VietNamNet Bridge - Surveys from several organizations have all concluded that Vietnam is among the most attractive destinations for investors.

Vietnam continues to grow as a manufacturing destination and tops the growth Index in the Manufacturing Index 2015 report released recently by Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), a global real estate consultancy group.

The report also pointed out that the pace of growth in the country’s retail market continues to present opportunities to retailers and manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) as the sector expands.

Alex Crane, CEO of C&W Vietnam, said the ranking clearly showed Vietnam’s advantages in production costs, especially as costs in China have become increasingly high.

He said in the future the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement would not only help improve Vietnam’s competitiveness with tariff cuts, but also set standards to improve the assessment of supply chains, thus creating a better framework for issues such as intellectual property and human resources.

The survey of Vietnam’s business environment in the second quarter of 2015 released by EuroCham showed that Vietnam received a 77 score instead of 75 in the first quarter.

Michael Behrens, EuroCham’s deputy chair, said that the result was related to the completion of the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Fifty-seven polled businesses said the business environment was generally good in the second quarter, while only 45 percent of businesses said the same in the quarter before. 

Regarding business strategies and human resource development plans, 48 percent of businesses said they were considering expanding staff, while 35 percent said they would maintain the current personnel. 

Meanwhile, 55 percent of businesses said they hoped the number of orders and turnover would increase slightly.

Most of the businesses were from the service and manufacturing sectors.

Vietnam is now the top choice for Japanese investors who plan outward investments thanks to the labor force and the improved investment environment.

According to Hirotaka Yasuzumi, managing director of JETRO HCM City, Vietnam has been chosen by most Japanese enterprises in Thailand, which are following the Thailand + 1 strategy.

A similar result was found in a survey with Japanese enterprises in China, which are trying the China + 1 strategy.

Commenting about Vietnam’s advantages, Yasuzumi noted that Vietnam has a young and low-cost labor force. It has big opportunities to develop strongly in the ASEAN Economic Community. 

Mukuta Satoshi, who headed the Keidanren group of businesses recently visiting HCM City to look for business opportunities, also thinks that once the ASEAN Economic Community takes shape, Vietnam will become more important as a production base in the global supply chain.

TBKTSG