HÀ NỘI – A conference to review 30 years of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Việt Nam will be held in the first week of October 2018.
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to ask for approval from the Politburo to hold the conference, while making a report summarising foreign investment attraction over the past 30 years, with an evaluation of the work in the past five years.
The report will assess major aspects of foreign investment attraction, including investment in the support industry, connectivity between foreign-invested and domestic enterprises, technology and technology transfer, environment, FDI in infrastructure, agriculture and service, State management over FDI, support for FDI firms and plans for future FDI attraction.
The PM emphasised the significance of the conference in creating consensus on the evaluation of luring FDI, aiming to promote strong points and minimise weaknesses. Investment promotion is also part of the event.
Over the years, the FDI sector has been a dynamic economic area with positive contributions to growth, giving important capital resources, and helping enhance the efficiency of domestic resources and transforming the economy’s structure.
The sector has also contributed to increasing the country’s exports, expanding foreign markets, generating jobs and promoting technology transfer.
Việt Nam attracted more than US$20 billion in FDI in the first half of 2018.
The capital was poured into 1,362 new projects and 507 existing ones and used to contribute capital and buy shares in domestic companies.
According to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyễn Thế Phương, more than 30 years after Việt Nam opened its door to foreign investors, the FDI sector has become an important part of the economy.
To date, the country has attracted nearly 26,000 projects with registered capital of $326 billion. Disbursement is estimated at $180 billion.
Foreign investment accounts for 25 per cent of the country’s total investments and contributes 20 per cent of GDP. Last year, the sector contributed nearly $8 billion to the State budget, 14.4 per cent of total revenue.
At present, 58 per cent of foreign investments focus on processing and manufacturing, generating half of industrial production value. — VNS