Investment needs and potential opportunities between the UK and Vietnam

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Chairman of the State Securities Commission Tran Van Dung

Having been successful with a series of investment promotion events in Japan and South Korea, why has London been chosen for investment promotion, sir?

The selection of key markets for each stage of development of the stock market plays an important role in fully exploiting the effectiveness of investment promotion activities. In the European region, London has been one of the world's leading financial centers for decades. This is one of the five largest financial markets in the world,whichhas large financial investment funds. At the same time, London is also the largest center of the derivatives market, the foreign exchange market, the money market and the international lending bank. So it is very suitable for organizing investment promotion programs and attracting indirect investment for the stock market.

The UK is currently the second largest European investor in Vietnam (after the Netherlands) with 267 FDI projects with a total registered capital of US$3.75 billion and the third largest European trading partner of Vietnam (after Germany and the Netherlands).

Vietnam and the UK have signed many framework agreements such as the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement and theInvestment Promotion and Protection Agreements. It is expected that the two countries will promote the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on the basis of the EVFTA that Vietnam and the EU have just signed.

I think that this is a good opportunity and premise for cooperation, promoting indirect investment between the two markets, opening up opportunities for promoting the development of Vietnam's and the UK’s financial markets.

In addition, in the securities sector, the SSC and the UK Financial Conduct Administration (FCA) (formerly known as the Financial Services Administration - FSA) signed an Exchange Letter on cooperation and exchange of information between the management agencies of the two countries. The SSC and FCA are also in the process of reviewing the content for signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on advising, cooperating and exchanging information to monitor the investment fund industry (which is inheriting the MOU on this content between the SSC and its peer agencies in the European Union countries).

In this context, the investment promotion event chaired by Vietnam's Minister of Finance DinhTien Dung will attract the attention of investors in the UK. The connectivity of information of the London financial center is very wide, so information about Vietnam's open-door policies on investment will spread rapidly.

Overall, the meaning of promoting investment in advanced markets is not only in how much the capital is, but also the brand, reputation and professionalism. What do you think about the reputation of Vietnam's capital market after this event?

The European investors in general and UK investors in particular are highly professional and demanding. But Vietnam's stock market is also developing in both size and quality, it can meet the requirements of many investors, and in fact many investors from the UK have succeeded with Vietnam’sstock market.

I think there are investment needs and potential opportunities from both sides. The rest is how to build “bridges”to connect thetwo sides. This is also the main goal during the visit to the UK by Minister of Finance DinhTien Dung.

Foreign investment flows will always seek potential markets, which have stable macro policies, high professionalism and good investor protection ability. Each event in the series of investment promotion activities has a common goal is to actually share the perspectives on potentials, opportunities and risks, so investors have a more complete basis in their investment decisions. It is also an opportunity for us to show our professionalism and goodwill with foreign investors.

What do you expect from capital flows from Europe and the United Kingdom after this investment promotion event in London?

The indirect investment from the UKto Vietnam is approximately US$1 billion, which is still quite modest compared with the potential of British investors and Vietnam’s ability to absorb investment capital. Thus, the financial market still has many new areas for cooperation between the two countries, and there is much potential for British investors.

We hope that this indirect investment promotion conference will help UK businesses and investors understand Vietnam's open-door policies to facilitate investment and strengthen British investors' confidence for the potential development of the Vietnamese market. Businesses of both sides can expand more investment cooperation opportunities in Vietnam's capital market. Thereby, we expect that the inflow of indirect investment from the UK will become more and more stable in accordance with the potential, and Vietnam’s stock market will continue to receive investors from the United Kingdom and countries around the world.

Thank you, Sir!