TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Vietnamese city of Haiphong is looking to attract more technology firms from Taiwan to invest in the region and contribute to local employment, reports said Saturday (Oct. 1).

Investment from Taiwan was responsible for more than 8,400 jobs with average monthly wages of more than 10 million dong (NT$13,000, US$400) in and around the port town on the coast of north Vietnam, according to local officials.

A delegation from the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association (TEEMA) visited the area to meet with officials last Wednesday (Sept. 28). However, no fewer than nine provinces and cities, including 13 industrial areas had invited the group to visit during their Sept. 25-30 journey across the Southeast Asian country, CNA reported.

Haiphong City economic management official Le Trung Kien emphasized that the presence of companies from Taiwan had made considerable contributions to social welfare in the town, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 60 investment cases from Taiwan in Haiphong had a combined value of US$1.46 billion, he said.

Taiwanese business people said they had earned respect from Vietnamese workers thanks to fair pay and overtime bonuses, while many of their businesses had been present for more than a decade, with several Taiwanese managers becoming fluent speakers of Vietnamese.