AmCham vows to work with Viet Nam towards regulatory environment meeting global standards

Chairman of the AmCham cum Chair of the AmCham Ha Noi Board of Governors John Rockhold made the above statement at the conference between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises that took place in Ha Noi on October 16.

John Rockhold expressed his delighted last month when the U.S. and Viet Nam upgraded relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the visit of President Biden.

"This partnership opens the door for even greater opportunities to expand the bilateral commercial relationship and reinforce the U.S. commitment to a strong, prosperous, resilient, and independent Viet Nam", noted the AmCham Chair.

According to the AmCham Chairman, the U.S. is Viet Nam's largest export market, and one of the top drivers of investment in Viet Nam.

AmCham is pleased to see additional trade and investment momentum coming from the recent visit to San Francisco, Washington DC, and New York City by the Prime Minster and many senior members of the government. AmCham is working hard with the companies the PM met on the visit to ensure their investment hopes can materialize.

"We look forward to hosting the PM at the U.S.-Viet Nam Business Summit two weeks from now to focus on Viet Nam's priorities of removing bottlenecks in resource mobilization, production, and business", he said.

With the recent relationship upgrade, this is a critical time and wonderful opportunity to work on how to also upgrade the policy framework and economic environment to attract new players and help current investors and businesses grow.

There are important ways to improve the business climate overall and AmCham appreciates Viet Nam's efforts to streamline administrative procedures. AmCham members–like most businesses– face regular delays in approval procedures and time-consuming administrative burdens which hinder or stall their projects and impact Viet Nam's competitiveness.

AmCham encourages the Government to clarify those elements of Vietnamese law that obstruct the efficient deployment of foreign investment and that any additional administrative burdens in draft laws and regulations be carefully considered and avoided whenever possible.

AmCham members will be meeting with the head of the Administrative Procedure Control Department, under the Government Office, later this month to share experiences concerning administrative procedures and to hear the government's latest initiatives on administrative reform.

The one thing that ties all businesses and any future investors together is the need for energy reliability and access to renewable energy. Power supply and demand dynamics are complex and a collaborative approach between the public and private sectors is essential to develop affordable, reliable, and sustainable electricity.

"We need to see regulatory uncertainties eliminated and a renewed focus on approving projects that are realistic and bankable to ensure power supply meets the growing demand here", noted John Rockhold.

Investors need more streamlined regulations to access renewable energy, and our new investors need reliable access to renewable energy in order to invest here. We are pleased that clear regulations on rooftop solar were issued last week.

Important next steps for Viet Nam to meet growing electricity demand and its COP commitments include development of the grid, bankable power purchase agreements, faster project approvals, and strengthening the financial position of the national electricity company.

"I work in the power sector and know that private sector participation is crucial to support Viet Nam's energy security and energy transition. American companies are leaders in the energy sector and we look forward to our continued good cooperation to promote Green growth and sustainability", shared the AmCham Chair.

AmCham looks forward to partnering with the Government to navigate these and other challenges which will not only help attract more foreign investment but will also support Viet Nam's aspirations to propel itself to the next sphere of economic competitiveness, said John Rockhold./.