French businesses keen on Vietnam
Entrepreneurs from France are showing interest in doing business in Vietnam, a representative from the French Business Confederation (MEDEF) said on June 26.
Frederic Sanchez, President of the Vietnamese sub-committee of the MEDEF, is leading a delegation of 20 businesses in transportation, industry, finance, energy, oil and gas, banking and automobile which started a four-day investment fact-finding tour of Vietnam on June 25.
Sanchez said the tour is aimed at gaining insights into reform projects and the process of privatisation and equitisation in Vietnam, as well as projects to build a metro in Hanoi and express railway routes in Hanoi and the central province of Nghe An.
“Studies of the Vietnamese market will help French businesses understand to what extent they can meet development requirements in Vietnam,” he said.
While in Vietnam, the MEDEF delegation is slated to meet with the Vietnamese Prime Minister; the Ministers of Planning and Investment, Industry, Transport and Communication, and Construction; and the Chairmen of the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committees.
According to Sanchez, Vietnam is a dynamic market, with economic growth rates consistently hovering between 8-10%, a young population and the formation of a new middle class will drive up the demand for consumer goods in the country.
“There will be opportunities for French businesses,” he said.
Sanchez said over the last 15 years he had visited Vietnam between 2-3 times a year on average.
“Vietnam is changing every day and we can see this change with our own eyes. Modernisation and industrialisation are rapidly taking place in the country,” he said.
However, the French representative said some regulations and laws are no longer suitable for the development in the country. He suggested that they be adjusted to fall into line with international rules and norms as Vietnam has already been admitted to the World Trade Organisation.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, France has invested in 326 projects in Vietnam to the tune of US $2.29 billion and now sits at 9th on the 77 strong list of foreign investors in Vietnam.
Since 2004, the French Government has also provided Vietnam with US $400 million a year in aid and is the second largest bilateral donor to the country after Japan.
Vietnam News Agency - June 28, 2007.
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