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Foreign investors don rose-coloured glasses for business in Vietnam
That additional capital registered for licensed projects is larger than the newly-registered amount in the first four months of the year shows foreign investors’ optimism about their business in Vietnam.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, in the past four months foreign investors registered to add almost 3.9 billion USD to their ongoing projects in Vietnam, compared to the total of 2.5 billion USD poured in new projects.
The US, which is leading in FDI capital in the country, injected an additional 3.8 billion USD, or 99.5 percent of the total.
The fact shows that investors’ trust is as weighty as their pockets as it helps them decide whether to continue or change their destinations.
At a recent investment promotion workshop in Hanoi, a representative from the Republic of Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency in Vietnam said 82.2 percent of the surveyed RoK businesses said they were optimistic and satisfied with Vietnam’s investment climate and affirmed to continue their business in the country. That explains why the RoK remains one of the top foreign investors here.
The World Bank (WB) Country Director in Vietnam, Victoria Kwaka, in her speech delivered at the mid-April Vietnam Investment Forum said the country is the biggest International Development Association (IDA) credit recipient of the WB.
She said the fact that WB increased its support for Vietnam showed its confidence in the country’s mid-term economic prospect.
A recent survey conducted by the Grant Thornton Vietnam also revealed that 42 percent of the total 169 investment funds and financial institutions investing in joint-stock companies have plans to increase their investment in Vietnam, while only 8 percent intend to reduce their investment. Up to 67 percent of them said Vietnam’s investment environment is more attractive than others.
However, most foreign investors are concerned about the tardy ground-clearance progress in the country, besides complicated administrative procedures, shortages of market information and high-quality personnel as well as costly transaction activities.
To remove the difficulties, the Government has issued a resolution on FDI attraction and management, which maps out six solutions to attract investment, develop infrastructure and human resources, and promote FDI.
The country attracted more than 6.35 billion USD in FDI in the first four months of the year, down 17 percent over the same period last year.
Despite dim forecasts for Vietnam’s FDI influx in 2009 due to the impacts from the world economic recession, the FIA still expects that it will surpass the 21.3 billion USD figure of 2007.
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