India urges major firms to invest in Vietnam

India is encouraging its major businesses to invest in Vietnam, Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi said to his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh at a Thursday meeting on the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

PM Modi added that he appreciated PM Chinh’s suggestions of signing bilateral memoranda of understanding (MoUs) in e-commerce, economic cooperation, and lesser use of trade barriers for each other’s products.

Amid disruptions to the global economy and supply chains, the two leaders agreed to ask relevant ministries and agencies to collaborate in order to empower the two economies, lifting hurdles facing businesses and boosting two-way trade. They also consented to allow airlines to conduct more direct flights between major destinations in the two countries.

The two government chiefs agreed to improve ties in digitalization, energy transition, green and sustainable growth, and defense and security, and asked their foreign ministries to arrange high-level visits in the future.

At the ASEAN-India Summit and the East Asia Summit (EAS) the same day, PM Chinh called on relevant sides to join hands in building expressways connecting India to ASEAN in order to enhance cooperation between India and the bloc.

India now has 321 investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of more than $1 billion, focusing on industries like processing and manufacturing (60 projects worth $540 million), electricity generation and distribution (six projects worth $236 million), and mining (five projects worth $96 million). Major India-invested projects operating in Vietnam include the $94-million Son Hoa Sugar Factory in the south-central province of Phu Yen, an instant coffee factory worth $80 million, and the $72 million INFRA 1 Solar Power Plant in the south-central province of Ninh Thuan.

In May 2023, India-based conglomerate Adani Group said it is looking to build a green port ecosystem and wind and solar power plants with a total investment capital of $3 billion in Vietnam.

In June 2022, this group, a multinational conglomerate owned by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, pledged to build a $10 billion investment portfolio in Vietnam. The capital would come from the group’s “idle” $100 billion that it aims to invest overseas, according to Pham Sanh Chau, former Vietnamese Ambassador to India.