30 Years of FDI, 20 Years of EuroCham, 10 Years of Whitebook23/03/2018
This year the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) celebrates its 20th anniversary. The organisation was founded in 1998 and since then, it has contributed to making Vietnam become an attractive country for investment and trade for European business. Also, it strives for an open and fair market environment in Vietnam. In 20 years, the organisation has evolved significantly starting with a group of 60 companies and now gathering 950 members. The year 2018 is also the 30th anniversary of the Law of Foreign Investment, which opened Vietnam to the international market and enabled the country to welcome foreign investors. Now, the country is considered to be an attractive destination for foreign investment due to several factors including low costs and a stable political environment.
And last but not least, 2018 is also the year of the 10th edition of the EuroCham Whitebook. The Whitebook has been published every year since 2009 and reflects the views of EuroCham members on aspects of the business environment in Vietnam with the objective of improving the European-Vietnamese business relations. It also focuses on the main business, trade and investment issues and makes recommendations to competent authorities. The edition was released on March 15 in Hanoi during EuroCham’s annual conference. The EuroCham, the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam (EU Delegation), the EU-Vietnam Business Network (EVBN), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) held the conference together. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) also was under the spotlight during the conference with a thorough discussion about its implementation.
The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement should come into force in in the coming months. The agreement aims to open the Vietnamese market to European businesses and vice versa and to boost commercial transactions. Europe is Vietnam’s third business partner right after China and the United States. The EVFTA is a comprehensive agreement covering market access, non-tariff barriers, trade facilitation, investment, sustainable development and many more. The trade in goods sector is the most promising due to the suppression of custom duties. The EuroCham is planning to organise a series of meetings in Vietnam to discuss the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and everything that goes with it.
These three anniversaries and the soon-to-be implemented Free Trade Agreement demonstrate the investment and all the efforts made by Vietnam and Europe jointly to make a better business environment for Vietnam in the future. By moving forward hand-in-hand with the European Union, this Asian country will belong to the top trade and investment destinations in the world.
Wrapped-up by Borcy, reviewed by Piérart
Sources:
· Vietnam Investment Review, No. 1377. “20 years of connecting businesses.”
· European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam https://www.eurochamvn.org