Vietnam is America’s second favorite ASEAN market

From Thanh Nien News

Among the ten countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Vietnam is American businesses’ second choice for expansion after Indonesia, a recent survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore has shown.

 43 percent of US companies want to expand their business in Vietnam, the second highest rate among ASEAN countries

Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar were the most popular locations for business expansion while Brunei and Laos were the least, according to the AmCham Singapore’s ASEAN Business Outlook Survey 2014.

43 percent of American firms said they want to expand their businesses in Vietnam. The rate is 49 percent in Indonesia and 40 percent in Thailand.

Among those American companies that want to enlarge businesses in Vietnam, 77 percent said they want to expand their own business, 4 percent wanted to contract, 18 percent said they would remain the same, and the rest said they do not have a clear plan yet.

Vietnam is a market with a lot of potentials, especially for beverage firms, Ahmet Bozer — Chairman of Coca-cola International — told Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) newspaper.

Coca-cola is now hiring around 15,000 employees in Vietnam and is planning to hire 500 more, he said.

Mary Beth Tuner, Deputy Economic Counselor of the US in Vietnam told Cong Thuong that many US investors are thinking of switching their business from China to Vietnam as production costs in China have been increasing.

Read the full story from Thanh Nien News.