HANOI, Vietnam: SpaceX, Netflix, and Boeing will join a U.S. business mission to meet in Vietnam next week.
The organizers said that 50 US companies will send representatives to Vietnam to discuss investment and sales opportunities.
The Americans will represent a wide range of industries, including defense, pharmaceutical and tech firms. The US-ASEAN Business Council is an industry body that sponsors the meetings.
Vietnam is seen with increasing interest as a global manufacturing hub, as the US and other countries seek business alternatives to China.
Vietnam, with a population of 100 million people, is noted for its expanding middle class and accompanying consumer market.
This is the biggest mission in Vietnam, said Vu Tu Thanh, the US-ASEAN Business Council representative in the country.
In February, Reuters reported that Netflix will open an office in Vietnam.
There are also scheduled meetings between Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Bell and Vietnamese defense procurement companies. Thanh said that this was the first time in ten years that US security firms have joined the annual business and trade mission to Vietnam.
Thanh said that helicopters are one of the things the companies hope to sell to the Vietnamese.
Boeing issued a statement saying that discussions in Vietnam would revolve around strengthening the country's aviation and defense capabilities.
A large number of US companies that are joining the business mission have business or manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, including Apple, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, according to Thanh.
Besides the planned business meetings, US business representatives will have meetings with Vietnam's top political and regulatory leadership, including Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.