The Bac Ninh Provincial People's Committee in collaboration with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) organised the FDI Manufacturers Gathering Day in Asia Trade City, Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), Bac Ninh province. This event aims to execute Directive 11/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister on general difficulties and obstacles and create the playing field for FDI manufacturers to increase cooperation and expand production and business.
Speaking at the forum, Dr Doan Duy Khuong, VCCI Vice President, stressed that Vietnam is actively accelerating economic restructuring and changing growth pattern where foreign direct investment attraction is its priority in socioeconomic development and international integration. The country has already had industrial development strategy until 2025, with a vision to 2035.
He said Vietnam is developing market economy and deepening international integration. In addition to carrying out its commitments to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and free trade agreements (FTAs) it signed, Vietnam is simultaneously negotiating many other FTAs with leading economies like the United States, the European Union, Canada, Russia, Japan, China and South Korea. It is pursuing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement and the Vietnam - EU FTA. Especially, with the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, Vietnam will be a bridge to link ASEAN economies with regional and global markets. This event will help multinational manufacturing and assembling corporations to meet and exchange information with suppliers of components, parts, raw materials and techniques in such areas as supporting industries and raise localisation rate of electronics, mechanical engineering, automotive and motorcycle industries.
Mr Tang Weng Fei, Chairman of Asia Trade City (ATC), said Vietnam is becoming a bigger manufacturing centre. Its GDP growth rate was projected at 5.5 to - 6 percent in 2014. Foreign investment into the country is growing. And more importantly, exports of foreign-invested sector are contributing significantly to its economic growth. ATC will serve as a bridge for governmental agencies and foreign and local enterprises to understand international trade policies in Vietnam. This will also help to promote Vietnam's economic development in the context of fiercer competition on the world market.
Dang Xuan Quang, Deputy Director of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, affirmed that a shift in capital flows from other areas to Vietnam is clear. Vietnam is seen as an attractive, secure destination for foreign firms when it is concluding FTA negotiations with the EU, Russia, South Korea and TPP. As of October 2014, Vietnam had attracted 17,219 FDI projects with a total investment of US$244 billion from 101 countries and territories in the world. Foreign investors had disbursed over US$120 billion (about half of total registered capital). The biggest foreign investors are Japan (2,434 projects and US$36.5 billion), South Korea (4,020 projects and US$33.5 billion), Singapore (1,330 projects and US$32.6 billion) and Taiwan (2,343 projects and US$28 billion). The four biggest investors accounted for a half of registered investment capital (approximately US$120 billion and 10,000 projects).
He said foreign investors have invested in 18 out of 21 fields in Vietnam. Processing and manufacturing industry took the lead with 9,349 projects and US$135 billion, accounting for 55 percent of capital, followed by real estate sector (436 projects and US$46.8 billion) and construction sector (1,134 project and US$11.3 billion). The Ministry of Planning and Investment will ask foreign investors to accelerate the disbursement of their registered capital.
He added that Vietnam will speed up public administration reform to draw more foreign investment capital. The country will continue to improve its regulatory system and investment policies in the direction of consistency, transparency, predictability and investor friendliness.
Besides, Vietnam will soon adopt the Law on Investment and the Law on Enterprises where the Law on Investment is the legal basis for uniform changes in processes, procedures and State administration. The government will also consider promulgating the Decree on Public Private Partnership (PPP) in 2014.
In addition, administrative modernisation is one of six main objectives of the State administrative procedure reform programme until 2020. Accordingly, the Government of Vietnam will improve and boost operations of e-government, apply synchronous information and communication technology (ICT) in State administrative agencies towards 2020.
VCCI Vice President Doan Duy Khuong believed that, with the constant efforts of the Government, the FDI business community and public-private cooperation dialogue, the business environment of Vietnam will be increasingly better, thus creating favourable conditions for foreign investors to do effective long-term business in Vietnam and effectively contribute to the process of economic restructuring and the realisation of the Government’s Industrial Development Vision until 2035.
Thu Ha
Vietnamese
