Vietnamese subcontractors of Nike Inc.’s have resumed production and the company plans to increase its reliance on the Southeast Asian country to make its shoes with more investments, according to a report on the Vietnam government’s website.
Production has restarted in the nearly 200 Vietnam factories that make Nike products after disruptions from Covid-19 outbreaks, the government website reported, citing Nike’s Chief Sustainability Officer Noel Kinder during a Tuesday meeting with Vietnam’s Premier Pham Minh Chinh in Scotland.
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Representatives for Nike were not immediately available for comment.
Vietnam’s footwear factories, which make shoes for global brands such as Adidas AG and Puma SE, are expected to be fully operational early next year after strict anti-virus restrictions led to temporary plant closures and workers returning to home rural provinces, Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Leather Footwear and Handbag Association, said last week.
Factories in Vietnam’s southern industrial belt of Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An provinces, as well as in Ho Chi Minh City, have reported 70%-80% of their workers have returned, she said.
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Pouyuen Vietnam, a unit of one of the world’s largest makers of athletic shoes, Pou Chen Corp., said 70% of its workforce has returned to work, according to a post on the website of Ho Chi Minh City’s media center, citing Cu Phat Nghiep, the company’s labor union head. A Pouyuen Vietnam representative confirmed the city’s report but declined to comment further. Bloomberg‘s Mai Ngoc Chau reported.
Foreign investors poured 23.74 billion USD in new projects, existing projects, and in contribution of capital and share purchases as of October 20, up 1.1 percent year-on-year, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Do Nhat Hoang, director general of the MPI’s Foreign Investment Agency, explained that FDI flows have recovered better than expected in 2021, driven by Vietnam’s solid long-term prospects and improving business climate. “Particularly, the number of new foreign-invested projects in labour-intensive industries like electronics, automobiles, and chemistry has reduced. Generally, there are fewer new and expanded projects, but the average valuations are higher due to the country’s selective FDI mobilisation policy,” said Hoang.
In early October, the prime minister issued Decision No.29/2021/QD-TTg, offering incentives to foreign investors meeting criteria on high technology, technology transfer, added value, and supporting local suppliers in joining manufacturing chains, according to local media.
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Source: Vietnam Insider