The implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) looks set to encourage firms from the Netherlands to invest new capital into Vietnam or increase capital by expanding their production capacity.

Unilever is one of the major Dutch groups in Vietnam

With the EVFTA coming into effect on August 1, the trade deal will not only capture the attention of local businesses but also many firms based in the EU, with plenty of enterprises expected to strive to promote their investment operations and bilateral trade with Vietnam.

Upon assessing the impact of the EVFTA on trade and investment between the two countries within the framework of the Vietnam-Netherlands online sportswear trading forum 2020, Iwan Rutjens, first secretary of the business division at The Dutch Embassy in Hanoi, said that the implementation of EVFTA will encourage many Dutch firms to enter the Vietnamese market. In addition, it will also promote better access to the Dutch market for many Vietnamese enterprises.

According to data released by the European-American Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, among the 28 EU member states with investment activities in the country, the Netherlands leads the way in terms of registered capital. 

Most notably, the end of 2019 saw the Central European nation rank first with 344 projects worth a total of US$10.05 billion, accounting for 39.43% of total EU investment in the nation, an increase of 26 projects and US$ 692.76 million in terms of investment capital.

The Netherlands also remains the country’s second largest EU trading partner with bilateral trade in 2018 reaching US$7.8 billion, a figure behind only Germany. Indeed, recent years have seen an increasing amount of Dutch businesses expand their investment in the nation, with the number of Dutch firms operating locally anticipated to increase sharply in the near future, especially among those who have signed contracts with local enterprises.

Some of the Dutch businesses doing effective business in the country include FrieslandCampina, De Heus, Unilever, Philips, AkzoNobel, Shell, and Damen, all of whom are operating in localities nationwide and are co-operating well alongside Vietnamese partners.