Several foreign firms, including the Swedish-Swiss multinational food packaging and processing company Tetra Pak, have recently announced new investment into Vietnam, despite recent Covid-19 outbreaks in the country.
Foreign players like Nestle and Samsung evaluate that the country’s Covid-19 setbacks are just temporary, and their expansions are part of long-term plans, where Vietnam is targeted as a key regional and global manufacturing hub.
More in detail, Tetra Pak announced an additional investment worth EUR 5 million into its existing USD 140 million packaging plant in Binh Duong province, in order to enlarge its capacity by 43%. Similarly, LG recently announced that it will raise its total investment to USD 4.65 billion in 2021 by investing an additional USD 1.4 billion in its current plants in northern city Hai Phong. Samsung also plans to inaugurate its R&D center worth USD 220 million in Hanoi by the end of 2022.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently assessed that the country will remain a lucrative destination for global companies despite the pandemic. Andrew Jeffries, ADB’s national director for Vietnam, commented that Covid-19 will not make enterprises leave the country; while it is possible that some orders are temporarily transferred to other countries.
(Sources: ScandAsia, VNExpress)
