Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on August 8 held a dialogue with members of the ASEAN Business Club and representatives of the Malaysian business community to discuss investment opportunities in Vietnam.

At the meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Dung stressed that the Vietnam government has expended great effort to create a business environment conducive to the needs of foreign investors and stimulate economic growth.

He affirmed that the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) later this year and the signing of new generation free trade agreements are an important step in the transition to creating more open markets.

In the not so distant future, Vietnam will have established free trade pacts with 55 countries, including 15 members of the G20, which market expansion creates robust opportunities for business.

In addition, revisions of important laws such as the Investment Law and Enterprise Law will come into effect later this year and provide the impetus for more rapid investment from the international business community, Dung said.

At the dialogue, PM Dung highlighted results from Vietnam-Malaysia cooperation over the past four decades, underscoring the point that relations between the two countries have and continue to develop strongly.

Malaysia is the leading investor in Vietnam in terms of investment, trade and tourism, Dung emphasized, ranking 8th among 103 nations investing in the country with nearly 500 investments at US$11 billion.

It is also the largest export market and third biggest import market of Vietnam with total goods and services trade having grown exponentially to an impressive US$8.14 billion in 2014.

At the conclusion of the  dialogue, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh and Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Nguyen Van Binh answered all of ASEAN investors’ questions on a wide range of issues to their satisfaction.