Over 100 businesses based in the United States operating in the fields of finance, energy, technology, e-commerce, healthcare, and insurance participated in a teleconference to seek greater investment opportunities in ASEAN and Vietnam moving forward.

An assembly line of electric wires for car exports to the US market.
(Photo:VNA) 

The occasion was co-hosted by the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) in collaboration with the auditing firm Ernst & Young.

The teleconference saw the Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc share some of the huge opportunities that exist for US businesses when investing in the ASEAN bloc and in Vietnam in particular in the post-novel coronavirus (COVID-19) period.

The Vietnamese diplomat highlighted some of the favourable factors that US investors can enjoy in the country, including positive developments in the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership and the enforcement of a series of free trade agreements. 

In addition, other aspects such as the country’s success in containing the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government's determination to attract foreign investment, as well as the nation’s key role in restructuring the global supply chain, can all be viewed as positive factors.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently proposed setting up a task force aimed at promoting foreign investment, adding that the nation will resume some commercial routes and facilitate entry for foreign experts, investors, and skilled workers in the near future, Ambassador Ngoc said.

The Southeast Asian nation is also discussing other issues with the US and other regional countries, including launching economic co-operation initiatives, such as the Economic Prosperity Network, with a view to encouraging the implementation of co-operative projects to launch high-tech products and develop the local digital economy.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc, USABC President Alex Feldman
and representatives of US businesses Ernst & Young, PC Johnson and UPS
at the teleconference 

The diplomat also offered an update on ASEAN's efforts in response to the pandemic and economic recovery in post-pandemic period. 

Alex Feldman, USABC President, along with other US business representatives highlighted the investment opportunities that exist within ASEAN and Vietnam, the crucial position of ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as the bloc becoming the fourth largest trading partner and the leading investment destination for US investors in the region.

Moreover, US businesses expressed their belief that financiers will consider the Governments’ capability in responding to external shocks, adding that the country’s COVID-19 prevention and control measures, along with economic recovery efforts, have been received positively by foreign investors.

Most notably, several US firms such as UPS and SC Johnson unveiled plans to expand business investment in Vietnam in the near future. 

Furthermore, other US enterprises expressed a desire for the country and other ASEAN member states to continue improving the business investment climate, simplifying administrative procedures, increasing transparency, and devising policies aimed at support companies that focus on the development of human resources and infrastructure.

USABC added that it is ready to co-ordinate with Vietnam to successfully organise the Indo-Pacific Business Forum in the country by the end of the year.