Vietnam expects bumper year in FDI attraction
Vietnam is expecting a bumper year in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), according to an official from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).
Phan Huu Thang, head of the MPI's Foreign Investment Department, said there are good reasons for the optimistic view, as newly-registered FDI in the first quarter of this year surged 27% from the same period last year to US $2.071 billion, and a list of projects on offer, capitalised at nearly US $30 billion, is catching foreign investors' attention.
He added that Vietnam needs only one third of the potential FDI amount realised in order to meet its target of attracting US $12 billion in FDI this year. The country's yearly target is equivalent to the total FDI it attracted in the 2001-2005 period.
Adding capital flow in operating projects, Vietnam attracted US $2.503 billion in FDI in the first three months of this year, an increase of 22% year-on-year.
Don Lam, Managing Director of VinaCapital, a financial group which has invested in many big projects in Vietnam, said annual FDI into Vietnam is likely to reach US $15-17 billion.
Dominic Scriven, Director of the UK fund management firm Dragon Capital shared Don Lam's view, citing a series of projects which will be carried out in Vietnam in the future, including a US $5-billion project of the Hon Hai Precision Industry Ltd. of Taiwan.
Many foreign investors said Vietnam's young and quick-to-learn workforce is one of the main reasons behind their decision to pour their money into the market.
Vietnam's World Trade Organisation membership and the country's commitments to open the financial, banking and securities sectors also help it win investors' trust.
The Vietnamese government, and local authorities are striving to improve the investment environment in accordance with international commitments in order to create favourable conditions for foreign investors' activities in Vietnam. President Nguyen Minh Triet reiterated Vietnam's efforts in the work while receiving a delegation of the Council of US Chambers of Commerce in Asia-Pacific on March 21.
Investment promotion activities have become more focused with the aim of attracting major and multinational groups, and developed economies to Vietnam.
Another important factor is the recovery of global foreign investment since 2004, which continues until present, with Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, being investors' first choice.
Several top ranking investors in Vietnam have shown signs of boosting their presence in the country. The Republic of Korea (RoK), one of the top five investors in Vietnam, has decided to open a Business Support Centre in Vietnam, with the aim of helping more RoK investors to the country.
Japan has repeatedly surveyed its businesses' choices of destinations for their investment. A survey conducted in the last two months of last year showed that many Japanese investors wanted to do business in Vietnam.
The EU region, with modest direct investment in Vietnam so far, has also become aware that it is time to increase investment in Vietnam.
At a recent France-Vietnam commercial forum, French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean-Francois Blarel affirmed that France aims to rise to the top among EU member countries investing in Vietnam, and his country will create favourable conditions for French businesses to come to Vietnam as soon as possible. (VNA)
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