European businesses are increasingly shifting their investment focus from China to Vietnam as a safer destination amidst shrinking global investment, said Alain Cany, European Chamber of Commerce Chairman.

Speaking with a Vietnam News Agency reporter on the sidelines of the Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) in Hanoi on Dec. 1, the EuroCham representative said a lot of European CEOs visiting Vietnam have approached him recently with the message that “they are going to do less in China and want to do more in other Asian countries.”

“Most of the time, Vietnam is the next one they [European companies] are considering,” Cany said. “What we used to call the ‘ China plus one’ policy, I believe, is becoming more and more for European companies a ‘ China plus Vietnam ’ policy.”

According to the EuroCham Chairman, Europe is growing more interested in Vietnam . He said next year would be much better than 2009 should the Vietnamese government continue to head on the right track of stepping up reform at all levels, particularly macro-economic reforms such as opening the telecommunications, pharmaceutical and retail sectors to foreign investors, accelerating the equitisation process for state-owned enterprises and intensify the fight against corruption and bureaucracy.

Despite complaints among both domestic and foreign investors about the remaining impediments relating to poor infrastructure, cumbersome administrative procedures, ineffective intellectual property protection mechanisms, etc., the general business sentiments remain positive.

According to Vice President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Alexandre Legendre, Canadian businesses are eager to “make significant contributions and investment in other areas of activity” such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, air and rail transportation and information technology.

Canada has joined various projects in many key sectors including insurance, mining, real estate, energy, hospitality, engineering, construction and financial services, with well-known brands such as VinaCapital, Manulife and SNC Lavalin.

A separate survey of around 600 Japanese firms has shown that Vietnam retains 3rd place as a preferred investment destination for the last four consecutive years since 2006, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) told the forum.

The business confidence of local companies also rose this year, mostly thanks to appreciation of the government’s macro-economic management policies.

According to the forum’s Business Environment Sentiment Survey 2009, two-thirds of the 254 companies questioned, of which 30 percent are foreign, have positive opinions on the outlook for Vietnam ’s growth. 75 percent of them said they would continue to expand their business in the next three years.

As a biannual dialogue between the government and the business community, both foreign and domestic alike, the VBF is held prior to the donor Consultative Group meeting for Vietnam .

At the forum this year, the business community proposed five recommendations for the improvement of the business environment, including stepping up administrative reform, investing in infrastructure, fighting corruption, reforming the preparation and issuance of legal documents to better comply with the international standards and reforming the educational system./.