwhile, Long Thanh airport is being built, but it is scheduled tobe ready only in 2025. Many of the components used to manufacturehigh-value products in Vietnam, from microchips to smartphones, are stillsourced from China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan or elsewhere.
The newspaper, however, noted businesspeople say the Vietnamese market isadjusting to all these difficulties, even amid the pandemic. Many projects toconstruct industrial parks are on their way. For example, GLP, Asia’s biggestwarehouse operator, is developing projects in Hanoi and HCM City, and plans toinvest 1.5 billion USD over three years as it promotes its business in Vietnam.
The Financial Times also took note of Vietnam’s big numbers which remain robust,pointing out that despite the pandemic, foreign direct investment disbursementsare down only 2 percent to 17.2 billion USD in the year to November.
The Vietnamese economy is on track to grow by 2.4 percent this year, becomingone of the fastest growing economies in the worlds. The Vietnamese Governmentis targeting growth of 6.5 percent next year./.
VNA
