On December 12, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City held a dialogue between the city's authorities and overseas enterprises with the theme "Opportunities and challenges for overseas Vietnamese startup in Ho Chi Minh City ".

Phung Cong Dung, Chairman of the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City speaks at the meeting. Source: The World and Vietnam

The event served as a platform for departments and sectors in the city to provide information to overseas businessmen, and an opportunity for young overseas Vietnamese to exchange ideas with local authorities.

According to Phung Cong Dung, Chairman of the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City, in recent years, Vietnamese nationals in countries around the world have been very eager to contribute to the cause of development of the city. Particularly, more and more young overseas Vietnamese enterprises have been returning to homeland to assist young entrepreneurs in the country in the process of improving productivity and creativity, develop advanced technology, upgrading the culture of Vietnam, hence lifting up the position of the country in the world.

However, factors that help ensure the stability and readiness of startups (regulatory framework, supportive policies, venture capital funds) remain constraint. According to Phung Cong Dung, the facilitation of operation conditions for start-up, especially financial policy is a vital factor for startup to achieve rapid growth.

Sharing the same viewpoint, Nguyen Hoanh Nam, Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese - Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the dynamic business environment in Vietnam, citing that annual GDP growth rate is over 6%.

Overview of the meeting. Source: The world and Vietnam

At the same time, start-up ecosystems have been formed; investment activities and innovation are taken account of; living conditions are improved, resulting in the enhancement of overseas enterprises’s confidence in launching startup and doing business in Vietnam in general and in Ho Chi Minh City in particular.

Tran Ngoc Phu, a Vietnamese French entrepreneur, started investing in his homeland 40 years ago. According to Phu, cubersome administrative procedures, investment policy and especially tax and customs procedures have been affecting his business in Vietnam. In addition, the inconsistency of the information on investment law and policies Phu receive abroad and in homeland is also the thing that confuses Phu. Besides, these are barriers challenging overseas Vietnamese like Phu in identifying the right information on investment in the homeland.

In order to overcome this shortcoming, Tran Ngoc Phu expects the Committee for overseas Vietnamese and other media agencies to help overseas people gain access to precise information on government policies, ensuring the Committee will fulfill its role as a bridge connecting overseas enterprises and localities.

In particular, governmental agencies also need to organize more meetings, dialogues to listen to proposal from overseas enterprises to help them address difficulties.

On behalf of young overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs, Vo Thanh Dang, Singaporean national, said that with a population of nearly 10 million people, Ho Chi Minh City will be the hotspot for young overseas Vietnamese businessmen. Dang said he is looking for opportunities to conquer this relatively large market, before reaching out to the world.

Also at the conference, information on start-up status in the city was provided. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Ky Phung, Deputy Director of Science and Technology Department of Ho Chi Minh City, said that since 2017, Ho Chi Minh City has supported over $ 90 million in start-up eco-systems using its budget for innovative start-ups. Currently the city's innovation community has more than 20 foreign partners; 24 incubators; 12 startup spaces and over 760 startups. Mostly, startups focus on ICT, agriculture, education and training. However, start-up businesses also need the support in terms of knowledge, experience and intellectual capital of overseas business. to build Vietnam into a startup country.

Ho Chi Minh City is now the startup hub for many young overseas Vietnamese. According to statistics from the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh City, every year, the city welcomes more than 30,000 overseas Vietnamese to visit their hometowns and seek investment, business and career opportunities./.

( Translated by Phi Yen )