Prince Andrew helps British Firms succeed in Vietnam

Source: Saigon Times, Vietnam’s Leading Business Daily

Hanoi – Prince Andrew has said he is willing to assist British businesses to achieve successes here in Vietnam as a key regional destination for trade and investment.

Speaking at the third UK-Vietnam Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting which opened in Hanoi yesterday, the Duke of York said Vietnam was quickly shedding it’s image as a place people flew over on the way to other Far Eastern economies.

“It is a fast growing Market that is quickly moving up the value chain,” said Prince Andrew, who also serves as special representative for UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), while presiding over the two-day JETCO meeting in Hanoi.

This year’s JETCO meeting was launched by UKTI Chief Executive Andrew Cahn and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Danh Vinh. The first such meeting took place in Hanoi in September 2007 and the second in London in December 2008.

“The Vietnamese authorities are very enthusiastic about working with firms from abroad. I want to do what I can to encourage British companies to realise the incredible opportunities there are and help them succeed here,” Prince Andrew told yesterday’s meeting.

The JETCO was established in September 2007 by the British Government to help promote and develop trade, address trade barriers and ultimately create a better business climate between the two countries. It also gives business on the ground a platform to share concerns directly with Government ministers.

The UK is now the third largest European Union (EU) investor in Vietnam with 115 investments capitalised at US$2.1 billion.

UKTI in Vietnam said a number of positive outcomes had been made through the past two JETCO meetings including the local incorporation for UK banks in Vietnam, the clarification of distribution rights for foreign invested companies, and the clarification on data and intellectual property right (IPR) protection for the pharmaceutical sector.

“It is a great example of the benefits of international business. In financial services only 10% of Vietnamese have a bank account. HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank are now the first foreign banks to have domestic branches,” said Cahn of UKTI.

“Another financial services company, Prudential is now the largest single overseas employer of Vietnamese nationals. As a result of off-shoring, software company Harvey Nash now has 2,500 software developers in Vietnam.”

Cahn showed great interest in boosting the economic and investment relations between the two nations during his first day in the Vietnam visit.

Vietnam was recently identified by top-business leaders from across the globe as the most attractive emerging market beyond the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) in UKTI’s recent report “Survive and Prosper: emerging markets in the global recession.”

Over the past decade Vietnam’s growth has been second only to China.

October 8, 2009 09:38 AM | Permalink