FDI Inflows Show Signs of Improvement

Healthy foreign direct investment inflow in the past six months has reinvigorated hope that Vietnam will reach the US$11 billion disbursement target for 2012.

 

Foreign investors pumped US$890 million into Vietnam last month, raising total disbursed foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last two quarters to $5.4 billion, up 1.9 per cent on-year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

 

“Given the government’s ongoing measures and the current momentum, we will reach the target this year,” said FIA General Director Do Nhat Hoang, adding that boosting FDI disbursement was the government’s priority.

 

FDI disbursement in 2012’s second half is expected to be fueled by a series of large projects having been kicked start. South Korea’s Posco Group last week commenced construction of a $594 million factory in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province to produce special steel products and Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest rubber and tire maker, will start construction of a $575 million passenger car tire factory in Haiphong city this week.

 

In April, Nokia began building its $302 factory in Bac Ninh city. In the last six months, foreign investors registered just $6.38 billion for new investments compared to $8.82 billion in the same period last year, blaming domestic economic uncertainties for the decline.

 

However, Hoang said the reduction was mainly due to the government’s renewed approach to selecting FDI projects, which only approves serious investors. “FDI attraction is focusing on quality in line with the government’s directive,” said Hoang.

 

The FIA reported that 63 per cent of total committed FDI in the first half of this year came to the manufacturing sector, led by Japanese investors. Foreign-invested companies earned some $32.65 billion from exports in the last six months, up 37.3 per cent on-year.