March 29, 2010
Italian plant makers join forces to invest in Vietnam
About 30 Italian machines and production plant enterprises are planning to team up under a consortium to tap into Vietnam's food and agri markets, said Tomaso Andreatta, chairman of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Icham).
"They want to sell their products in Vietnam and both Icham and Intesa Sanpaolo, the big Italian bank, are trying to support them. I believe they would have a much better position if they established a sales and after-sales presence in Vietnam, with both good sales people and good engineers to install and maintain the machines," according to Andreatta.
These enterprises plan to supply machines or production plants to Vietnamese companies, starting with Vinamilk.
Italian entrepreneurs have recently showed stronger interest in Vietnam. Danieli, an Italian steel plant maker, recently made an equity US$20-30 million investment with Vietnam Steel Corp. (VinaSteel) and other partners to build a plant that will cost US$500 million, Andreatta said.
The plant will produce hot-rolled steel with a capacity of two million tonnes per year. Danieli has set up engineering operations in HCMC that employ hundreds of experts, he added.
Italy is 30th among countries having investment commitment in Vietnam totalling almost US$200 million.