Phan Huu Thang, Director ofthe MPI’s Foreign Investment Agency, said the rapid increase ofoverseas investment activities recently is an objective developmentthat is suitable to the domestic economic development as well as thecountry’s international economic integration.
To date, Vietnam has more than 440 projects in 49 countries andterritories with a total registered capital of over 6.8 billion USD, ofwhich 1.5 billion USD has been realised.
In the first eight months of 2009 alone, Vietnamese enterprisesregistered an overseas investment capital of 2.1 billion USD,accounting for 20.8 percent of the total.
Thang said that these results not only prove the grown-up of theVietnamese businesses but also show that overseas investment hasbrought about positive efficiencies such as strengthening businesses’economic cooperation capacity, boosting international economicintegration, increasing the export of Vietnamese goods and creatingprocessing and distribution establishments in foreign countries.
The overseas investment has also helped Vietnamese enterprises take theadvantage of business opportunities abroad and improve theircompetitiveness in the international business environment, he said,adding that it has also been an important channel to attract foreigninvestment to the homeland.
According to the MPI official, Vietnam’s overseas investmentactivities are enjoying unprecedented advantages as the global economiccrisis, besides negative impacts, has opened new opportunities forVietnamese businesses to get access to foreign markets.
He, however, noted that Vietnamese businesses are facing a lot ofdifficulties in investing abroad due to poor financial potentials andlack of knowledge of host countries’ laws. In addition, the lack ofcoordination among enterprises is hindering their investment activitiesabroad.
Thang said that the Prime Minister has approved an overseas investmentpromotion project which is considered an important legal foundation forfurther strengthening Vietnam ’s investment activities abroad.
Apart from investment in traditional markets, including Laos, Cambodia, and Russia, Vietnamese businesses should expand their activities tonew markets such as Latin America, East Europe and Africa .
The ministry will give priority to investment in such areas as energy,power production, mineral and oil and gas exploitation, and industrialtree planting, he added./.