In the afternoon of May 16, in Hanoi, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with the leaders of seven leading Thai corporations who accompanied Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on her official visit to Vietnam.
Prime Minister meeting with Mr. Thammasak Sethaudom, Chairman and CEO of SCG – Photo: VGP
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The businesses, including SCG, CP Group, AMATA, WHA, Central Retail, Kasikornbank, and Super Energy, are all prominent Thai corporations with investments in Vietnam, operating in key sectors such as industry, agriculture, retail, banking, energy, and industrial park development.
SCG currently operates the Long Son Petrochemical Complex, a project worth over $5 billion in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, making it one of the largest FDI projects in the province and the country. CP Group, Thailand’s largest private corporation, invests in integrated agriculture and food industries in Vietnam. AMATA owns seven industrial park projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of $860 million, attracting 220 investors and creating more than 60,000 jobs.
WHA Corporation specializes in logistics infrastructure and industrial park development and considers Vietnam a strategic destination. Central Retail has become one of the largest foreign retailers in Vietnam with over 340 stores across more than 40 provinces. Kasikornbank established its branch in Ho Chi Minh City in 2021, while Super Energy invests in renewable energy in Vietnam and the region.
During the meeting, the representatives of the corporations appreciated Vietnam’s reform efforts in improving the investment environment, streamlining the apparatus, and renewing the institutional system. The businesses committed to continuing to expand their investments and provided recommendations to expedite the project’s progress.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the deepening and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand. In 2024, two-way trade reached over $20 billion, up 6.4% from the previous year. Both sides aim to reach $25 billion, in line with the Joint Statement between the two countries.
Thailand currently has 767 investment projects in Vietnam, with a total capital of nearly $15 billion, ranking 9th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Conversely, Vietnam has invested in 22 projects in Thailand with a total capital of nearly $35 million.
The Prime Minister appreciated the long-term commitment of Thai businesses and shared that 2025 is the year of “acceleration, breakthrough, and finish” to accomplish the development goals set for the 2021-2025 period. Vietnam targets a GDP growth rate of over 8% in 2025, aiming for double-digit growth in the 2026-2030 period.
“We focus on three strategic breakthroughs: institutions, infrastructure, and human resources. Institutions must be open and transparent, infrastructure must be seamless, and governance must be smart”, affirmed the Prime Minister. The government is also strongly promoting science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, and the development of the private economy as a driving force of the economy.
Regarding institutions, the Prime Minister emphasized that this is the “bottleneck of bottlenecks” and needs to be unblocked to mobilize all resources for development. The government is committed to strong reform, particularly in shifting the management model from pre-inspection to post-inspection and transforming the administrative apparatus to be more proactive and effective. “From July 1st, the new apparatus will operate smoothly and make decisions faster”, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister requested that the Thai corporations and banks continue to invest in their areas of strength and expand into new fields such as green economy, digital economy, circular economy, and high technology.
The Prime Minister also called for support from the corporations in attracting more high-quality investments from Thailand and internationally, cooperating in training high-quality human resources, deeply engaging in global value chains, and contributing ideas to perfect the institutional and policy framework to match the reality.
Prime Minister meeting with Mr. Soopakij Chearavanont, Chairman of Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group – Photo: VGP
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Regarding CP Group, the Prime Minister emphasized: “The cause of building and developing Vietnam cannot be separated from agriculture”. According to the Prime Minister, in the long-term strategy, agriculture will continue to be the backbone of the economy and needs to develop in the direction of high technology, ecology, and modernity.
The Prime Minister suggested that CP Group enhance technology application, digital transformation, deep processing, cost reduction by using local materials and human resources, training Vietnamese management personnel, and taking advantage of FTAs to boost the export of branded agricultural products.
For Kasikornbank, the Prime Minister proposed that the bank participate in the plan to develop an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City, connecting the modern financial-technological ecosystem and supporting the flow of quality capital into Vietnam.
– 21:21 16/05/2025
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