Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that two-way trade between Vietnam and the EU reached $21.2 billion in the first seven months of this year, up 9.05 percent compared with the same period last year.
Enterprises from the European Union remain optimistic on the business environment in Vietnam, with many of them planning to increase investment, according to a Business Climate Index (BCI) survey for the second quarter conducted by the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham).
Accordingly, the majority of European enterprises acknowledged that the country’s macroeconomic stability would likely continue, with 56.3 percent of respondents forecasting “stabilisation and improvement” and just 9.4 percent of respondents expecting deterioration and 34.4 percent thinking that it would not change.
The chamber revealed that about 49 percent of the respondents expect the number of orders or revenue to increase slightly in the next quarter. Nearly 16 percent of them were even more optimistic. Therefore, when they were asked about investment and personnel development plans, responses were also positive, consistent with the expected business orders. Specifically, 43.8 percent of respondents answered that they would increase investment, while 43.7 percent expected an increase in headcount.
A very small number of respondents said that they would reduce their headcount (4.1 percent), while 50 percent would maintain the same level. This result was similar regarding investment plans, with 40.6 percent of the surveyed businesses responding that investment would be maintained at the same level for the next quarter.
The trend is considered a good sign for the implementation of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EUVFTA), which is expected to boost business and investment activities by foreign enterprises in Vietnam.
Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) showed that two-way trade between Vietnam and the EU reached $21.2 billion in the first seven months of this year, up 9.05 percent compared with the same period last year.
Of this figure, Vietnam shipped $16.2 billion worth of goods to the EU, a year-on-year increase of 8.68 percent while importing over $4.97 billion worth of goods, up 10.28 percent against the same period in 2015.
Tran Ngoc Quan, deputy head of the EU Market Department under the MoIT, said in the country’s export strategy to 2020, with a vision to 2030, that the EU was considered one of the key trade and economic development partners, but in order to make the most of the preferential treatment offered from the EUVFTA, the local business community should take the initiative in all spheres, including market orientation, partnerships, manufacturing renovation and business culture.
Source: China Post
Key words : European enterprises, upbeat, about Vietnam.
