Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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249. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to report on the work of the Enterprise Ireland office in Vietnam since its establishment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36543/24]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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To support continued growth and business opportunities regionally, Enterprise Ireland (EI) established its representative offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 2020. Amid the trend towards global diversification of supply chains in the manufacturing and processing industry, Vietnam is fast becoming a surging hub for FDI inflows in recent years.

The key objective of this EI office is to work with clients to ensure they are market-ready for Vietnam and that they have sufficient market intelligence in the Vietnam market, forming part of their overall internationalisation strategy.

Asia will be a central driver of future world growth dynamics, with economic forecasts (IMF 2023) suggesting that as much as 70% of global growth will come from the region. The economy of Vietnam is set to remain one of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) top performers since 2020, thanks to buoyant industrial activity, private consumption, and exports.

The EI Vietnam representative office is overseen by the Enterprise Ireland Director for ASEAN, based out of the Singapore office, with one staff member based in the Vietnam office as part of the wider team. Sectors of focus include International Education including Edutech, Financial Services and Fintech, High Tech Construction, Agritech, Life Sciences and Digital Health, Digital Technologies, IOT and Cybersecurity, Cleantech and Sustainability, Consumer Retail and Aviation.

EI’s Vietnam priorities, to deliver on 2024 growth objectives, will continue to focus on driving scale, proactively seeking new market opportunities, and assisting clients to build presence in market.

Enterprise Ireland in Vietnam facilitates and brokers introductions between client companies and key companies and decision-makers in the ASEAN region to achieve export growth. Scaling and diversification to the market is assisted through a one-to-one engagement with the market advisor in Vietnam. In addition to facilitating introductions and B2B meetings, EI provide support on market validation, competitor intelligence, value proposition, channel strategy, sales processes and establishing a market presence.

The work of EI in the region is also supported through Ministerial missions and events into Vietnam and wider ASEAN region, delegation visits from the region to Ireland, and many in-market events for clients.

Enterprise Ireland client companies' total exports to ASEAN, which includes Vietnam, increased to over €458 million in 2023 - growth of approximately 30% since 2018. Exports to Vietnam grew by 3% in 2023 to €43 million.