Vietnam invites India to explore energy sector

HO CHI MINH CITY: Vietnam on Tuesday invited investments from Indian companies to set up refineries in the communist country.

Vietnamese Minister for Planning and Investment Nguyen Ngoc Phuc said his country is going to have two to three refineries in the coming years.

"We would welcome Indian companies in this sector," he said.

India's Reliance Industries has already announced plans to set up a refinery for crude oil extraction. Reliance is understood to have held preliminary talks with officials of Vietnamese government, which is keen to see Indian investment in the upstream as well as downstream energy sector.

Phuc also urged Indian companies to invest in other sectors of Vietnam as it provides easier access to a much bigger market of ASEAN.

Only a few sectors like defence are close to FDI and Vietnam is gradually opening up its telecom and banking sectors to foreign investment, he said.

India has 19 projects -- joint ventures and wholly-owned units -- valued at $682.88 million in Vietnam. The prominent ones among them are Ranbaxy, Godrej, ONGC, Essar Global and Tata Steel.

Jitendra Nath Mishra, Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, the commercial capital of Vietnam, said it makes sense for Indian companies to look at Vietnam also because profit repatriation is easy.

Indian exports to Vietnam are estimated to be at $880.8 million, while imports are expected to touch $137.84 million in 2006-07.