German president, businesses visit Vietnam eyeing investment (updated)

PNE AG

23/01/2024 10:37

(adds quotes after press conference in paragraphs 4-5)
    By Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen
       HANOI, Jan 23 (Reuters) - A German business delegation,
including top firms for tunnel machines, wind farms and
industrial supplies, joined President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in
a visit to Vietnam starting on Tuesday, as Berlin strives to
reduce its reliance on China.
    German companies have invested over $3 billion in the
Southeast Asian manufacturing hub, led by automotive giant
Bosch, according to the German chamber of commerce in Vietnam. 
    During the visit, Steinmeier and German labour minister
Hubertus Heil signed a memorandum of understanding with their
Vietnamese counterparts on skilled labour mobility to facilitate
transfers of Vietnamese workers to Germany.
    After a meeting with Vietnam's President Vo Van Thuong,
Steinmeier said some of the companies with him "were looking
into establishing a presence in the country".
    Thuong told reporters he would welcome German investment in
renewable energy and infrastructure. 
    Companies in the business mission include Herrenknecht,
which dominates the global market for tunnel boring machines. It
is already selling tools to build the metro in Ho Chi Minh City,
amid Vietnam's plans to expand its railway and metro systems.
    Wind farm developer PNE AG  PNEGn.DE  is also in the
delegation, possibly trying to tap into Vietnam's planned
expansion in offshore wind, despite regulatory delays.
    Building materials multinational Knauf Gips KG and
automotive supplier Tesa are there too. Both already have
operations in Vietnam.
    The visit "underlines Germany's interest in looking beyond
China and diversifying its economic relations," said Florian
Feyerabend, the representative in Vietnam for Germany's Konrad
Adenauer Foundation, a think tank. 
    Steinmeier's visit was delayed by a year because of a
political reshuffle in Vietnam that led early last year to the
resignation of its president.
    Steinmeier's visit follows a trip to Hanoi by German
Chancellor Olaf Scholz in November 2022, then the first by a
German leader in more than decade.
    After meeting leaders in Hanoi, Steinmeier will visit Ho Chi
Minh City, the country's business hub, on Wednesday.

 (Reporting by Francesco Guarascio and Phuong Nguyen; Editing by
Kim Coghill and Mark Potter)
 ((francesco.guarascio@thomsonreuters.com;
Phuong.Nguyen@thomsonreuters.com;))