French Deputy Ambassador: French enterprises to help Vietnam develop smart cities

The Vietnam - France trade relations in recent years have been improved significantly. For years, the value of merchandise exports from Vietnam to France is always greater than the value of imports of goods from this market; therefore, the trade balance surplus is always in a state leaning toward Vietnam since 2013.

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade show that Vietnam - France trade turnover in 2017 reached $4.62 billion, 11.6 per cent higher than the previous year with exports increasing by 11.8 per cent and imports increasing by 11.1 per cent.

Besides, according to statistics from the Ministry of Investment and Planning, France had around 514 direct investment projects in Vietnam by April 2018 with a total capital of $2.8 billion, ranked the 16th largest investor out of 126 nations and territories having investments in Vietnam.

Sharing with TheLEADER, Deputy Head of mission and First Secretary of the embassy of France in Vietnam Olivier Segaud said that the investment from France into Vietnam has been positive for the passing years, with the number of French enterprises showing interest in Vietnam market, increasing significantly thanks to the government’s investment promotion activities. This has accordingly proved that Vietnam is a potential and promising market for French enterprises.

“One of the must-mentioned activities is the official visit of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong to France at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. During this event, meetings with French enterprises were held and a number of contracts with the total value of €11 billion were signed,” said Olivier Segaud.

According to Olivier Sigaud, French enterprises are interested in seeking for opportunities to invest in Vietnam due to strong economic growth, stable macro-economics, low inflation and large market and improved business and investment environment.

Therefore, he said that in the coming years, the trend of investment from French companies into Vietnam would be positive; especially in the new areas that Vietnam is focusing including clean energy, environment and smart cities.

Currently, French enterprises community, as well as the French startup community in Vietnam, are very dynamic, especially in the field of technology with a number of large firms such as Gameloft, LeFlair, and Linagora.

Notably, French Tech Viet, the official online hub of the French Tech scene based in Vietnam, bringing together companies, startups, investors, events and organizations, has gathered about 3,000 members after four years.

“I do believe that with the available capability and strengths, especially in the field of technology, French enterprises would support Vietnam in developing smart cities,” stated Olivier Sigaud.

“And encouraging them to invest in those projects is one of our main jobs,” he added.

In order to further boost French investment into Vietnam as well as the further approach of Vietnam’s products to European Union (EU), the world’s largest market, Deputy Head of mission of French embassy in Vietnam hopes that the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) would be soon ratified and come into force, creating more favorable conditions for the co-operations between Vietnam and France in particular and EU nations in general.