Vietnam - Merkel says German investors will come knocking

HCMC – German Chancellor Angela Merkel iterated in HCMC on Wednesday that German companies would flock to Vietnam to sound out opportunities, especially in high-tech, environment-friendly sectors seen as vital for Vietnam’s sustainable development.

In her keynote address given at the Germany-Vietnam Economic Forum, Merkel said German investors always eyed long-term business for sustainable development, so Vietnam also needed to make changes for the better.

“To attract more German investors, there need to be a more reliable legal framework, a more transparent administration, and a better infrastructure system,” she said via an interpreter.

Therefore, she urged “Vietnam to be more open and to boost privatization,” and call for enterprises from both countries to strengthen business cooperation.

The chancellor recalled her meeting with HCMC chairman Le Hoang Quan prior to the economic forum, and said she was briefed that there were more than 5.2 million motorbikes registered in the city. With a sense of humor, the German leader noted that “it is a big challenge for the city, but also a big opportunity for German companies to invest into infrastructure and urban communication,” with the project to develop the second metro project in HCMC being an example.

Jochen Homann, Secretary of State of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, said at the forum that Germany would assist Vietnam in technology areas, urban communications, and manufacturing among others. Germany is ready to share expertise and boost ties in human resource development, he said.

Some German investors who are doing business in Vietnam, such as Siemens, Bosch, and Metro Cash&Carry, spoke of their confidence in the business environment here.

Vo Quang Hue, managing director of Robert Bosch Vietnam, said his company had recently opened an auto components plant in Vietnam capitalized at 55 million euros, but the company would scale up its capital to 100 million euros by 2015 as the company’s commitment to make long-term, sustainable business in Vietnam.

The forum was organized in HCMC on the occasion of the official Vietnam visit by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who on the previous day in Hanoi formally agreed with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to set up strategic partnership between the two countries.

Tuesday also witnessed the signing of agreements under which Germany would finance eight projects in Vietnam with total pledged capital of over 440 million euros. The projects are mostly in areas of health care, urban management, adaptation to climate change, and waste treatment.

Economic ties between Vietnam and Germany has fared well lately, especially in trade, which reached US$4.1 billion in 2010, a year-on-year increase of 20%.

Germany’s foreign direct investment in Vietnam, however, is still far from matching potentials, with US$850 million pledged in 167 projects as of end-September.

Hoang Phi and Nguyen Tan - The Saigon Times Daily

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