Vietnam remains attractive investment destination in APEC

PwC, surveyed 1,189 CEOs and industry leaders from 10 May to 16 July with responses from each of the 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies on the eve of the 2018 APEC CEO Summit held in Papua New Guinea from November 17-18.

Despite the escalating trade war between China and the US, APEC leaders showed strong confidence that their revenue will increase over the next 12 months.

35% of all APEC respondents are ‘very confident’ in revenue growth over the next year, down slightly from 37% in 2017. 51% of APEC businesses have plans to raise their investment levels over the coming year.

Business leaders from the US and Thailand are more upbeat (57% and 56% feeling ‘very confident’, respectively), while respondents in China and Mexico, two of the largest trading partners for the US, are below the APEC CEO average (25% and 21%, respectively).

Meanwhile, 33% of respondents in Vietnam say they are ‘very confident’ about prospects for short-term growth for their companies, while 48% of other respondents are ‘relatively confident’.

International trade is likely to continue to become a larger growth source for Vietnamese businesses. 40% of respondents expect increased revenue opportunities as a result of free trade agreements, while 34% of respondents forecast opportunities from multilateral agreements.

With strong confidence in revenue growth, 51% of business leaders in APEC economies have planned to increase their investment levels up to more than 43% from two years ago.

Vietnam, China, the US, Australia and Thailand remain the top five destinations for foreign investment by APEC business leaders with Vietnam maintaining its top spot for the second consecutive year.