Vietnam waiting for major technology projects
Vietnam is waiting for major high-tech and future technology projects registered in 2024, as many foreign big names in this field have expressed their interest in the domestic market.
A few days ago, China’s Hainan Drinda New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. signed a memorandum of understanding on investing in a solar panel factory project at the Hoang Mai II Industrial Park in the central province of Nghe An, with investment capital of US$450 million possibly in the first phase.
The US’s Lam Research Corporation recently came to Vietnam to seek investment opportunities. During a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Vice President and head of Global Operations at Lam Research Karthik Rammohan said that the corporation aims to expand its operations and diversify its supply chain in Asia.
He shared a plan to cooperate with the Republic of Korea’s Seojin company, which has factories located in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces, to develop a factory and supply chain for the semiconductor industry, with an investment of US$1-2 billion in the first phase. Even after this phase, Lam Research plans to invest directly and continue to expand operations in Vietnam.
Similarly, a joint venture between China’s Huadian Corporation and Vietnam’s Minh Quang company officially announced its plan to invest in a super project to produce green hydrogen in the central province of Quang Tri, with a total capital of around US$2.4 billion.
Appreciating Vietnam’s desire to attract investment in advanced, new and future technology projects such as semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI), and green hydrogen, President of Vietnam’s Association of Foreign-Invested Enterprises Nguyen Mai noted the biggest obstacle is that Vietnam does not have adequate institutions, policies, and mechanisms, and even the investment environment and administrative procedure issues still have many problems.
Therefore, he proposed giving priority to perfect institutions and laws, improving the internal strength, modernising socio-economic infrastructure, and speeding up administrative reform.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam attracted US$6.17 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first quarter of 2024, a year-on-year rise of 13.4%.
Specifically, in the period, 644 new projects with total registered capital of US$4.77 billion were granted investment certificates, up 23.4% in the number of projects, and 57.9% in value year-on-year.
A total of US$934.6 million was registered to be added to 248 existing projects and US$466.2 million earmarked for stake purchase and capital contribution.
The disbursed foreign investment rose by 7.1% in the first quarter to reach US$4.63 billion, a signal that the disbursement will continue the positive trend, the agency said.
