This was affirmed by analyzers and entrepreneurs full of experience in production-business activities between Vietnam and the US. Accordingly, many US businesses will select Binh Duong for their investment in the coming time.
Vietnam attractive to US investors
The Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment has just revealed that the US has continued being the world’s largest outbound investor with total investment capital as of quarter 1, 2015 of US$5trillion or 25%-26% of the global FDI capital. According to the FIA, the US has 712 projects worth US$10 billion, ranking 7th out of 110 countries, territories investing in Viet Nam.
Production at Amy Vietnam Co.Ltd.’s factory in VSIP 2
Like European companies, one of US businesses’ biggest objective when investing abroad is market development. This makes Vietnam become attractive to US businesses. Vietnam is seen as a potential market for US businesses, due to having young population, rapid growth, especially low labor cost. There is now a surge in labor cost in China, making many US businesses be interest in Vietnam where labor cost is cheaper than in China. For example, from late 2014, Microsoft moved its smartphone plants in China to Vietnam.
In addition, according to experts, Vietnam is attractive to foreign investors in general and ones from the US in particular as the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) with high expectations will officially take effect in 2017. Since beginning negotiations for joining the TPP, Vietnam has welcomed more and more US businesses in search of investment opportunities. In 2013, 22 US businesses arrived in Vietnam for seeking investment opportunities. The figure amounted to 33 in 2015.
Binh Duong-destination for investors
As of now, Binh Duong has attracted more than US$650mln in FDI from US businesses. The US has ranked 6th among countries and territories investing in Binh Duong. Most US projects focus on hi-tech and environmentally friendly industries.
In 1997, American Standard built a large-scale plant making sanitary accessories with total investment capital of US$16.5mln and annual capacity of 400,000 products in Binh Duong. The company has worked stably, contributing to generating jobs for thousands of laborers. Till 2011, the company doubled its capacity and is expected to expand production at Vietnamese customers’demand.
Amway Vietnam Co.Ltd. also inaugurated its second US$25mln factory in the Vietnam – Singapore Industrial Park II in Sept.2015. The plant is part of the corporation’s global production expansion plan worth US$332mln. Company General Director Leo Boon Wang affirmed that the birth of the second plant has showed the company’s long-term investment commitment with a desire of contributing to the local socio-economic growth, generating jobs for locals.
According to US businesses, Binh Duong is among Vietnam’s localities with the best infrastructure along with abundant workforce, flexible leaders always getting ready to support businesses with a high sense of responsibility.
Realizing that the US business community’s demand for learning about investment climate in Vietnam, especially Binh Duong surged over the past time, the Vietnamese – American Chamber of Commerce (VACOC), on Nov. 11, opened its representative office in the province. Located at Becamex IDC building in TDM city, the office is expected to create favorable conditions for the two countries’businesses to make trade exchange and seek investment opportunities.
Mrs.Mai Hoang, Chairwoman of the VACOC said that along with bilateral cooperation programs, Vietnam and the US have joined international organizations and important trade agreements, including the TPP, so US businesses’demand for seeking investment opportunities in Vietnam in general and Binh Duong in particular is very high. Hence, the birth of the office is seen as one of great efforts in increasing capital inflows from US businesses to Binh Duong
Reported by Khanh Vinh-Translated by K.T