Dear readers

Its in July when Summer really heats up to an unpleasant level of hot temperature before it scorches， and it is even worse when it never rains， but it pours！ The concurrence of sizzle and flood is happening now to China， particularly in the eastern and southern provinces of the country where the textile production represents over 80 percent of the totality recorded over decades， and the pattern remains as it was in spite of the increased investment in new operations either in the hinterlands and highlands of the country or in the neighboring countries or even as far as in the African countries.

The impact on the textile mills and apparel manufacturing hubs in those inflicted areas by the heavy rainfall that has led to floods and landslides is not yet known， but another sign of disadvantage for our industry threatens to rain， likely to cause a new flood， a metaphor for business order gushing out in a continuous flux to Vietnam that siphons the global attention to its new trade arrangement with EU， Free Trade Agreement （FTA） and Investment Protection Agreement （IPA）， which starts a new era for Vietnam to further strengthen its emerging economy as a new manufacturing hub beefed up by a new round of foreign direct investment （FDI） by leveraging these new attractive policies signed with European Union.

Following the implementation of the Viet Nam – EU Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation Framework Agreement （PCA）， these agreements mark a milestone in strong partnership in the point that they will promote further economic development and reinforce trade and investment ties between Viet Nam and the European Union， thereby deepening cooperation and strengthening long-lasting relations. As the most ambitious free trade deal between the EU and an emerging economy to date， the agreements are based on the joint commitment of the two sides to open， fair， and rules-based trade liberalization and economic integration， as is reiterated by the joint press conference after the signature of these agreements concluded on June 30th.

Vietnam is a fast-growing FDI attractor， hitting a record high with waves of foreign direct investment to influx in surging tide year by year， and our textile big shots are almost all out there with new operations equipped with highly sophisticated and advanced textile machines in yarn-to-fashion layout， forming a vertically-integrated value chain in Vietnam. The new trade arrangement policy with EU would make it possible for more Chinese investors to throng in， posing quite a problem to the textile industry rooted at home. According to the new statistics issued by Ministry of Planning and Investment， Vietnam received $5.7 billion in Foreign Direct Investment （FDI） in the first four months （Jan. - Apr.） of 2019， up 7.5 percent from a year earlier， a good outcome from the agreed sum of FDI， which witnessed a significant yearly increase of 81 percent to 14.59 billion USD from January to April of this year， a record level in four years， and is expected to reach a new high at the year-end reporting.

Compared with Hanoi， HCMC， Quang Nam， which are leading attractors for FDI in the first quarter of the year， any cities and towns in China remain more attractive to foreign investment to offset the impact that might pound on us？ Rain or shine， we need confidence in keeping our manufacturing sector rooted in the country with no objection to some operations branching out off shore.

ZHAO Hong Editor-in-Chief

July， 2019