VietNamNet Bridge – Addressing the concerns of the foreign business community after some incidents in which foreign firms in southern provinces were attacked by extremists in the name of the “anti-China demonstrations”, HCM City governor Le Hoang Quan this morning promised to do his best to protect the interests of foreign investors.

Agitators arrested for provoking workers in protests against China

HCM City Chairman Le Hoang Quan met with foreign investors on Thursday morning.

At a meeting between the leaders of HCM City and foreign companies investing in the city on Thursday morning, representatives of the Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong, Malaysian, Filipino and German Business Associations expressed their worries about the unrest that caused damage to some foreign factories over the past few days.

Many businesses with factories in Binh Duong Province have headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, they expressed all of their concerns to HCM City’s officials and asked for the city’s assistance.

According to the representative of the South Korean Business Association, the destruction caused by extremists has significantly affected the foreign business community. The representative of the Singaporean Business Association also expressed concern over the marches against China which dissolved into chaos and resulted in big losses for businesses in the industrial zones in Binh Duong.

"I feel that if the local security forces and local governments responded more quickly, the situation would have been controlled better. Singaporean enterprises were very worried and we hope that this incident will never happen again," the representative said.

Mr. Michael Chiu, Chairman of the Hong Kong Business Association, said that according to initial statistics, at least eight businesses were affected by the recent demonstrations. Many Hong Kong businessmen were afraid of the marches and they returned home, while some hid themselves at hotels.

"I have lived in Vietnam for 20 years and this is the first time that I have felt such fear. I would like to thank the chairman for holding this meeting, and I would like to ask this: If the same thing happens again, how can we contact the city government? I still believe that Vietnam has a good investment environment but we want the city to take measures to prevent such incidents," said Mr. Michael Chiu.

Mr. Janathan Moreno, CEO of Sandhill Scientific Vietnam, a US-invested company, said that he was really shocked at how events transpired so fast. Over the last two days, many Chinese and Taiwanese companies were burned and destroyed. "During the 17 hours of instability, our company could only hang banners expressing solidarity and saying that we are not a Chinese company."

Recognizing the anxiety of foreign business associations, HCM City Chairman Le Hoang Quan affirmed that the city would do its best to protect the interests of businesses in the city. He emphasized     that the turmoil only occurred in Binh Duong and Dong Nai. In HCM City, only a handful of companies in the Binh Chieu Industrial Zone were affected, and only mildly so.

"We regret the incidents in recent days which were caused by some extremists who violated the law, affecting Vietnam's image in the eyes of foreign investors. These were just spontaneous acts of some bad people. In nature, Vietnamese people are very respectful and friendly to foreigners," Quan said.

Quan said the Vietnamese government had asked local authorities to ensure the safety of foreigners. In the city, which is home to 26 industrial parks and export processing zones, the local government pledged to do its best to protect investors.

Regarding accusations that the local government did not respond quickly enough, Quan explained that because the demonstrations were crowded and very densely packed, identifying the agitators and criminals who were inciting workers to extreme acts was not a simple task. The security forces needed time to approach and wisely handle the ringleaders.

He said that foreign investors can contact the city industrial and export processing zone management authority and the Department of Foreign Affairs through the consulates of their countries in HCM City.

Regarding support for the firms that were damaged in the incident, Quan said that after this meeting HCM City would convey the opinions of foreign investors to the central government.

Compiled by S. Tung