(VOVworld) - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung attended the ASEAN-Republic of Korea CEO summit in Busan on Thursday as part of the 25th anniversary of Dialogue Relations between ASEAN and the RoK.


He briefed participants on the Vietnamese government’s efforts to maintain macro economic stability and secure a growth rate of 6% this year. He said that Vietnam hosts more than 17,000 foreign investment projects capitalized at 250 billion dollars: “The Vietnamese government at all levels is fully aware of challenges and hold regular dialogues with the business community to address their difficulties. The National Assembly has passed two important laws on investment and enterprises with major achievements in administrative procedures towards simplicity and transparency in line with the market economy and international practices.”

The Prime Minister said state owned enterprises’ equitization was being accelerated to create more opportunities for the private sector and foreign investors to become strategic shareholders in Vietnamese companies. Vietnam is in need of billions of dollars to invest in energy, transport, seaport and airport projects, which offer opportunities to foreign businesses to participate in public private partnership projects.
The Prime Minister said that Vietnam is negotiating 6 free trade agreements, including those with the EU, the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, besides 8 existing free trade agreements: “When all 14 free trade agreements come into force, Vietnam will see drastic legal and business climate changes. Vietnam will become an important chain in an economic network of 55 partner countries, including 15 members of the G-20. This will open up lots of opportunities for businesses to come and invest in Vietnam to benefit from lower tariffs and removed technical barriers. Vietnam will become an important gateway to the ASEAN, the EU and the US markets with favorable treatments in line with the free trade agreements.”