Viet Nam and Italy expand cooperation in investment, trade, green finance

Viet Nam creates attractive investment environment

Speaking at the forum, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang said that amid global economic changes, Viet Nam’s economy has continued to show positive recovery and become an attractive investment destination in ASEAN and Asia.

In 2024, Viet Nam’s economy recorded a high GDP growth rate of 7.09%, ranking among the leading countries in ASEAN and globally. This positive momentum has continued in 2025, with GDP growth in the second quarter reaching 7.96%, creating feasible prospects for achieving the Government’s target of more than 8% GDP growth for the whole year.

Both direct and indirect foreign investment flows showed positive growth. In the first eight months of 2025, total foreign investment reached 26.14 billion USD, up 27.3% year on year. The total market capitalisation of Viet Nam’s securities market, including both stocks and bonds, reached 103.75% of the estimated GDP for 2024. Viet Nam now has 1,600 listed and registered companies, including seven listed companies with market capital exceeding 10 billion USD and 61 listed companies with capital above 1 billion USD.

Viet Nam’s stock market is among the strongest-growing markets in the world and leads ASEAN in liquidity, with an average daily trading value of more than 1.1 billion USD.

Viet Nam is perfecting its legal framework, aligning with good international standards and practices to ensure the safe, transparent, and sustainable development of the securities market. In recent years, many reforms have been carried out to facilitate foreign investors.

The minister noted that since the establishment of the strategic partnership in 2013, bilateral relations between Viet Nam and Italy have achieved many results, becoming one of the models of cooperation in European region.

Italy is currently Viet Nam’s third-largest trading partner in the European Union. In the first seven months of 2025, two-way trade turnover has reached over 4.3 billion USD, up 5.1% compared to the same period in 2024. Viet Nam’s export revenue to Italy reached 3.1 billion USD, up 4.5% year on year, while imports from Italy reached 1.2 billion USD, up 6.7%.

In terms of investment cooperation, Italian investors currently operate 162 projects in Viet Nam with total registered capital of more than 624 million USD, ranking 32nd among 151 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam. Conversely, Viet Nam has invested in 11 projects in Italy with total capital of nearly 700,000 USD.

“On September 4, the Viet Nam–Italy Business Forum took place in Ha Noi with the participation of hundreds of enterprises from both countries. This event has special significance in promoting Viet Nam–Italy relations to a new level, with investment–trade cooperation as a key pillar, aimed at more effectiveness, substance, and comprehensiveness,” the Minister said at the forum.

At the event, Raffaele Cattaneo, Undersecretary of the Lombardy region, also spoke about opportunities and potential for Italian businesses to invest in Viet Nam. He said that trade between the two countries has become more convenient with direct flights to Milan, and opportunities for enterprises and investors of the two countries have also expanded. He also expressed his desire to strengthen cooperation between Lombardy region and Vietnamese localities to foster more effective exchanges and investment.

Expanding cooperation space for Italian businesses

At the forum, before a large participation of Italian businesses and investors, Minister Nguyen Van Thang emphasised that the Vietnamese Government is strongly committed to further completing the economic mechanism, improving the investment and business environment, and removing barriers to mobilise resources for development, thereby accelerating economic restructure change in association with a transformation of the growth model, effectively upholding traditional growth drivers while fully exploiting new ones.

He affirmed that the potential for economic, trade, and investment cooperation between Viet Nam and Italy is still immense. Viet Nam expects Italian enterprises, with their experience, resources, and reputation, to support the country in accessing shifting investment sources, green and sustainable financial sources, as well as funding for science, technology, and innovation. With a policy of selective foreign investment cooperation aimed at quality, efficiency, technology, and environmental protection, Viet Nam prioritises projects in sectors such as the green economy, digital economy, circular economy, knowledge economy; science and technology, innovation; new and renewable energy; development of international financial centres and green finance; and high-tech agriculture and industry.

At the forum, presentations on cooperation opportunities between the two sides were delivered by representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy as well as Walter Cavrenghi, Secretary General of the Italy–Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce. Representatives from Vietnamese banks, including Vietcombank and BIDV, also gave presentations on investment outcomes and potential, as well as financial, banking, and securities services in Viet Nam. On the Italian side, representatives of several enterprises highlighted their strengths along with potential areas for cooperation with Vietnamese businesses in the near future.

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