More Thai companies are turning their attention to Vietnam in the quest for investment opportunities, according to Tharabodee Serng-Adichaiwit, general manager of Bangkok Bank in Vietnam.
 |
| Vo Son Dien (L), marketing director of Becamex IDC, chats with Thai entrepreneurs in Binh Duong Province - Photo: Quoc Hung |
Tharabodee said, at a gathering of Thai firms in the southern province of Binh Duong on Thursday with Becamex IDC Corp., that due to higher production costs in Thailand, Thai businesses think more aggressively about investing overseas, especially in neighboring countries like Vietnam.
Bangkok Bank brought 37 Thailand companies to Vietnam to look for investment. They are small and medium enterprises operating in various sectors, and want to develop projects for packaging, food processing, animal feed, medicine, supporting industries, and electronic sectors.
Compared to Laos and Cambodia, Vietnam has more advantages like a large market, skilled workers as well as a good investment environment, Tharabodee said, adding that this is the reason why Thai investors are interested in the country. They want to cooperate with Vietnamese companies to set up joint ventures and establish factories here.
“The interest of Thai investors in Vietnam is very strong, even in the current market difficulties,” Tharabodee said after a meeting with Becamex IDC, a developer of industrial parks in Binh Duong.
He said that there are 1,000 clients of the bank in Thailand expected to visit Vietnam in the future to look for investment, but on this occasion the bank chose to bring only 37.
Besides higher production costs in Thailand due to higher domestic wages, Thai businesses think more aggressively about investing overseas also due to the strengthening baht.
Director of marketing for Becamex IDC Vo Son Dien, a regular visitor to Thailand, said there were five Thai companies who signed contracts to lease land at his company’s industrial parks this year. They are operating in the printing, packaging and animal feed sectors, Dien said.
Tharabodee hoped that at least 10% of companies from this delegation would carry out projects in Vietnam and said his bank would bring more companies this year, especially to Binh Duong province.
“Our Bangkok Bank branch in HCMC has been in operation in Vietnam for 18 years and we’ve already assisted our clients in setting up more than 100 plants,” said Tharabodee.
Thailand has 244 projects in Vietnam with investment capital of more than US$5.8 billion.