Invest Consult Group Chairman Nguyen Tran Bat, told Dan Tri the visit by President Barack Obama to Vietnam on May 23 would see business opportunities follow.
Invest Consult Group Chairman Nguyen Tran Bat
What are your thoughts on the relationship between Vietnam and the US?
It has deepened and widened. I always think relations with the US will bring see social-economic development. Economic institutional reform is needed to boost social-economic development and to meet the requirements of international trade. And co-operation with the US is one of the most challenging.
Compared to the old times, I think now many people know that such requirements are flexible and can be negotiated between the governments.
US firms are also travelling with the US president on this trip. What benefit and opportunities do you think this can bring?
I think it's recognition of Vietnam. The firms that accompany the US president on this trip are important but the US firms that already working in Vietnam are also important. There are already many US firms in Vietnam but they haven’t done as well as they might so far.
Investors always do research and survey before deciding to spend money anywhere. Five years ago, Intel was interested in Vietnam but after some surveys, they decided to choose China. We lost out due to weak human resources and infrastructure. Without highly-skilled workers, we can't have huge science or technology projects.
What's the most important and unique characteristics of the US investors?
US law and economic policies have lots of influence on other countries. If we can meet their requirements and standards then we'll have higher chances of co-operating with many other economies.
We can't persuade investors to invest in us if our economy is not good enough. What we need to do is improve our economy so investors will come on their own.
