Last Tuesday, 26 Mar, the ‘Business is GREAT’ conference organised by the British Embassy and BBGV, took place at the ‘Sofitel Legend MetropleHanoi’ hotel, which focused on investment potential in Vietnam. The conference was open to multi-national businesses, and over 120 high profile representatives from enterprises, as well as British and Vietnamese policy-makers, were in attendance.
H.E. Ambassador Gareth Ward, Mr. Do Nhat Hoang - Director of Foreign Trade Agency – Ministry of Planning and Investment, and Mr. Christopher Jeffery – Vice Chairman of BBGV – Chief Academic Officer of British University Vietnam, were present to open the conference.
H.E. Ambassador reaffirmed that Vietnam is a strategic partner of the UK, and that trade relations between the two countries have seen remarkable growth. Last year, the UK was the second largest European investor in Vietnam, and through trade agreements currently being finalised, he believes even more opportunities will be available for both Vietnamese and British companies.
In response to that message, Mr. Hoang emphasised that the Ministry of Planning and Investment are revising their investment law with groundbreaking initiatives. Vietnam also looks to work closely with the British Embassy, aiming to establish a specialised desk to facilitate investment in Vietnam towards the Industry 4.0.
Sharing the same objectives in 2018, leaders of the seven largest British enterprises in Vietnam formed the "British Advocacy Committee" (BAC) including Diageo, Dragon Capital, HSBC, Jardines, KPMG, Prudential, and Standard Chartered Bank. "BAC act as a prime mediator between the British business community and the Vietnamese government, with focus on the specific issues and recommendations that facilitate our members’ trade and investment operations in Vietnam. BAC had strongly supported BBGV successfully gaining full corporate membership of the Vietnam Business Forum ", said Mr. Peter Rimmer - BBGV Executive Director, who highlighted this effort to deepen collaboration across a variety of sectors.
“Vietnam has a long coastline, while Britain is the world’s leader in wind power. This is just one example of how the two countries can collaborate“. “The UK has a huge amount to offer: strong sectors of UK presence in Vietnam include education, real estate, hospitality, financial and banking services, as well as healthcare”, added Mr. Christopher Jeffery.
During the conference, keynote speakers from British University Vietnam, British Council, British International School, KPMG, Savills, Intercontinental Hanoi Landmark 72, HSBC and GSK shared their insights and recommendations for boosting business with respective expertise.
Closing the event, representatives from VEPR on “F1 in 2020” and PVF on “The rise of Vietnamese football” talked about the new opportunities that these two sporting events can offer the country. Its promotion is global, and especially in the UK - the home of football, Silverstone and many F1 teams and related companies.
The conference produced outcomes that saw participants reach consensus on ways to advance their partnerships, including a knowledge exchange and corporate governance. The upcoming two years offer a mix of opportunities and challenges for Vietnam in working towards Industry 4.0, and the Knowledge Economy plays an important role in leveraging the country's resources.
Note: - The conference was broadcast on VTV1 on the same day, the content is only available in Vietnamese. - For post-event article, photo and promotion video, please visit our Facebook and LinkedIn - More photos and high-resolution can be downloaded here. - BBGV was asked to share the video “Vietnam where you succeed”, by the Ministry of Planning and Investment who produced it, we are very happy to share with you the link. Please make good use of it so Vietnam will receive more attention from investors, which was the objective of Business is GREAT conference.
Last but not least, we would like to express our heartfelt thanks to sponsors and speakers whose support made this event happen. #Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, #British University Vietnam, British International School, British Council, #Jardines, Prudential, Dragon Capital, #KPMG, Savills, HSBC, Intercontinental Hanoi Landmark 72, GSK, VEPR, PVF and Vietnam Airlines.
