With the enactment of the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), it is expected that more European businesses, French ones included, will be looking for strategic partnerships with Vietnamese peers to form new production and supply chains.

Overview of the online conference. Photo: MoIT.

The growing interest of French businesses presents opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to further integrate into global value chains, but also requires them to change their business mindset, production method and corporate governance to meet strict requirements of the European market, said a representative of over 400 French companies participating at an online conference discussing the EVFTA impacts on July 8.

The event was the first of its kind held by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and a European country regarding the EVFTA, aiming to equip all parties involved with useful information before the deal comes into effect on August 1, 2020, stated the MoIT.

More French and European businesses will be looking for strategic partnership with local peers to form new production and supply chains. Photo: MoIT.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said Vietnam is looking to cooperate with French companies in the fields of renewable and green energies, hi-tech, agriculture, manufacturing and processing, in which French companies have strong expertise.

The Vietnamese government would create the utmost conditions in terms of business environment, infrastructure conditions to boost cooperation between the two business communities, Minister Anh stated.

Trade between Vietnam and France more than tripled from US$1.6 billion in 2009 to US$5.3 billion in 2019, in which France is Vietnam’s third largest trading partner in Europe, only behind Germany and the Netherlands.

As of May, France has 588 ongoing projects in Vietnam with capital of a combined US$3.56 billion, being the second largest European investor in Vietnam, behind the Netherlands.

Due to Covid-19 damage, Vietnam – France trade revenue in the first five months declined by 18.66% year-on-year to US$1.77 billion. The MoIT expected a recovery in trade could only happen in the final months of the year after France restarts its economy.