Vietnam, Taiwan strengthen industrial cooperation

Delegates and guests at the forum - Photo: vietnamtextile

According to VCCI President Vu Tien Loc, Vietnam has become an attractive business and investment destination for many foreign companies, including those from Taiwan, thanks to its notable advantages, including a high economic growth rate, political stability and its strategic geographic location.

Furthermore, the size of the Vietnamese consumer market is regarded as showing rapid and vibrant growth, with an increasing number of people in the middle class, he said, adding that with regards to the business climate, Vietnam has continuously reformed its institutions and policies aiming to create optimal conditions for foreign investors.

Taiwan once led the investment wave into Vietnam in the 1990s and is currently the fourth largest foreign investor in the Southeast Asian country, Loc stated.

Deputy Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Industrial Department, Pham Tuan Anh, said that Vietnam and Taiwan are important economic partners, with Taiwan having recently invested in many large-scale mining, metallurgy, and garment and textile projects in Vietnam and helping to creat multiple jobs for local workers.

However, Taiwan firms have yet to foster links with Vietnamese businesses or create a widespread effect in the establishment of the goods supply-manufacturing-consumption chain, he stated.

In the time ahead, Vietnam will give priority to attracting investment projects with high technological content and creating more added values, Anh said, calling on Taiwan companies to actively boost their connection with Vietnamese enterprises and facilitate a new investment wave into Vietnam.

According to Sheng-Hsiung Hsu, chairman of the Taiwan federation of industries, Taiwan has invested more than US$31 billion in Vietnam so far, and the figure could climb to an estimated US$100 billion with the inclusion of investment projects through a third party.

The two sides share many complementary conditions to develop the manufacturing and processing industry and the manufacturing of export commodities, with Vietnam possessing advantages in terms of minerals resources, an abundant labour force and low production costs, while Taiwan possesses experience and green production technologies, he said.

Sheng-Hsiung Hsu suggested that Vietnam and Taiwan shift from the model of single investment into the connection of both sides’ businesses, aiming to build the goods production-consumption chain in order to access the world market together.

In addition to strengthening investment, Vietnam and Taiwan should accelerate the exchange of experience in international cooperation, human resource training and the application of technology to enhance the operational capabilities of Vietnam’s small and medium-sized enterprises, he recommended.