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Obstacles for overseas investment should be removed
Vietnamese businesses have so far penetrated the markets in five continents. However, most of their investment has been in Asia.
Vietnamese businesses are now in major need of overseas investment to make full use of their advantages, expand their markets, increase their competitive capacity and satisfy the national economy’s requirements for energy, materials and fuels. However, there are still problems with overseas investments including cumbersome administrative procedures and a lack of information and capital.
Vietnam currently has 317 valid foreign investment projects with a total registered capital of US$2.5 billion of which around US$1 billion has been disbursed.
Vietnamese investments are concentrated in Asia and Laos takes the top spot with 123 projects, accounting for 39 percent of the number of projects and more than 50 percent of the investment capital.
However, the figure remains a pittance compared to the potential of domestic businesses and their need to invest abroad.
Nguyen Hai Ly, Head of the Investment Department of company Viettel, one of the companies which has the highest investment capital and foreign investment projects in Vietnam, said that her company is increasing their investment in newly-emerging and potential markets. But the incomplete legal framework for overseas investment has posed many difficulties for the company. Viettel’s projects were implemented very rapidly in the overseas market while domestic procedures for its overseas investments were handle very slowly. Normally, a business must go through 11 agencies before they get an overseas investment license.
In addition, complicated regulations on foreign currency has caused difficulties for domestic businesses in transferring money abroad, conducting surveys and producing designs. State agencies should allow domestic businesses to transfer a certain amount of money abroad while reporting the money transfer to them so that they can be more flexible when investing abroad, Mrs Ly added.
Nguyen Thuy Huong from the Overseas Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) admitted that currently there is no general plan to develop overseas investment strategies, or list areas to invest in overseas. In addition, granting licenses to invest overseas is mainly undertaken by the MPI, costing businesses a lot of time and effort. Ms Huong added that businesses hope the ministry will decentralise overseas investment management as soon as possible, creating better conditions for businesses to invest overseas.
Another difficulty is that businesses lack information about good places to invest and the method used. Each place has its own advantages, difficulties and legal system so it is difficult for businesses to find out these things by themselves. They need active support from the relevant agencies.
Dr Ngo Manh Hoai, deputy general director of a chemical company proposed that the relevant authorities should provide the necessary information for businesses to help them avoid competing with each other in the same fields. In addition businesses need information about investment markets and their particularities.
Businesses hope that the Government will complete the agreement for the encouragement and protection of investment and the avoidance of double taxation agreement as soon as possible, creating better conditions for businesses to invest overseas.
Currently, the MPI is developing a project to support and encourage Vietnamese businesses to invest overseas to submit to the Prime Minister. Accordingly, the State will support projects that invest in strategic markets and key fields such as coal, oil and gas, electricity generation, tin, ore, bronze and lead production. It will also accelerate investments in key markets such as Laos, Russia, the US and Cambodia.
VOV
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