According to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Berlin, the German newspaper Focus published an article on the development of Asia on July 21, in which it highly appreciated the development potential of Vietnam.

The article quoted Mr. Horst Geicke, investor and Chairman of German House in Ho Chi Minh City, as saying that Vietnam is considered a new investment destination outside of China for a range of foreign investors in general, and German businesses in particular.

Most businesses will continue to do business in China, but at the same time, they will choose to invest in a second factory in Asia located in Vietnam.

[More and more German businesses want to operate in Vietnam]

According to the article, in the past, Vietnam mainly focused on developing tourism and exporting a number of key products such as agricultural products, clothes, and shoes.

But so far, Vietnam is promoting production and business activities in the field of electronics and other fields.

The best example is South Korea’s Samsung Group. Currently, half of Samsung’s mobile phones are manufactured in Vietnam.

In Asia, apart from Singapore, only Vietnam has signed a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union (EVFTA).

Among the German businesses heading to Vietnam are auto parts suppliers Brose and ZF, equipment manufacturer Kärcher, construction materials supplier Knauff and consumer goods company Henkel.

In addition, there are many German enterprises doing business in Vietnam market .

In 2022, the total registered foreign direct investment capital in Vietnam reached nearly 27.72 billion USD, the disbursement reached 22.4 billion USD - a record high.

This number has made an important contribution to bringing Vietnam’s GDP growth to an impressive rate of more than 8% in 2022 and an average of 5.9% over the past 13 years.

The article also recalled the visit to Vietnam by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last November and said that German leaders highly valued the relationship with Vietnam and wished to further promote this relationship.

Earlier, Germany’s Economic and Social Journal (PT-Magazin) also published a detailed article titled "Investing in Vietnam," which said that in an effort to diversify supply chains, medium-sized enterprises still consider Vietnam an "interesting choice."

According to the article, Vietnam is one of the developing countries with a free market access policy, so it is attracting many foreign investors.

The continued rise of foreign direct investment (FDI) in recent years and the construction of related production facilities can attest to it.

For example, with the large investment of the world famous Lego toy manufacturer, Denmark is the leading European country to pour capital into Vietnam in 2022.

The large number of medium-sized investors from the German-speaking DACH region (including Germany, Austria and Switzerland), which already have production facilities in Vietnam, is also proof that Vietnam has reliable framework conditions for investors.

Many investors have chosen famous and tested locations in Vietnam, such as Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces in the South, or Bac Ninh and Hai Phong in the North and Da Nang in the Central. Currently, destinations that have not been developed much, such as Quy Nhon, are also being interested.

The article argues that two factors "domestic" and "global" are the reasons why Vietnam has become the center of many supply chains.

Domestically, Vietnam can still have a convincing edge at relatively low costs, although commercial real estate costs and wages are also rising.

Furthermore, Vietnam is relatively politically stable, allowing businesses to reliably plan their businesses.

The framework conditions for foreign direct investment are largely liberalized. Vietnam also benefits from EVFTA as well as from ASEAN agreements.

The EVFTA is of great significance when it comes to preferential import tariffs and is increasingly relevant in the area of ​​standards harmonization.

This makes Vietnam a particularly attractive point when goods exported to the EU or goods manufactured in Vietnam can find customers in other Southeast Asian countries.

However, Vietnam still needs to improve infrastructure in many places as well as strengthen the legal framework as well as remove some barriers and challenges for investors.

According to the article, Vietnam can be an attractive investment option for many German companies due to domestic and global conditions.

To start an FDI project in Vietnam, foreign investors must focus mainly on the legal aspects and prepare the required documents to obtain the necessary permits and certificates.

In addition, there are many options to optimize business operations from the perspective of Vietnamese tax law, free trade agreements and customs regulations.