The Netherlands is the largest investor in Vietnam in a variety of fields from industrial production, processing, and manufacturing to design consulting services, logistics, and trade. Photo: congthuong.vn

Investment from the Netherlands to Vietnam increased sharply

Statistics from the Foreign Investment Agency, Ministry of Planning and Investment show that as of October 20, foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam reached more than US$25.76 billion in the past 10 months, an increase 14.7% over the same period. Disbursement is estimated at about US$18 billion.

Economic experts say that, since its implementation, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) had a good impact on attracting investment and resources from the European Union (EU) into Vietnam.

By August 2023, 25/27 EU countries invested in Vietnam with a total capital of US$27.6 billion including 2,384 projects, accounting for 6.42% of total registered FDI in Vietnam, bringing the EU to the 6th position of partners investing the most FDI in Vietnam.

According to the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), this is evidence of the rapid and profound development in the relationship between EU and Vietnamese businesses, stemming from geopolitical factors and the need to expand the market to Asia.

Vo Thi Ngoc Diep, Vietnam commercial counselor in the Netherlands, said that within the EU, the Netherlands is the largest investor in Vietnam with diverse fields, from industrial production, processing, and manufacturing to design consulting, logistics, and trade services.

Accumulated by the end of October 2023, the Netherlands ranked 8th out of 143 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with a total registered investment capital of US$14.3 billion with 432 valid projects.

Currently, Vietnam has nine investment projects in the Netherlands with a total registered capital of US$69.7 million, such as projects to import and distribute telecommunications equipment, cars, and components, providing services related to electric vehicle batteries, and e-commerce.

"EVFTA had a good impact on attracting investment and resources from the Netherlands to Vietnam," Counselor Vo Thi Ngoc Diep said.

She said, for Dutch businesses currently investing in business in Vietnam, especially for businesses importing goods as raw materials for production from EU countries and exporting finished products to the market, in addition to the tax incentives brought by EVFTA, goods originating from Vietnam are being "upgraded" thanks to this agreement.

Photo: congthuong.vn

Improving policies and creating favorable conditions for investors

According to Vo Thi Ngoc Diep, the Netherlands recently issued a new policy on development cooperation, clearly stating that Vietnam is the trading partner that the Netherlands focuses on among 25 partner countries.

Dutch investment in Vietnam means promoting bilateral trade growth, specifically increasing the export of goods from Vietnam to the Netherlands particularly and to the EU to enjoy incentives from EVFTA.

Counselor Vo Thi Ngoc Diep said that the investment from the Netherlands into Vietnam is growing relatively well, although there are not many large projects.

Currently, from the perspective of EU investors, Vietnam's business investment environment still faces challenges to increase investment attraction.

Regarding laws and regulations, the legal and regulatory system in Vietnam has many difficulties and lacks clarity for foreign businesses. The labor market is abundant but the quality and expertise of labor is still limited.

Therefore, to continue attracting investment from the Netherlands as well as the EU into Vietnam, Diep said that ministries, branches, and localities in the country need to develop a set of standard documents, and post them publicly on the websites of regulatory agencies like Malaysia and Singapore are doing today.

The document set should clearly state information about priority sectors/areas to attract investment from the central, local, and regional governments, and information on related procedures including rental price, taxes, location, and regulations for each type of investment.

Regarding the Trade Office, Counselor Vo Thi Ngoc Diep affirmed that the office is always ready to accompany the domestic business community in promoting exports.

The Trade Office will have specific annual activity plans, and unexpected plans according to actual requirements in the area as well as organize activities with units in the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and localities in the country.

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