VietNamNet Bridge – Up to 57 percent of U.S. businesses that have invested in Southeast Asia said Vietnam is the most attractive destination for investment expansion, with low cost and stable political situation.

The countries chosen for business expansion by American businesses.

The America Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (AmCham Singapore) has announced the report “ASEAN Business Outlook 2012/2013”. This survey was made with the participation of AmCham members in seven countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

American investors affirmed that ASEAN economy was better recently. Up to 92 percent of the surveyed enterprises had a positive or very positive look about the investment opportunity in companies in Southeast Asia, mainly businesses in the service and manufacturing sector.

Vietnam was chosen as the most preferred destination for investment expansion, followed by Thailand.

No business said that profit prospects in Vietnam in 2013 would decrease. In 2012, up to 9 percent of investors had a negative outlook on earnings prospects in Vietnam, the highest rate among the surveyed countries.

Most of the firms said that their companies were planning to diversify investment from China into ASEAN. The rate was highest in Vietnam in the 2011 survey (34 percent) but it dropped to 24 percent in 2012.

Myanmar is considered the "golden land" of Asia, so it attracted a lot of attention. Some 35 percent of respondents said they had been investing in Myanmar or would consider it in the future.

Except for Singapore, corruption and institutional problems continued to make investors unhappy. In Vietnam, the rate of complaints about corruption is the highest (77 percent), followed by complaints about the system of legal documents (59 percent) and infrastructure (57 percent). However, Vietnam is appreciated for low cost, safety and political stability.

Na Son