European companies are still not easy to invest in Vietnam

According to Tomaso Andreatta, Vice President of European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), European companies are still not easy to invest in this market and their growth rates are not as high as that of other Asian businesses investing in Vietnam.

"European businesses are not easy to invest in as they meet certain difficulties such as requiring strict intellectual property rights or developing supply chains," said Tomaso Andreatta.

The government of Vietnam has been very active in approaching many subjects to review and develop the business environment. However, there are major shortcomings affecting the investment decisions of European businesses.

Firstly, there is the corruption in the state agencies.

Secondly, Vietnam government still provides protection mechanism and focuses on the state sector.

Thirdly, the contractor tax needs to be unified and the national one-door policy as well as the foreign currency payment policy via internet should be unified and enforced.

The fourth issue is the traffic solution. According to Vice President of Eurocham, Vietnam should switch to electric bikes first and then reduce the motorcycles step by step.

Speaking at VBF 2017, Natasha Ansell, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham), said that the US enterprises have continued to pay great attention to Vietnam. In particular, the visit of President Donal Trump recently gave the opportunity for businesses to realize their big investment plans.

However, Vietnam still has many problems in terms of institutions, licensing environment, corruption and still focuses on the public sector and state-owned enterprises.

In the same view of institutional constraints and administrative procedures, Hiroshi Karashima, President of the Japan Business Association in Vietnam, said that the administrative procedures of Vietnam have improved but are not yet complete.

This association has made two proposals. The first one is the establishment of an intergovernmental body with strong powers that can handle problems arising due to lack of clarity. The committee, whose members are ministers, is consulted by a panel of experts from private businesses.

Secondly, it is necessary to improve the mechanism of official dispatches to confirm the legitimacy and rationality of the administrative procedure system.