The US-ASEAN Business Council is set to embark on a business mission to Vietnam, with 50 American companies participating. The organization aims to establish business relationships with ASEAN, the association of Southeast Asian countries. Business missions like these allow representatives of American companies to meet with heads of state and private companies in Vietnam to agree on new investments or sales. Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh and other leaders of the Vietnamese Communist Party are expected to participate in these sessions.
According to the USEA-ASEAN Business Council, the companies would like to meet with state-controlled companies for arms procurement, with arms manufacturers like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Bell seeking talks. Meanwhile, SpaceX plans to sell satellite internet services, while Netflix aims to build several offices in Vietnam. The search for an alternative to China is inevitable following the trade war and chip embargo between the USA and China.
Vietnam’s industrial production is booming, with Apple devices, Samsung smartphones, electronic circuit boards, game consoles, and virtual reality headsets manufacturing in the country. Last year, Vietnam experienced growth in gross domestic product of 8.02 percent, with the middle class growing with it. Vietnam participates in numerous free trade agreements, is offering tax breaks to foreign companies and pursuing plans to inject new capital into the country’s digital infrastructure by 2025. This has led to more and more electronic devices bearing the label “Made in Vietnam”.
