The Dong Nai Newspaper’ Kim Loan had an interview with US Consul General in HCM City Kenneth Fairfax on the occasion of his working visit to Dong Nai by the end of last year.
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| US Consul General in HCM City Kenneth Fairfax (middle) visits Tin Nghia Company |
The Dong Nai Newspaper’ Kim Loan had an interview with US Consul General in HCM City Kenneth Fairfax on the occasion of his working visit to Dong Nai by the end of last year.
Reporter: According to you, can we expect that Vietnam in general and Dong Nai in particular will continue receiving investment from US investors in the coming time in the context of the world economic situation?
Mr. Kenneth Fairfax: It is very difficult to answer this question. Generational financial crises affect the entire world economy and investors are facing great difficulties brought by the crisis. However, I can say that US investors are still interested in Vietnam and want to invest in the country but the problem is how to start a project and bring their money into Vietnam. I still see Dong Nai as the most attractive investment destination in the country. Especially, Ba Ria – Vung Tau province’s new port will come into operation by 2011. As such, I expect the sign to be positive and Dong Nai with better infrastructure will become more attractive for foreign investors.
Reporter: According to your view, how does the global economic crisis affect Vietnam and can the economic crisis create new opportunities to our country?
Mr. Kenneth Fairfax: I donot know how the economic crisis will pan out so I cannot answer the question “how the economic crisis will affect Vietnam”. However, the result is a decrease in purchasing power and the slow growth of investment. Whereas Vietnam can find opportunities in the crisis because foreign investors are very interested in medium-scale projects in Vietnam while before they rushed to invest in large –scale projects in China. There are increasing concern about the value and quality of the products in the context of the economic recession, thus, if Vietnam pays special attention to these factors, the country will benefit from making use of these opportunities through receiving more orders in the future.
Reporter: Would you please quote something to reinforce your statements?
Mr. Kenneth Fairfax: In fact, I still have to see how the US economy will perform before issuing my predictions for Vietnam. But 2008 saw a record number of American visitors to Vietnam that showed US investors hail Vietnam’s business environment. For instance, many big business delegations from the US visited Vietnam last year including a delegation of officials from the Singapore-based US Chamber of Commerce visited Vietnam in January and a delegation of 14 companies, led by U.S. Commerce Assistant Secretary Israel Hernandez arrived in Vietnam in June to seek and expand export opportunities in the Vietnamese market and so on.
Reporter: Vietnam has already made a proposal to the US to apply the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) to it. Will the US government approve GSP grant for Vietnam, according to you?
Mr. Kenneth Fairfax: This is a “technical” question to be discussed by experts from the two countries. I cannot answer this question because I am not an expert. The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) enables exporters in developing countries to benefit from preferential tariffs in the markets of industrialised countries. Its aim is to help those countries to generate additional export revenue and reduce poverty. Vietnam has received tariff preferences under the bilateral trade agreements signed with the United States since the country joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in late 2006. Vietnam will get additional privileges if it enjoys GSP plus benefits. Thus, I think that it is reasonable when Vietnamese government has asked for this special privilege.
Reporter: How will you celebrate the New Year? Where will you celebrate the New Year coming in?
Mr. Kenneth Fairfax: Now I have not known where I was staying for the New Year’s holiday. I spent Tet (Lunar New year) holiday in Vietnam last year. My family tasted some of Vietnamese dishes and I can speak a little of Vietnamese too.
Reporter: Thank you.
By Nguyen Kim
