Automobile production at the plant of Japan-invested Toyota Việt Nam in Vĩnh Phúc Province. A number of foreign technology corporations were eyeing large investments in Việt Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

HÀ NỘI — More tech could be coming to Việt Nam soon as foreign enterprises demonstrate an appreciation for the country's attractive investment environment. 

A number of foreign technology corporations were eyeing large investments in Việt Nam, given the country’s improved business climate, rapid global integration, abundant labour resources and success in containing the coronavirus, Đỗ Nhất Hoàng, Director of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment said.

Hoàng spoke at an online seminar themed “Attracting foreign investment flow: breakthrough actions and solutions” held by the Government’s e-portal baochinhphu.vn on Friday. He said several foreign technology firms were negotiating to set up their projects in Việt Nam, some of which were worth billions of US dollars.

A number of factors were making Việt Nam attractive in the eyes of foreign investors, Hoàng said.

“We have a market of nearly 100 million people, an abundant young labour force, competitive production costs, rapid integration into the world economy, drastic administrative reforms and improving transport infrastructure. These are factors making Việt Nam an attractive destination for foreign investment,” he said.

As Việt Nam participated in a number of free trade agreements (FTAs), the country was enjoying many preferential trade policies with liberation of tariffs. Moreover, the success in containing the COVID-19 pandemic also made Việt Nam more attractive.

Hoàng said the Government’s special working group to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) had actively worked with foreign technology corporations about their possible investment projects in Việt Nam to ensure their investments were compatible with the country’s target in attracting FDI.

Some intended to invest up to billions of US dollars in Việt Nam, Hoàng said, refusing to disclose more details because the negotiations were underway.

According to Nguyễn Văn Toàn, Deputy Director of the Việt Nam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), Việt Nam has a significant opportunity to capture the FDI flow from the global production shift.

Toàn said that it was necessary for Việt Nam to improve the quality of the labour force, adding that the lack of skill and discipline remained a weakness but flexibility and innovativeness were strengths of Việt Nam, especially in the era of Industry 4.0.

According to former Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management Nguyễn Đình Cung, the restructuring of the global value chains were taking place.

Cung, however, said that the only advantage of Việt Nam in the race to attract FDI was that we have trade deals with major markets in the world.

“The global production shift brings opportunity, but the important thing is what we want and what we get,” Cung said.

He questioned why the FDI flow to Việt Nam mainly came from Asian countries and not from US and European countries. “If we want to attract FDI from the US and European countries, we must act to meet their requirements.”

Administrative reforms must be hastened at all management levels to create a favourable environment for investors, he said.

The policies should be tailor-made for each investor, Cung stressed, adding it was necessary to figure out the problems and implement measures to remove barriers.

Cung said that the attraction of FDI must be based on the strength of each locality. “This is a win-win for both sides,” he said.

According to Hoàng, it was important that the Government develops policies to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the global value chain.

Hoàng at the seminar said that global investment flow was forecast to fall by 20 per cent this year due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ministry’s statistics showed that Việt Nam attracted $19.54 billion in FDI in the first eight months of this year, equivalent to 86.3 per cent of the same period last year. — VNS