Vietnam keen to attract more foreign investors

Registered and disbursed foreign direct investment (FDI) along with the issuance of investment certificates in the first ten months of this year have been consistent with a stable business climate, radio the Voice of Vietnam quoted Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh as saying.
Registered and disbursed foreign direct investment (FDI) along withthe issuance of investment certificates in the first ten months of thisyear have been consistent with a stable business climate, radio theVoice of Vietnam quoted Minister of Planning and Investment Bui QuangVinh as saying.

Though Vietnam has become moreattractive with its tax incentives, low-cost labour, and long coastlineand its increasingly modern port infrastructure, FDI attraction policiesstill naturally face some challenges, according to Dr. Nguyen DinhCung, Director of Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM),

Toovercome these obstacles and continue to attract more FDI in thefuture, Vietnam needs to take a long-range view and develop a nationalstrategy that embraces FDI as a powerful driver for sustainable economicdevelopment, Cung said.

According to the Foreign InvestmentAgency (FIA) during the 10 month period, newly registered FDI capitaldipped by 23.9 percent to 9.95 billion USD, representing a total of1,306 projects.

Meanwhile the FIA reported supplementary capitalfor existing projects dipped 39.1 percent to 3.74 billion USD for 469projects.

FIA Deputy Director Nguyen Noi said the declining FDIregistered capital was principally due to the reduction in the number oflarge scale projects this year as compared to 2013.

There werefewer projects having capital of more than 1 billion USD each this yearwhile the overwhelming majority (70%) of FDI projects had registeredcapital of under 5 million USD that was the main cause of a decline inFDI capitalisation this year, Noi explained.

However, Tran DuyDong, Director of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI)’sEconomic Zone Management Department, said in fact many foreign investorscontinued to pour investment into their business in Vietnam. Dong citedthe Samsung CE Complex and Samsung Display Bac Ninh projects, whicheach has registered capital of more than 1 billion USD, as primeexamples of the confidence of foreign investors in the country.

Foreigninvested enterprises contributed 82.48 billion USD to the nation’sexport revenues (including crude oil), up 13.6 percent and comprising 67percent of the country’s total export value.

All this adds up tothe simple fact that Vietnam has continued to remain a safe andattractive destination for foreign investors, Dong concluded.

Toimprove FDI attraction, FIA Director Do Nhat Hoang says the agency hasset a target to attract large-scale projects with more competitiveproducts and plans to join global value chains of multinational groups.

Atthe same time the agency will pay appropriate attention tosmall-and-medium sized projects and strike a balance between the two.Furthermore, FDI attraction would focus on the supporting industry,construction, services, and agro-forestry, Hoang said, noting that inthe exploitation of natural resource, only projects using advanced andenvironmentally friendly technologies and machines will be grantedlicences.

To realise the target, Vietnam should have properstrategies to attract investors. “Currently, some Vietnamlocalities, such as like Binh Duong, have been better at attractingforeign investment, because local authorities support businesses andhave timely and clear investment procedures. The model should beexpanded in the future” says Professor Nguyen Mai.

Meanwhile,Dr.Nguyen Dinh Cung said localities should outline clear and specificcriteria for choosing investors and offer transparent policies formutual benefit.-VNA

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