Vietnam Currency Discussion Board

[RICK C]

Outside the Box----What are members thoughts on this Older Article.----------------


US could top Viet Nam investors list: officials

(19-06-2007)


A worker of II-IV Co Ltd, a wholly US-owned company with investment capital totalling US$6.5 million in the Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Zone in Binh Duong Province, is on the optical prismatic production line. - VNA/VNS Photo Duong Tri Tuong
HCM CITY - US investment will surge in the next few years, making that country the top investor in Viet Nam, government officials have predicted.

Experts from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) said never before had executives from so many large US firms come to Viet Nam. In May and June alone, two US delegations arrived in the country with dozens of officials from major companies to study the investment environment.

Represented were Boeing, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, IBM, Time Warner, Abbott, Ford Motors, and General Electric.

They were especially interested in the Vietnamese Government's macroeconomic policies, and most expressed the desire for an investment environment that would enable them to invest for the long-term.

Rising interest

Tran Tuan Anh, the Vietnamese consul in San Francisco, said American businesses' interest in Viet Nam has risen in recent years, particularly after WTO accession and establishment of Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with the US.

Colin Low, President of General Electric (GE) for Singapore, the Philippines and Viet Nam, said after his recent visit to Viet Nam that the country was ripe for investment.

The ministry experts said many US investors have already submitted proposals for large projects and some have signed agreements with Vietnamese partners.

Nguyen Bich Van, deputy director of the Department of Foreign Investment, said during last year's APEC conference that AES had signed an agreement with the Viet Nam Coal and Minerals Corporation to set up a US$1.46 billion joint venture to build the Mong Duong thermal power plant in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

"The project may receive a licence this year."

Two US insurance companies, ACE and Liberty Mutual, have already received licences.

Gannon has submitted a proposal to build a 1,000-MW plant in Dong Nai Province near HCM City.

Conoco Phillips has invested some $1 billion in petroleum exploration and drilling. The company has said it will invest billions more if it finds opportunities.

Leading IT firms like Microsoft, Unisys, Qualcomm, and Motorola too have expressed a desire to invest in Viet Nam. Qualcomm wants to supply 3G mobile telephony infrastructure to Vietnamese companies, EVN Telecom and Hanoi Telecom, and build a wireless internet network to serve education.

The foreign investment department's Van said this year the ministry would send promotional teams to the US to attract investors.

To encourage American investors, the Government would offer to help them sort out problems they are likely to meet in the country. It will set up joint-ministerial working groups to assist US investors.

The Government will also target overseas Vietnamese (Viet kieu) investment in their native country.

Good start

The Department of Foreign Investment reported that by mid-May US companies had invested more than $2.3 billion in the country, becoming the 8th largest foreign investors. They accounted for 3.5 per cent of the total foreign direct investment and 4.4 per cent of the total number of projects.

They have invested mainly in industry and construction, with 210 projects worth over $1 billion. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries accounted for the remainder.

But the department's director, Phan Huu Thang, said that the actual figure was much higher since many US companies invested in Viet Nam through subsidiaries based in Britain, Virgin Islands, Singapore, Hong Kong.

Among them were Coca Cola, Procter & Gamble, Unocal and Conoco, he added.

The department's statistics show that US investment through third countries is worth around $2.4 billion.

Intel, for instance, applied last year through its Hong Kong subsidiary to invest over $1 billion to set up the Intel Products Company to manufacture chips. - VNS



http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=04BUS190607
------------------------------------------------------------
HOW do YOU as A HOLDER OR DEALER OF DONG CURRENCY SEE This AS IT MAY PERTAIN to Future Impact on the VALUE of the DONG.

Thanks and Regards,Rick c