Vietnamese processing industry lures ASEAN investors
The processing and manufacturing industry in Vietnam has become very attractive to investors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
ASEAN investors have pumped as much as US$27.68 billion into 1,176 projects in the field, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
As of July 20, the country had 3,040 valid investment projects from ASEAN capitalised at over US$64.47 billion.
In the first seven months of 2016, Vietnam attracted 181 new projects and saw 79 existing ones from the bloc increase capital, worth US$2.49 billion, accounting for 19.26% of the nation’s total investment.
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In addition to processing and manufacturing, ASEAN investors are interested in real estate, electricity production and distribution, and construction.
Singapore tops the association in investing in Vietnam with 1,663 projects worth US$38.1 billion, followed by Malaysia (US$13.8 billion) and Thailand (US$9.4 billion).
Singapore and Thailand have continuously increased investment in Vietnam in recent times.The Ministry of Planning and Investment praised investment projects from ASEAN businesses, especially those from Singapore .
The ministry said Singaporean firms observe Vietnamese law and projects carried out at the Vietnam – Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) are significant to development.
Attractive destinations include Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and southern Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces thanks to good infrastructure.
Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi took the lead, drawing US$17.33 billion and US$8.39 billion respectively from ASEAN investors, making up 26.8% and 13% of the bloc’s total investment in Vietnam.
