Dinh La Thang, secretary of HCMC’s Party Committee, has said that the city government is doing all what is best for French firms to do business and invest in Vietnam’s southern economic center.
Thang said at a meeting with French President Francois Hollande on September 7 that the city is trying to improve the investment environment for investors, including those from France.
Thang said HCMC is a pioneer in Vietnam in cooperation with France, thus supporting the growing strategic partnership between the two countries. Many local firms have joined hands in projects and programs in infrastructure development, health, education and training, and culture.
Hollande said French and Vietnamese enterprises and agencies have inked various deals during his two-day State visit to Vietnam, which wrapped up on September 7.
Hollande said France’s advanced technologies can be used in different sectors to fuel growth in HCMC and Vietnam as a whole.
Speaking at the France-Vietnam Business Forum in HCMC on September 7, chairman of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vietnam Nicolas Du Pasquier said Vietnam needs to step up reforms and restructuring of the public and banking sectors to fully unlock its growth potential.
Pasquier noted the number of middle-class people has soared rapidly in Vietnam in recent years, requiring the country to have diverse supplies of quality products.
HCMC chairman NguyenThanh Phong told the forum that HCMC and France have achieved great strides in economic cooperation.
As of July 2016, there had been 185 French-invested projects worth a total of US$848 million in HCMC, making France the 10th biggest foreign investor in the city.
Two-way trade between HCMC and France reached US$746 million last year, an 8.5% year-on-year leap. The figure exceeded US$423 million in the first seven months of this year.
The city attracted nearly 110,000 French visitors last year, Phong said.
At the forum, Sanofi struck an agreement to extend and strengthen partnership with Vinapharm, which started in 1993.
Sanofi said in a statement that the new strategic partnership covers all the locally-manufactured medicines marketed by Sanofi in Vietnam and products exported to Asia Pacific countries.
Vinapharm will invest in Sanofi Vietnam Shareholding Company, which owns a Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)-certified facility. The newly-built US$75-million plant will produce up to 150 million units per year and constitute Sanofi’s largest investment in ASEAN to date.
“This new agreement between Sanofi and Vinapharm will expand and allow Vietnamese to have easier access to healthcare,” said Philippe Luscan, executive vice president, global industrial affairs, Sanofi and president of Sanofi in France.
Neovia Vietnam, Grimaud, Le Boucher and the Animal Husbandry Association of Vietnam struck a deal to develop a sustainable pig farming chain in the Mekong Delta to provide safe pork for consumers.
French businesses have invested in 448 projects worth more than US$3.4 billion in Vietnam, making France the second biggest EU investor in Vietnam after the Netherlands.
The European country is the fifth largest EU trade partner of Vietnam after Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Italy.
Two-way trade between Vietnam and France stood at US$4.2 billion last year, increasing 19% over the previous year. Vietnam’s exports hit US$2.9 billion, up 23% year-on-year, and its imports rose by 10% to US$1.3 billion.
Source: http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/ - Van Nam
Key words: HCMC Party chief, pledges, full support, for French investors.
