Taipei, Aug. 31 (CNA) Vietnam provides the most stable investment environment in Southeast Asia for Taiwanese businesses, especially the personal computer sector, an analyst said Thursday.
Although Vietnam is still a communist country, it provides themost stable investment environment compared to other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, most of which are experiencing political unrest, said Linda Lin, a researcher at the Market Intelligence Center of the Institute for Information Industry.
Vietnam also boasts one of the best growth rates in gross domestic product and gross national income among the ASEAN nations.
"With the announcement of a new foreign investment policy in 2000 and the 2006-2010 national development plan in 2005, Vietnam is now a new 'hotbed' for foreign investment, " she said. And Taiwan is already the largest foreign investor in Vietnam.
Government agencies will be the driving force behind the Vietnam market, she said, as the Vietnamese government will be engaged in an upgrading period with projects such as e-government to embrace its "open door policy."
This is why northern Vietnam, where the capital city of Hanoi is located, will be a niche market for Taiwanese PC businesses, Lin predicted.
With Vietnam's membership in the World Trade Organization in sight, lower tariffs on information and communication technology equipment is also expected to provide another niche factor for Taiwanese PC businesses, Lin said.