The Netherlands and Vietnam established a partnership that has been going strong from 1973 until now. Based on that well-built relation, Dutch companies have better chances when seeking to invest and further enlarge businesses in Vietnam.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency (under the Ministry of Planning and Investment), as of November 20, 2020, the Netherlands has established 375 valid projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of 10.4 billion USD. The Netherlands ranks 10 out of 139 countries and territories having foreign investment in Vietnam. The average project size of the Netherlands is 27.7 million USD a project, higher than the average project size of Vietnam by 11.6 million USD a project.
The Netherlands invests in 17 fields in Vietnam, of which the largest investment is in the processing and manufacturing industry with 117 projects, with a capital of 4.3 billion USD. This number accounts for 41.3% of total investment capital. The next largest investment is the production and distribution of electricity, gas, water, and air conditioner. This field has three investment projects and a total registered investment capital of 3.06 billion USD, accounting for 29.5% of the total investment capital of the Netherlands in Vietnam. The rest are other industries such as mining, real estate business, etc.
The Netherlands has investments in 32 provinces of Vietnam, of which Quang Ninh is the leading province in terms of investment capital with one project. The total investment capital in Quang Ninh is 2.14 billion USD, accounting for 20.6% of total investment capital. The second is TP. Ho Chi Minh City, having 153 investment projects, with a total investment capital of 1.88 billion USD, accounting for 18% of total investment capital. Ba Ria - Vung Tau ranked third with ten projects, with total investment capital of 1.7 billion USD, accounting for 16.5% of total investment capital.
In an online seminar conducted on January 14, 2021, the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation – Mrs. Sigrid Kaag, stated that Vietnam had always been an important partner of the Netherlands in Asia. There have been Dutch companies that successfully invested in Vietnam, such as FrieslandCampina, De Heus, Unilever, Philips, AkzoNobel, Shell, Damen, etc.
With the signing of the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and its official implementation since Autumn 1, 2020, many opportunities to invest in Vietnam have been laid out for European countries, including the Netherlands. The EVFTA paves a more convenient way for Dutch companies to invest in Vietnam and vice versa. With a strengthened economic partnership, Vietnam expects to cooperate with the Netherlands in their strong sectors, such as agriculture, circular economy, high technology, and energy (especially clean energy and renewable energy). Investment cooperation can also be encouraged in areas where both countries can take advantage of EVFTA to promote exports such as supporting industries, food processing industries, logistics, etc.
With the EVFTA implemented and FTAs signed in recent years, Vietnam is considered a promising investment place for the Netherlands. Not only are there chances to make new investments in Vietnam, Dutch companies that have already been in the country can also take advantage of the newly signed FTAs to develop and grow stronger. There will be close bilateral cooperation between Vietnam the Netherlands in promoting investment, trade, and tourism to enhance the understanding of policies and investment environment in both countries, which, in turn, will accelerate the two-way flow of investments. Vietnam will also give the best support to investment projects of Dutch companies that have been granted investment certificates or are negotiating and preparing for investment by early solving problems in the operation of investment projects licensed.
Compiled by VietnamCredit
