Best of intentions
■ What can you tell us about Taiwanese investments in Vietnam last year?
In the first ten months of 2016 there were a total of 169 new investment projects in Vietnam with capital of $1.2 billion.
Taiwanese enterprises primarily invested in Vietnam’s manufacturing and processing sector.
There were also new investments in services, however, such as real estate and management consultancy.
From 1988 to October 2016 there were 2,487 Taiwanese investment projects in Vietnam with total capital of $31.2 billion.
■ Do you think all Taiwanese projects in Vietnam have strictly complied with regulations on environmental protection?
Our policy is to develop along with protecting the environment, which is similar to Vietnam’s policy.
Most Taiwanese enterprises investing into Vietnam comply carefully with laws and have good relations with their workers.
■ What are the major advantages for Taiwanese investors in Vietnam?
There are some 160,000 Vietnamese workers in Taiwan and more than 100,000 Vietnamese women have been married in Taiwan. The number of flights between Vietnam and Taiwan doubled in 2016, to 220 flights
per week as at December.
From my point of view, among ASEAN countries, Taiwanese enterprises like to invest in Vietnam the most.
They hold advantages in modern technology and good products made with advanced skills and techniques.
They also have good business management skills and know-how.
I’d like to share an interesting case study. In February 2016, a representative of Foxconn in Vietnam told me that their total employee numbers were 16,000 and revenue $1.1 billion.
By December 11, employee numbers had increased to 27,000 and revenue to $1.7 billion.
They expect that total employee numbers could reach 30,000 people and revenue $2.5 billion in 2017.
■ What advice would you give to Taiwanese enterprises eyeing Vietnam?
Vietnam and Taiwan share many similarities in terms of traditional culture. Vietnam is also a good business environment for Taiwanese investors.
There are some 60,000 Taiwanese businesses now investing in Vietnam and they are pleased with the business environment.
However, I want to say to Taiwanese investors that they must respect local policies and laws as well as Vietnam’s traditional values. Only by doing so can they develop strongly.
