In the first eight months of 2020, Vietnam attracted US$19.5 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), down 13.7 percent year-on-year.

There were 1,797 new FDI projects licensed, with registered capital totalling US$9.73 billion, down 25.3 percent in project numbers but up 6.6 percent in value compared to the same period last year.

FTAs help attract more foreign investors to Vietnam.

The increase in value showed that new-generation investment attraction policies have proved effective despite negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam Nicolas Audier said that FTAs that Vietnam signed with Japan, the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union are helpful for Vietnam’s FDI attraction.

In addition, the Vietnamese Government’s rapid response and measures to help enterprises deal with difficulties caused by the pandemic have helped raise foreign investors’ confidence in the country’s business climate.

The EuroCham Business Climate Index increased from 27 percent in the first quarter to 34 percent in April and has remained stable until now. The BCI, which was released in July, also found that more than 25 percent of European enterprises had benefited from the Government’s postponement of tax, while around one-in-five had benefited from a reduction in rent and a suspension of social insurance contributions.

Experts said that Vietnam will welcome big investment flows from the EU and Japan.

According to the Japan External Trade Organisation, the Japanese Government increased the value of an economic support package to US$2.2 billion, which is expected to speed up its businesses’ shifting of investments from China to ASEAN, particularly Vietnam. Currently, around 3,500 Japanese businesses have demand of investing or expanding production in the country.

Jacques Morisset, World Bank Lead Economist and Programme Leader for Vietnam, said he himself and many governments and multinationals believe that the pandemic crisis gives an opportunity for Vietnam to attract more foreign investors.

The WB said in its recent report that competitive production costs, a convenient position in Southeast Asia, strong economic efficiency and increasing domestic consumption are Vietnam’s advantages to lure more foreign investments.

The bank’s 2020 Doing Business report, meanwhile, ranked Vietnam 70th out of 190 economies based on two main factors: improved access to credit information through data distribution from retailers and upgraded information technology infrastructure that makes paying taxes easier for most businesses.

To attract new flows of investment, Vietnamese localities are exerting efforts to upgrade infrastructure to create the most favourable conditions for foreign investors.

FDI to VN sees increase in July

Vietnam attracted US$3.15 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) and capital for share purchases from July 1 to July 20, representing a rise of 79.8 per cent against the same period last year and 76.2 per cent against June, the latest updates of the Foreign Investment Agency showed.

Deputy PM calls for selective FDI attraction

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has said that as Vietnam’s stature has increasingly improved, it is now time for the country to be more selective in its FDI attraction efforts.

Enhancing FDI attraction through order shifting trend

Positive signs in foreign direct investment (FDI) began to appear in June, reflecting the increase in the amount of new FDI capital and the gradual improvement of capital disbursement.

Vietnam lures US$6 billion FDI into industrial parks

Nearly US$6 billion in foreign direct investment was poured into Vietnam’s industrial parks (IPs), processing zones and economic zones (Ezs) in the first half of the year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Industrial production value of Bac Giang’s FDI enterprises hit over 99 trillion VND in 6 months

(BGO) – According to the Department of Industry and Trade (DoIT) in Bac Giang province, the industrial production value (IPV) (actual) in the first six months of this year is estimated at 115 trillion VND (4.9 billion USD), up 10 percent comparing to the same period last year.         

Source: NDO/VNA