Global investment shift to benefit Vietnam: conference

Registered foreign investment totaled US$16.7 billion as of the end of August, down 12.3% from a year earlier. However, the investment disbursement rose 10.5% to US$12.8 billion and capital addition to existing projects up 50.7% to US$7.5 billion.

Notably, the average value of each project reached US$14.7 million, compared to the over US$10 million in 2021, Do Nhat Hoang, Director of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) at the Ministry of Planning and Investment, told the event in Binh Duong province.

In the southern region, Ho Chi Minh City took the lead in foreign investment attraction, followed by Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Long An, and Tay Ninh. Binh Duong alone recorded nearly US$2.6 billion, surging 72% year on year, statistics show.

Hoang pointed out that due to recent global uncertainties and disrupted supply chains as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s “zero-COVID” policy, investment flows are being shifted to new markets, and this is a chance for Vietnam in general and southern localities in particular.

To seize opportunities, localities should connect with one another to develop an attractive ecosystem for technology investors, he recommended.

Vietnam is to become a destination for power, electronics, processing and manufacturing projects from investors from the Republic of Korean who are seeking new places for their export production facilities. Such sectors as wholesale, retail, non-manufacturing, and support industry will also continue attracting Japanese investors and enterprises, he added.

The FIA held that in the next two - three years, tech firms will still choose Vietnam as a priority destination for new investments or investment expansion, especially in manufacturing. Many “hot” industries such as technology, pharmaceutical, and energy are likely to be magnets for investment.

To make use of the shift in global production chain and FDI flows, the FIA advised provinces and cities to attract high-quality investments that suit Vietnam’s demand, prepare a skilled workforce, reform investment promotion and management activities, apply digital technologies to quickly handle procedures, and step up administrative procedure simplification.

Foreign investment will keep growing in 2022 and make breakthroughs in the years to come as countries are gradually reopening their economies and adapting to the new normal, the agency added.