The Foreign Investment Department said that total foreign direct investment (FDI) capital attracted by Vietnam from new projects and projects which increased their capital in nine month of 2006 reached US$5.15 billion, up by 25.9 per cent against the same period last year and equal to 79.2 per cent of the yearly plan of US$6.5 billion.
The average investment capital of a project in nine months reached US$6.6 million. Major projects include Intel Products Vietnam with US$605 million in capital, Tycoons Worldwide Steel (Vietnam) with a US$556 million steel rolling plant, the T.H.T Development Company with US$314 million, Winvest Investment (Vietnam) with US$300 million and the Saigon Central Container Port Company with US$249 million.
Alongside new projects, in September, 112 projects added US$206 million to their investment capital, bringing total added investment capital in nine months to US$1.3 billion, equal to 89.8 per cent of the same period of last year in terms of capital. Major projects, which added their investment capital, include the Bach Ma Ceramic Tile Company (Vietnam) with US$150 million, Ching Luh Vietnam with US$98 million and Canon Vietnam with US$ 70 million.
Ho Chi Minh City continues to be the leader in FDI attraction among provinces and cities in Vietnam in nine months, accounting for 28.6 per cent of total number of projects and 27.69 per cent of total registered capital. Quang Ngai was second thanks to a US$556 million steel rolling plant, first phase, of Tycoons Vietnam. Hanoi was third with 14.4 per cent of a total number of projects and 13.3 per cent of registered capital of the whole country.
In nine months, 37 countries and territories invested in Vietnam. Hong Kong continued to be a leader, accounting for 16.52 per cent of capital of new projects. It was followed by the Republic of Korea, with 15.56 per cent. Cayman Islands were third with 14.96 per cent. Japan came fourth, accounting for 12.54 per cent. The US ranked fifth with 12.14 per cent. However, if some projects developed by the US via third countries, the US would occupy the top spot of the list.
The implementation of projects in nine months gained a good result with total realised capital reaching US$2.78 billion, up by 8.8 per cent against the same period last year and equal to 75.2 per cent of the yearly plan of US$3.7 billion.
Evaluating this year’s FDI attraction prospect, Phan Huu Thang, head of the Department of Foreign Investment, said a target of attracting of US$6.5 billion in FDI may be achieved with an optimistic prospect.
Mr. Thang said that Vietnam had advantages as it had attracted much attention from and had been praised by foreign investors. Such major partners as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and the US will continue to increase their investment capital in Vietnam. After a recent visit to Europe by the Vietnamese Prime Minister, there have been good signs in FDI attraction from European countries. Also recently, Japanese leaders committed to promote Japan’s investment in Vietnam in the coming time, as well as to shift its investment from other regions to Vietnam.
However, Thang said there were difficulties due to objective reasons including high prices of oil and petrol in the world market. At the same time, such incidents as strikes should be settled early and should not repeat to produce negative impacts on the country’s investment environment.
To promote FDI attraction, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is boosting investment promotion activities. On September 26 in the Republic of Korea, MPI organised a conference to call investment with the participation of over 320 enterprises of various fields and sectors. Also in October and November, MPI will send delegations to the US, Australia, the UK and Japan for investment promotion.
“At present, MPI is completing a draft decree on promoting a new investment wave in Vietnam to submit the Prime Minister for consideration. The draft decree will clarify tasks of ministries and localities, and requirements for legal and investment procedure improvement. We hope that the decree will help Vietnam become more active in receiving the second wave of investment to Vietnam,” said Thang.
P.V
Vietnamese
