Vietnamese Trade and Industry Minister Vu Huy Hoang yesterday apologized to Taiwanese firms affected by the recent anti-China riots in Vietnam in a short visit to Minister of Economic Affairs Chang Chia-juch (張家祝) in Taipei.
Vu led a delegation of about 20 Vietnamese officials in a private meeting with Chang from 10am to 2pm.
He was assigned by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to address compensation issues and the signing of an updated version of the Taiwan-Vietnam bilateral investment agreement (BIA) due to the riots, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said.
“The minister [Vu] said he regretted Taiwanese firms’ unfortunate situation and promised that the Vietnamese government will punish the rioters and never allow such a tragedy to happen again,” Vivian Lien (連玉蘋), director of the Industrial Development Bureau’s (IDB) industrial policy division, said after the meeting.
Taiwan has been one of the leading foreign investors in Vietnam, pouring a total of US$27.3 billion in the country since the 1990s.
As of yesterday, about 358 Taiwanese companies had reported damage to their factories in Vietnam, with 21 saying their offices were destroyed with firebombs and at least three saying that they would move out of Binh Duong Province if the local government fails to properly take care of the situation, Lien said.
Lien said Chang had demanded that Vietnamese representatives act proactively in helping Taiwanese companies recover their businesses in order to secure their confidence, because most Taiwanese companies view withdrawing from Vietnam as their least-favored option.
In addition, Chang suggested that the Vietnamese government shorten the compensation application process because it takes at least three years for mediation and international arbitration, which is time-consuming for businesses, Lien said.
While the ministry has established a task force aimed at helping companies rebuild their businesses, it has requested its Vietnamese counterpart to set up a similar effort in charge of advancing firms’ compensation applications as a way to help shorten the process, Lien said.
In response, Vu said he would convey the ministry’s suggestions to the Vietnamese government and would urge it to evaluate feasibility of the proposals as soon as possible.
The Vietnamese minister said he hopes Taiwan-Vietnam trade relations will not be affected by the anti-China riots, adding that the Vietnamese government is ready and determined to secure Taiwanese firms’ properties “in a responsible manner” as expected by the ministry, Lien said.
Because insurance companies are still estimating the actual losses to Taiwanese firms that suffered attacks in the riots, the ministry cannot reveal a figure of total damages or fiscal losses until later this month or next month, she said.
The two sides did not talk about issues regarding potential free trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership or the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in the four-hour talk yesterday, Lien said.
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