Bloomberg.com, one of the most-trafficked financial sites on the web, quoted Nick Jacobs, Intel’s regional spokesman, as saying that Santa Clara, California-based Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, is scheduled to open a US$1 billion testing facility in Ho Chi Minh City this year that will employ about 4,000 people. Intel chooses Vietnam because of its proximity to customers, reliable power, water supply and skilled workers.

“Vietnam is a country which is very committed to education, and gives us confidence that we will continue to attract the talent we need for long-term success,” he said.

Toyota produced 28,000 vehicles in Vietnam last year, up from 18,000 in 2007, spokesman Paul Nolasco said. The Japan-based company had 1,300 employees in Vietnam, more than double the number in 2005, he said.

Nolasco added, “Toyota recognizes not only the potential growth of that market but the potential role the Vietnamese economy can make in broader Southeast Asia.”

According to Bloomberg, Vietnam drew 13.5 percent of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s foreign direct investment pool in 2008, up from 4.4 percent two years earlier.

VNA