Laying the foundation for sustainable globalisation

Tiếng Việt

Laying the foundation for sustainable globalisation

RMIT’s Global Business Forum 2023 looked into the key factors and best practices of sustainable foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam through the lens of multinational enterprises.

The Global Business Forum (formerly International Business Forum) is one of the largest annual industry-connected events hosted by The Business School, RMIT University Vietnam since 2018.

This year’s forum theme ‘Laying the foundation for sustainable globalisation’ attracted guest speakers from multinational enterprises (MNEs) such as LEGO Manufacturing Vietnam, Unilever Vietnam, Savills Vietnam, Schaeffler Vietnam, and Keppel.

The discussion deep dived into the future sustainability of the FDI sector by analysing factors of production in global business operations. These include land, labour, and capital, with productive entrepreneurship and human creativity as essential complements.

Panellists at RMIT's Global Business Forum 2023

RMIT’s Global Business Forum 2023 welcomed speakers from LEGO Manufacturing Vietnam, Unilever Vietnam, Savills Vietnam, Schaeffler Vietnam, and Keppel.

Experts of the forum remarked that in 2023, FDI enterprises have significantly bolstered Vietnam's economy, with investment reaching $US28.85 billion in the first 11 months. They emphasised that FDI is crucially growing through industrial parks, as evident in the fact that various MNEs have established or expanded their operations in industrial parks across the nation. This aligns with the government's aim to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and to entice new and exceptional FDI.

For example, the LEGO Group is building a $US1.3 billion plant in VSIP III industrial park, Binh Duong province, with an opening date expected in 2024. This would be the company’s first carbon-neutral factory worldwide.

LEGO is targeting a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification for its Vietnam factory, setting up rooftop solar panels and a solar farm, in addition to having planted 50,000 new trees in Binh Duong. According to Mr Benny Choong, Head of Finance for Asia Operation at LEGO Manufacturing Vietnam, the company expects to recruit for 4,000 jobs in Vietnam over the next 15 years.

Audiences at RMIT's Global Business Forum

The forum attracted 400 offline and online attendees.

Vietnam is home to around 400 industrial parks, which Mr John Campbell, Associate Director, Head of Industrial Services at real estate services company Savills Vietnam described as “quite impressive for a country of its size”.

He commended the Vietnamese Government’s growing focus on sustainable and eco-friendly industrial parks, Industry 4.0 technologies, and smart manufacturing, citing successful examples from the Vietnam Singapore Industrial Parks and Deep C Hai Phong industrial zone.

“These are the projects that we want because they improve the training of the workers as well as move the country up the value chain,” Mr Campbell said.

Mr John Campbell, Associate Director, Head of Industrial Services, Savills Vietnam

Mr Adris Bin Isnin, Senior Director, Head of Technical Services, Real Estate Division (Vietnam) at Keppel, emphasised Vietnam’s net-zero commitment as it creates numerous opportunities for the development of green products and services, facilitated by the contribution of foreign companies interested in this objective, with Keppel being among them.

He shared that Keppel is increasingly focusing on constructing green buildings in Vietnam, considering that buildings and construction constitute around 40 per cent of global carbon emissions.

“We also expect to do more work in sustainable urban renewal, where we bring people, AI-driven technology and processes together to bolster the efficiency, sustainability performance and valuation of both new and aged commercial buildings,” the Keppel representative said.

The industry experts provided further examples illustrating the opportunities and challenges associated with navigating Vietnam's business landscape, with insightful discussions of labour quality and talent recruitment, management and development.

Vietnam Leadership Development Lead at Unilever Vietnam Mr Ryan Trung Truong described how sustaining Unilever’s “two greatest assets – brands and people” is key to achieving the company’s mission of sustainability.

Vietnam Leadership Development Lead at Unilever Vietnam Mr Ryan Trung Truong

He underlined the ‘We care, we grow’ mindset when it comes to developing people: “At Unilever, we truly care for each individual. We believe that only when we care for each person’s differences, motivations, ambitions in life, as well as skills and capabilities, then they can grow. And of course, the company will benefit from their growth.”

Mr Khoa Tham, Plant Head at Schaeffler Vietnam, also shared the belief that people are the key success factor in a business.

He talked about the multi-skill program where Schaeffler employees in Vietnam learn how to operate different machines (instead of just one machine like many of their peers in Europe), in addition to how to set up and repair the machines.

“We motivate them to develop their skills level by level, so that we can compensate them appropriately in line with their level. As a result, we can increase the productivity as well,” Mr Khoa said.

Mr Khoa Tham, Plant Head at Schaeffler Vietnam

The Global Business Forum’s focus on sustainable globalisation came as a timely addition to the international discourse surrounding climate change and sustainability sparked by the COP28 summit.

Dr Abel D. Alonso, Senior Lecturer of Global Business at RMIT explained that growing awareness regarding sustainable FDI could help build a corporate culture within Vietnam’s business community, and, by extension, position the nation highly on a global scale as a sustainable FDI recipient.

Explore RMIT’s Bachelor of Business program and Global Business major here.

Story: Ngoc Hoang

Media Release

Business and management

19 December 2023