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COVER STORY

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Maintaining resilience during the recovery period and moving forward
post-pandemic are the focus of foreign investors at this point in time.
HONG NHUNG Reports

espite the fourth wave of Covid-19 munities. “It has also posed unique chal- for our employees’ well-being to help them
in Vietnam leading to an 18 per cent lenges to and impacted several businesses respond to the pandemic better and to col-
D decline in orders, European com- across the globe, and Intel is no exception,” lectively overcome the challenges,” he added.
panies in the country plan to stay, the latest said Mr. Kim Huat Ooi, General Manager The pandemic caused significant loss
Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey of Intel Products Vietnam (IPV). “In Viet- of life, devastated industries, and triggered
from the European Chamber of Commerce nam and Ho Chi Minh City specifically, the crash of a relatively stable and prosperous
in Vietnam (EuroCham) found. Twenty- the fourth wave of the pandemic brought global economy. It also exposed the chal-
nine per cent of respondents labeled their with it an increase in preventative measures lenges of managing sites remotely. During
business results very bad and most attributed to be applied by companies in the manu- lockdown, personnel had limited access to
unsatisfactory production and business results facturing industry, such as the Prime Min- workplace properties, and following social
to limitations in transport, supply, and market ister’s Directive No. 16 and the Ho Chi distancing measures, reopened businesses
conditions. Amid the gloom, however, many Minh City Party Committee’s Directive may not be able to have the entire workforce
foreign investors remain optimistic and No. 12, which posed further challenges reoccupying that space. These issues might
predict improvements in business recovery from an operational standpoint.” make it more difficult to monitor and main-
over the months to come. During these unprecedented times, IPV tain infrastructure, according to Mr. Dong
has been carrying out manufacturing oper- Mai Lam, CEO of Schneider Electric Viet-
PERIOD OF STRUGGLE ations under the company’s own safety nam and Cambodia.
Covid-19 changed the entire world in measures as well as Vietnam’s health guide- Schneider Electric is currently focused
many ways, and has pushed the building lines. “We have also put in place many ini- on supporting business continuity, helping
of stronger partnerships between individ- tiatives and safety measures to ensure our companies improve their digital resiliency,
uals, organizations, businesses, and com- business runs smoothly, with extra benefits cybersecurity tools, and infrastructure, -

www.en.vneconomy.vn DECEMBER 2021 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | 13