Vietnam’s active economic performance in recent years has attracted the attention of some major European companies,
German news site DW reported that Vietnam was one of the few Asian countries not to experience an economic contraction during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021. This year, the country’s GDP is expected to grow by about 5.5 percent.
About 60 percent of European companies operating in ASEAN say Vietnam offers the best expansion opportunities in the region, according to a survey conducted by Standard Chartered Bank.
German car supplier Brose, which has 11 factories in China, is currently choosing between Thailand and Vietnam for a new production location.
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In December, Denmark’s Lego announced it will build a $1 billion factory near Ho Chi Minh City’s southern business center, one of the largest European investment projects in Vietnam to date.
“It currently looks like medium-sized companies in particular are increasingly striving to enter the Vietnamese market.” Daniel Müller, manager at Germany’s Asia-Pacific Business Association, said.
Vietnam has become a more attractive destination for investors, outperforming its regional partners in the eyes of European companies in ASEAN, Sophie Dao, Partner at GBS told Vietnam Insider.
The EU and Vietnam ratified a free trade agreement in 2020, which includes an investment pact, the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). Bilateral trade rose to EUR 49 billion (USD 52.08 billion) in 2021, from 20.8 billion in 2012, the year when talks on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) began.
A report by Germany Trade & Invest, a research and advisory platform, points out that these pacts also give European companies easier access to public procurement in Vietnam.
