French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (second, from left) at the HCM City French Tech (Photo: VNA)

The forum encouraged French businesses to consider investing in infrastructure, information technology, and the consumer market to gain a competitive advantage in Vietnam.

Vietnam has thousands of export processing zones, industrial parks, and urban areas, but only a few businesses have invested in a standardized waste treatment system. Infrastructure projects to improve water drainage and renewable energy use will be essential because Vietnam is one of the 10 countries hardest hit by climate change.

The Vietnamese government is working toward a digital economy. Many smart city projects are underway in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Da Nang. Digital production is being applied at multiple enterprises. The IT sector posts an annual growth of 16% and software production is projected to sustain its growth rate of 16% for the next three years.

Vietnam’s retail market was valued at 130 billion USD last year and will jump to 280 billion USD in the next seven years. Health and beauty products are predicted to dominate the Vietnamese market.

French businesses were advised to increase their presence Vietnam via direct investment, jointventure with domestic businesses, mergers and acquisitions, and franchising.   

The business delegation accompanying the French Prime Minister is the 13^th French delegation to visit Vietnam this year to explore investment and development opportunities. Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said: “The city applauds the business forum and considers this an opportunity for Vietnam and France to map out cooperation plans. I believe our businesses, with their dynamism and sincere desire to cooperate, will be important partners of French businesses.”

France is Vietnam’s fifth biggest trade partner in Europe, with two-way trade totaling 4.6 billion USD last year. Their trade reached 3 billion USD in the first eight months of this year.