Last week, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held meetings with many leading corporations from China, the United States, Europe, and Japan, including Warburg Pincus, Meta, Ford, Amkor, Boeing, Marubeni, Sumitomo, Hitachi, Nippon Koei, Toyota, AEON, DeepC, Bosch, Heineken, and Bayer.

The meetings took place at a time when the Government of Vietnam expects to attract further foreign investment, especially in emerging industries such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) in a bid to accelerate economic growth to over 8% this year and towards the goal of achieving double-digit growth in the coming years.

At these meetings, the Government leader called on financiers to increase investment in Vietnam, especially in the spheres of high-tech industries, big data, AI, as well as hydrogen, new energy, infrastructure, biotechnology, aviation, and electronics.

The PM emphasised that Vietnam is making comprehensive and inclusive innovations, especially in institutional reforms, aiming to create the best possible conditions for businesses to operate in safe and effective manner.

US Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam Courtney Beale highlighted the long-term partnership in semiconductor manufacturing between the US and Vietnam, especially in the assembly, testing, and packaging stages. He stressed that US firms view the country as an “important market” and are therefore ready to co-operate and support development in multiple fields.

Meanwhile, Julien Guerrier, head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam, described the Vietnamese Government’s recent reforms as “extremely decisive and impressive”, adding that European businesses have always placed high trust in the country’s potential and are ready to support Vietnam in its efforts to attract more investors.

However, industry insiders have pointed out that the country must continue to simplify administrative procedures as it strives to create the optimal conditions for foreign businesses and make drastic institutional reforms to further attract high-quality FDI inflows and create breakthroughs in the coming period.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Finance, foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam surpassed US$6.9 billion in the first two months of the year, marking a 35.5% year-on-year rise.