Many French companies involved in high technology and consumer goods areas are showing keen interest in Vietnam’s investment environment, French officials said on Thursday.
Pierre-Jean Malgouyres, chairman of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam, told a press briefing in HCMC that he expected the France-VietnamBusinessForum 2013 slated for April 7 in HCMC could usher in a new wave of French investment.
The event will witness more than 1,000 meetings and exchanges for investment cooperation between 127 French companies and 500 local partners. Multiple French participants are cosmetics producers like Abiocom, Boccard, Matis Sas and Med in Spa.
French firms invested in Vietnam with a combined value of US$3 billion in 2012, involving foodstuff, construction materials and pharmaceuticalindustries, Pierre-Jean said. There are about 300 French companies in operation in Vietnam, including hotel management Accor Group and L’Oreal cosmetics maker, he added.
Speaking with the Daily, Nguyen Ngoc Tuyet Trinh of L’Oreal Vietnam Company said her firm’s products only got annual sales growth of 7-8% in other markets but posted an increase of a staggering 17% in Vietnam, showing a strong appetite for the items.
Trinh’s company, thereby, is looking to construct a plant at home to supply products for local sale and export to minimize the amount imported from France and other countries, Trinh said.
Meanwhile, Marc Gagnard, director of the French trade commission Ubifrance in Vietnam, said Vietnam now is an attractive destination to many French investors in areas likesoftware,videogame, smart phoneapplicationsand tablet computers.
Source: The Saigon Times Daily – Van Nam
Key words: Vietnam, seen as, attractive destination, for French investors.
