With nine projects licensed last month, Vietnamese firms in the firstfour months this year invested nearly 1.8 billion USD abroad, accordingto the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency(FIA).
The agency said that most of the projects were in power, rubbercultivation and telecommunications. The latest licences were granted tothe 800 million USD Se San hydro power plant and a 31.7 million USDrubber plantation in Cambodia .
Vietnamese enterprisespumped about 3 billion USD into 25 countries and territories last year,according to statistics from the FIA. Venezuela attracted thelargest share of Vietnamese investment with 1.83 billion USD. It wasfollowed by Cambodia with more than 387 million USD, Mozambique with345 million USD and Laos with 132 million USD.
However, the rate of return on overseas investments has been poor,although the investment volume has risen steadily over the last fewyears, raising concerns about the efficiency of overseas investment.
FIA Director Do Nhat Hoang said it was necessary to monitor overseasinvestment to regulate capital outflow as most of the investment capitalwas from State-owned groups and enterprises.
To bettercheck the efficiency of overseas investment projects, the agency hasrecently required Vietnamese investors with projects in other countriesto submit reports on their business performances.
Reviewing more than 20 years of investment abroad, the ministry said thecountry had no comprehensive mechanism to oversee overseas investment,which were mostly funded by the Government.
A lack of oversight might lead to inefficient use or even loss of that capital, it said.
Investment abroad has increased, but with a small economy, high tradedeficit, an unstable international balance of payments and a low foreigncurrency reserve, overseas investment activities must be closelychecked to regulate cash flows and ensure macro-economic stability. /.
