Vietnam is a popular investment destination for French businesses. (Illustrative image. Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is a popularinvestment destination for French businesses, according to Vincent Florean,French Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City.
French enterprises have special interest inVietnam, he told reporters from Thoi Bao Kinh te Viet Nam (Vietnam EconomicTimes) on the sidelines of a wine tasting programme in Vietnam on April 5.
He said a record number of 27 French wineproduction firms participated in the event held by the French investment andtrade promotion agency.
The French government and businesses need towork more to tap markets with high potential like Vietnam, he said.
He added that the French aviation,pharmaceutical and agriculture industries make up 30 percent, 17 percent, and14 percent respectively of the country’s total export turnover to Vietnam.
France hopes the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement(EVFTA) will be ratified and come into force soon, which will create new momentumfor bilateral trade relations, he said.
At present, France is the second biggest foreigninvestor of Vietnam among European countries and the 15th largest investor ofVietnam among countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asiancountry.
So far, France’s total investment in Vietnam hasbeen estimated at about 3.7 billion USD, focusing on industry, infrastructure,food and electronic equipment, he added.
Two-way trade exceeded 800 million USD in thefirst two months of 2019. Vietnam exported 574 million USD worth of goods toFrance, a year-on-year rise of 13 percent. As a result, Vietnam recorded atrade surplus of nearly 350 million USD in the period.-VNA
VNA
