Malaysia's 5% approved investment target, though challenging, can be attained if investments from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Europe, Middle East and Australia increase.

Policies are needed to boost the number of domestic enterprises participating in the supply chain of multinational companies, and a boost is necessary in the localisation rate of the processing and manufacturing industry, which now remain modest, insiders said.

Salary increases at multinational companies this year are expected to be marginally down from 2020 and rise slightly next year.

Hanoi’s office market is said to be more attractive than its counterparts in other Southeast Asian cities and even in the Asia-Pacific region because of cheaper rentals and greater supply, according to real estate consultants Savills Hanoi.

An exhibition highlighting the pain of Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin victims and the lawsuit filed by Tran To Nga, a Vietnamese French woman, against multinational companies for producing and selling chemical toxins sprayed by US forces in the war in Vietnam, is being held in Ho Chi Minh City from May 8-13.

Germany's Stern Newspaper on May 7 reported that a French court is preparing to rule on the historic lawsuit filed by Tran To Nga against multinational companies for producing and selling chemical toxins sprayed by US forces in the war in Vietnam.

Salaries increased by 6.5 percent this year at multinational companies (MNCs) and 5.2 percent at Vietnamese companies, and are forecast to increase by 7 percent and 7.7 percent next year, according to the Talentnet – Mercer Total Remuneration Survey.

Foreign manufacturers who have factories in Vietnam are increasingly looking for local parts suppliers to optimise their production costs, according to the Centre for Supporting Industries Development in HCM City.

David Jarkulisch, an economic diplomat from the Czech Republic, has spoke highly of positive changes in Vietnam’s revised Law on Investment which aims to attract and bolster efficiency of foreign investment.

Vietnam's support industry is struggling to attract foreign investment as multinational companies look for alternative options during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Only about 300 of the over 1,800 businesses working in supporting industries in Vietnam have joined production chains of multinational enterprises, a figure described by analysts as too modest.

The Ministry of Finance has proposed amendments to the Law on Tax Management, aiming to enhance efficiency of tax collection from multinational companies, cross-border transactions and online businesses.

Vietnamese businesses in supporting industries need to become more competitive to enter the global supply chain, a forum heard in HCM City recently.