Vietnam a good investment venue: London Lord Mayor

"We all recognize that the way out of recession is more trade and the right thing to do now is spend more money and more time, not less,” the Lord Mayor said. "The fact that is likely to affect the UK investment here [Vietnam] is investment conditions, rather than what is going on currently.” Alderman David Wootton, the 684th Lord Mayor of London, said that the current economic downturn will not affect UK investment in the Southeast Asian country as investing here is a long-term decision to make.

Wootton praised Vietnam for having a keen government which is always eager to forge business links with other nations, including the UK.

The areas in which Vietnam wants to attract investments, namely infrastructure and financial services, are ones in which the UK specializes, the Lord Mayor said.

"London is the world’s leading financial center and we have a lot of experiences and skills that would be a benefit to Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam,” he said.

He noted that many British companies he met on his visit feel happy to operate in Vietnam, which is among the countries they can come to and invest.

"There are countries to which British companies cannot go,” he said. "So it’s a good thing about Vietnam when a lot of UK companies … said they are happy to be here.”

But there is still room for improvement in respect to infrastructure development, state-owned enterprises and public investment, and the banking sector, the Lord Mayor said.

He elaborated that the public-private partnership venture is a good model for developing infrastructure, but a fully developed legal framework must be formulated if Vietnam wants UK firms to join it.

The country should also reform its state-owned enterprises, making them more focused in their operations so that British companies will be more willing to work with them, the Londoner said.

Vietnam should change its public corporate governance so that the structure of how state-owned enterprises are managed is clearer and more transparent, he further explained.

Non-performing loans are a topical issue for local banks, Wootton pointed out, adding that Vietnam should review commercial banks to make sure they are financially stable, and encourage mergers among poorly-performing ones.

More investments would flow into Vietnam if it considered raising certain limits on foreign ownership in domestic institutions, he said.

In return, the Lord Mayor suggested that Vietnamese businesses should invest in the information technology field in the UK, as he already spotted some good IT businesses with highly qualified and skilled professionals in Vietnam.