Leading businesses place their trust in Vietnamese market

The discussion, which was jointly organized by the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam, the Permanent Mission of Vietnam in Geneva, the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and VinaCapital, brought together representatives of large Vietnamese and world businesses, as well as YPO members.

Pascal Gerken, honorary chairman of the YPO, and delegates expressed their impression about Vietnam’s socio-economic development results in 2023, saying despite global headwinds, Vietnam secured economic growth of 5.05%, controlled inflation, and attracted a large amount of foreign direct investment.

Last year also saw Vietnam welcome both President of the United States Joe Biden and Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping on State visits to Hanoi. It has become one of the most attractive destinations not only in the region but also in the world and it will certainly play a more important role in the global supply chain, they said.

The delegates excitedly inquired into the country’s new investment opportunities, import-export policies, investment attraction, infrastructure development, innovation promotion, artificial intelligence development, sustainable energy transition, financial and monetary policy, as well as its priorities in the current transition period.

Thomas Serva, CEO of Baracoda Group (France), affirmed Vietnam is one of the most attractive destinations thanks to its abundant, high-quality human resources and good relations between Vietnam and France. He voiced his firm’s desire to engage in building innovation centers and developing artificial intelligence in the country.

Don Lam, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner of VinaCapital, affirmed that the Vietnamese government has created a safe, sustainable environment, ensuring that Vietnam is one of the most attractive destinations not only in the region but also in the world, and the country will certainly play an important role in the global supply chain.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked the CEOs for their high appreciation and briefed them on the country’s socio-economic development strategy, aiming to become a developing country with a modern industry and high average income by 2030, and a developed, high-income country by 2045.

To realize the target, he said Vietnam will mobilize all resources, both locally and externally, for rapid and sustainable development on the back of science -technology, innovation and digital transformation. It will continue to promote three strategic breakthroughs - infrastructure development (to reduce logistics costs and input costs, and increase product competitiveness); human resources training; and institution improvement (to facilitate and reduce compliance costs for businesses and people). In addition, he said Vietnam will introduce priority policies to support priority, spearhead, and emerging fields such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence and green transformation.

Vietnam pursues clear policies, conducive infrastructure, and smart governance, and despite global turmoil, it still persists in these policies, in the spirit of interest harmonization and risk sharing, stressed the PM.

He called on investors to continue to come to Vietnam, assuring them that the Government stays ready to hold dialogue and address their concerns towards win-win gains.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is in Davos, Switzerland, for the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum 2024.