Vietnam welcomes another 4 billion USD of FDI capital

Vietnam’s door to attracting FDI is truly “wide open”, as many positive moves show that foreign investors are continuing to invest in the “big factory” of Vietnam. In the first 3 months of the year alone, the figure was over 4 billion USD.

The Project of Construction and Business of Infrastructure for Development of Industrial Park and Factory for Production of Semi-finished Sports Shoes, invested by Taekwang Industrial Co., Ltd. (Korea), has just been officially granted the Investment Registration Certificate.

With a total investment capital of 171.4 million USD, this is one of the large-scale foreign direct investment (FDI) projects invested in Can Tho City recently. Therefore, it is understandable why Mr. Vo Thanh Thong, Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee, has committed to speeding up the site clearance progress, creating all favorable conditions for Teakwang to implement the Project on schedule, as well as the operation process later.

Foreign investors continue to invest in Vietnam's "big factory". Photo: Duc Thanh

“We really appreciate Can Tho’s investment environment. We have invested in many places, but nowhere have investment procedures been processed as quickly as here,” said Mr. Lee Hyung Jin, Deputy General Director of Taekwang Group.

Investing in the leather and footwear sector is also a way for Teakwang to seize opportunities brought about by free trade agreements (FTAs), especially the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Vietnam - EU FTA.

An important thing is that, although the total investment capital of this project is not too large, it has contributed significantly to raising the total FDI capital in Vietnam in the past 3 months to over 4 billion USD, an increase of 119.1% compared to the same period in 2015.

The latest statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment show that, as of March 20, 2016, of the total of more than 4 billion USD of FDI capital in Vietnam, 2.74 billion USD came from 473 newly registered projects, an increase of 125.2% over the same period in 2015. In addition, 1.29 billion USD came from 203 projects increasing capital, an increase of 107% over the same period.

There was a sudden increase in FDI capital in Vietnam in the first quarter of the year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, because foreign investors continued to trust in Vietnam as a destination. Therefore, in addition to the project in Can Tho that has just been granted an investment registration certificate, the past 3 months have also recorded many investors "reserving" large-scale projects in Vietnam. For example, the Investment Project for procurement and operation of technical systems, equipment, technology, software and computerized lottery business in Vietnam in Hanoi, with a total investment capital of 210.58 million USD; or the Dai Duong Paper Mill Project, with an investment capital of 220 million USD in Tien Giang...

The number is expected to continue to increase in the coming time. It is not difficult to calculate this, because the information has just been officially announced, the Prime Minister has approved the policy for Samsung to invest in the Research and Development Center (R&D) Project, with an investment capital of 300 million USD in Hoang Mai (Hanoi). Everything is going quite smoothly and if nothing changes, this project will soon be granted an investment certificate.

Meanwhile, although there is no official confirmation, the possibility of Apple investing in the Asia-Pacific Data Center Project with an investment capital of 1 billion USD is very high. It may not be granted an investment certificate soon, because there are still many procedures to be carried out, but this is also a positive move by the "big guy" from the US.

Importantly, public opinion expects that when Apple makes a large investment in Vietnam, other investors will follow the Apple brand. Investments in the high-tech sector, especially in R&D, are always highly appreciated and expected by Vietnam.

In addition, also in early March, three units - including the Japanese investment fund Creed Group, Phat Dat Company and An Gia Investment - signed a cooperation agreement to implement the River City project, with an investment capital of 500 million USD. Creed Group also committed to pouring 125 million USD, equivalent to 25% of the capital, into this project.

Just counting these projects, FDI capital into Vietnam can increase rapidly in the coming time.

An important signal is that according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, it is estimated that in the first 3 months of the year, FDI projects have disbursed 3.5 billion USD, an increase of 14.8% compared to the same period in 2015. The gap between registered and disbursed FDI capital has been increasingly narrowed, and when FDI capital is put into implementation, it will contribute significantly to increasing production capacity and promoting economic growth.

According to Baodautu