Foreign newspapers: Vietnam becomes a "magnet" for investment after the Covid-19 pandemic

Singapore's Straits Times newspaper on May 12 quoted business consultants as saying that foreign investors are increasingly interested in Vietnam, especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has further aroused the need to shift production.

"In the first month or two when the epidemic broke out, everything slowed down. But now we've started getting more and more emails from businesses planning to invest in Vietnam," said Trent Davies, director of international business consulting at consulting firm Dezan Shira & Associates. inform.

 Reuters quoted the assessment of Kizuna Joint Development, a company whose customer base is mainly Korean and Japanese investors, also said: "We think that foreign investment capital will pour into Vietnam after the pandemic thanks to theo quickly".

Thanks to early response measures such as social distancing, community isolation along with testing and contact tracing capacity, so far Vietnam has only recorded 288 cases of Covid-19. Vietnam is considered to have a better epidemic response due to countries in the region such as Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, which have recorded thousands of Covid-19 cases.

Vietnam produces its own test kits that meet international standards and exports to many countries such as Iran, Finland, and Malaysia. This test kit was recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Kingdom last month, allowing this medical device to be exported to Europe. Vietnam has also started testing a Covid-19 vaccine on mice.

Mask production has given impetus to the textile and garment industry, which has been affected by reduced demand from Western markets due to the pandemic. Even before lifting the export restriction at the end of last month, Vietnam exported more than 80 million masks in the first half of April to countries such as Japan and South Korea. Meanwhile, the demand for this item in European markets is also very large. In addition to exports, Vietnam also provides mask aid to many countries.

 

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The Straits Times quoted Dr Le Thu Huong, senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, as saying that thanks to its rapid response, Vietnam has been steadfast in leading and shaping the region's response to the pandemic. "No country can recover on its own, but countries that are better shaped and respond to crises earlier will be in a better position," he said.
That is also the basis for Reuters to believe that Vietnam can recover economically faster than many other countries.

According to the forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Vietnam's economic growth this year is about 2.7%, but it may recover strongly to about 7% next year.

However, expert Trent Davies also pointed out the challenges that Vietnam needs to overcome to attract more foreign investment inflows. "The area of ready-built factories, the number of roads, ports, train systems that are important for industrial development (of Vietnam) are still lacking," Mr. Davies commented.

Minh Phuong

According to Reuters, Straits Times