The office of Gameloft, a French video game developer, in Viet Nam. Enterprises from the EU remain optimistic on the business environment in Viet Nam. — File Photo

HÀ NỘI — Enterprises from the European Union remain optimistic on the business environment in Việt Nam, with many of them planning to increase investment, according to a Business Climate Index (BCI) survey for quarter 2, 2016, conducted by the European Chamber of Commerce in Việt Nam (EuroCham).

Accordingly, the majority of European enterprises acknowledged that the country’s macroeconomic stability will likely continue, with 56.3 per cent of respondents forecasting “stabilisation and improvement” and just 9.4 per cent of respondents expecting deterioration and 34.4 per cent think that it will not change.

The chamber revealed that about 49 per cent of the respondents expect the number of orders or revenue to increase slightly in the next quarter while 15.6 per cent of them were even more optimistic. Therefore, when they were asked about investment and personnel development plans, responses were also positive, consistent with the expected business orders. Specifically, 43.8 per cent of respondents answered that they would increase investment, while 43.7 per cent expected an increase in headcount.

A very small amount of respondents said that they would reduce their headcount (4.1 per cent), while 50 per cent would maintain the same level. This result was similar regarding investment plans, with 40.6 per cent of the surveyed businesses responding that investment will be maintained at the same level for the next quarter.

The trend is considered a good sign for the implementation of the European Union-Việt Nam free trade agreement (EUVFTA), which is expected to boost business and investment activities by foreign enterprises in Việt Nam.

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) showed that two-way trade between Việt Nam and the EU reached US$21.2 billion in the first seven months of this year, up 9.05 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Of this figure, Việt Nam shipped $16.2 billion worth of goods to the EU, a year-on-year increase of 8.68 per cent while importing over $4.97 billion worth of goods, up 10.28 per cent against the same period in 2015.

Trần Ngọc Quân, deputy head of the EU Market Department under the MoIT said in the country’s export strategy to 2020, with a vision to 2030, the EU was considered one of the key trade and economic development partners, but in order to make the most of the preferential treatment offered from the EUVFTA, the local business community should take the initiative in all spheres, including market orientation, partnerships, manufacturing renovation and business culture. — VNS