Sydney (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged Australian companiesto invest in the potential market of Vietnam at the Vietnam-Australia BusinessForum in Sydney on March 16, which was held during the Vietnamese PM’s officialvisit to Australia.

Australianinvestors should come to Vietnam now to find their own chances among manyavailable opportunities, the PM said.

Asthe most important investment promotion event in the framework of PM Phuc’svisit, the event saw the participation of hundreds of enterprises and investorsof the two sides.

Atthe event, PM Phuc and Government officials of the two countries witnessed theexchange of 18 memoranda of understanding on investment cooperation between theirenterprises and organisations.

Addressing the business audience, PM Phuc expressed hispleasure to witness the signing of investment cooperationagreements between the two countries’enterprises at the event, including the plan of low-costcarrier Vietjet Air toopen a direct air route linking Vietnam and Australia.

This will make it easier for promoting investment collaboration betweenVietnamese and Australian enterprises, he stressed. 

The PM also saidthe upgrade of bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership level and the signingof the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership(CPTPP), of which both Vietnam and Australia are members, are favourablefoundations to open up a new chapter in bilateral relations.

He noted that Australianfirms still have difficulties in accessing information about Vietnam, and askedVietnam’s ministries, sectors and localities to intensify promotion andinformation exchange, and cut down procedures to bring into full play the twocountries’ cooperation potential.

According to PMPhuc, the bilateral trade turnover of 6.5 billion USD is still modest and manyAustralian firms named in the world’s 500 largest enterprises have yet to bepresent in Vietnam.

Therefore,investment promotion agencies of both countries should pay attention toboosting bilateral trade and investment ties, he suggested.

The PMhighlighted Vietnam’s economic achievements, one of which was a GDP growth rateat 6.81 percent in 2017 and 7.41 percent in the first quarter of 2018.
In addition, thecountry’s business and investment environment has been improved continuously,which is reflected through a surge in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow,with nearly 36 billion USD last year, the highest level over the past 10 years.

Phuc also pointedto the large scale of the Vietnamese market with more than 93 million people,adding that at present 54 percent of Vietnam’s population are using the internet,and by 2020, eight out of ten people will use mobile phones, which is a bigopportunity for investors to introduce their goods to consumers.

Another advantageis preferential policies, he stated, adding that the country’s corporate incomerate is only 20 percent at present and scheduled to decrease to 15 percentfollowing a tax reform roadmap to better serve start-up enterprises.

Furthermore,Vietnam is also offering tax incentives to investors in high technology,supporting industry, hi-tech agriculture and the fields that generate numerousjobs.

Notably, thecountry is speeding up the equitisation of State-owned enterprises, whichcreates opportunities for private and foreign investors to hold shares in theseenterprises.

The VietnameseGovernment leader affirmed that the Vietnamese Government commits tomaintaining macro-economic stability, controlling inflation and foreignexchange rate, flexibly using financial and monetary tools to support theeconomy, improving institution quality, enhancing jurisdiction, and improvingstate administration to maintain economic growth.

Inhis remarks at the event, Senator James McGrath, Assistant Minister tothe Australian Prime Minister said Vietnam hasbecome a dynamic economy, with a growth rate among the highest in the world.

He expressed his belief that with Vietnam’s improved investment climate, tradebetween the two countries is likely to continue increasing in the coming years.

The newly-signed Comprehensiveand Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will bring comprehensive benefitsto all member nations, and it is also an impetus for the regional economicreform process, he noted.

The senator said it is time for Australian firms to study the Vietnamese marketso as not to miss out opportunities in the country.

He also noted therole played by 300,000 Vietnamese expats living in Australia in promotingconnection among the two sides’ enterprises.

Australia hopes to welcome more Vietnamese investors in the time head, he said.

Vietnam is now the 15th largest trade partners of Australia, whileAustralia is the seventh biggest trade partner of Vietnam

Australia companies have so far invested 1.9 billion USD in Vietnam.-VNA