Vietnam to facilitate investment plans of SpaceX, FedEx

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has directed Vietnamese authorities to urgently carry out pilot licensing for SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet services and work with FedEx to encourage the firm to invest in warehouses and express delivery at Long Thanh, Chu Lai and Gia Binh airports.

Chinh made the requests at a forum on Saturday in Hanoi, with the participation of 38 leading American companies, including Warburg Pincus, Meta, Polaris, Ford, Amkor, Amazon Web Services, Boeing, Gap, GE Venora, AES, Mastercard, AIG, Coca Cola, Bower Group Asia, and Bay Global Strategies.

Previously, in September last year, Tim Hughes, senior vice president for global business and government affairs at SpaceX, had met Prime Minister Chinh in Hanoi, where he'd affirmed that his company was ready to invest and provide its Starlink satellite internet services in the country.

SpaceX, a provider of spacecraft, satellite launch services, and satellite communications, plans to invest up to $1.5 billion in Vietnam, according to the Vietnamese government's news portal.

Meanwhile, at a meeting with Party General Secretary To Lam last Tuesday, Fedex founder and chairman Frederick Smith said the courier services provider is seeking to boost activities in Vietnam, especially in the expanded Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai airports and the under-construction Long Thanh and Gia Binh airports.

Prime Minister Chinh told the Saturday forum that Vietnam is deploying many solutions to promote more balanced trade with the U.S., including contracts involving aircraft purchase, defense trade, LNG, agricultural products, and pharmaceuticals.

He asked American businesses to consider Vietnam a long-term investment base, with a 50-year, 100-year vision.

The Vietnamese leader asked American businesses to further increase high-quality investment, technology transfer, human resource training, cooperation in science and technology, and their presence in emerging industries such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, optoelectronics, internet of things, and biomedicals.

He urged American businesses to recommend the U.S. government to remove Vietnam from the list of countries with restrictions on high-tech exports and recognize Vietnam as a market economy.

Courtney Beale, Deputy Chief of Mission, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, said that given Vietnam's rapid development, U.S. businesses consider the country a very important market.

According to Beale, the U.S. and Vietnam have a long-term partnership in semiconductor production, with the assembly, testing, and packaging of many American businesses conducted in Vietnam. Vietnam is one of the important and persistent partners in the supply chain of American businesses.

American businesses can strongly promote the fields of AI, blockchain, quantum, innovation, digital transformation, energy security, renewable energy, infrastructure, tourism, aviation, and healthcare in Vietnam, he added.

Eric Johnson, chairman of AmCham in Hanoi, said U.S. President Donald Trump highly appreciates the comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam and the practical benefits it brings to the two countries. The U.S. side is continuing to consider removing unfair regulations and barriers for Vietnam.

According to Johnson, American businesses appreciate the fact that Vietnam is very actively implementing its commitments and the country's efforts to streamline the administration apparatus, clear administrative procedures, and make the business climate more transparent, fair and predictable.

He mentioned the most recent direction of Party General Secretary To Lam on reducing at least 30% of administrative procedure processing time, cutting at least 30% of business costs, and abolishing at least 30% of unnecessary business conditions.

The U.S. has been Vietnam's largest export market, while Vietnam has become the U.S.'s seventh largest trading partner and the U.S.'s largest partner in the ASEAN region.

Bilateral trade turnover in 2024 reached nearly $150 billion, with Vietnam earning $137 billion from exports to the U.S. (up 19% against 2023), and spending over $13 billion on imports from the U.S. (up 33%).

By the end of 2024, U.S. direct investment in Vietnam was estimated to reach $11.94 billion with over 1,400 projects, ranking 11th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam.