FDI from US into Vietnam Reaches US$4.4Bln

The actual volume of US foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam has to date reached US$4.4 billion, including its investment capital through third countries, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has reported in a recent specific report to the Government.

 

The impressive figure makes the US the fifth largest investor instead of only ranking ninth among 75 countries and territories investing in the Southeast-Asian country with $2.112 billion for 305 FDI projects as announced in late November, the MPI said.

 

Many US big groups namely Coca Cola, Procter & Gamble, Unocol and Conoco have invested in Vietnam by opening branches in third countries. Hong Kong, Singapore, and the British Virgin Islands are their top choices for this.

 

According to the MPI, US projects in Vietnam mainly focus on the industrial sector and construction, accounting for around US$1.07 billion of the total investment, followed by services sector with US$791 million. 

 

US investment into the nation mostly belongs to the model of wholly foreign-owned investment to do business in Vietnam, while the joint-stock and business cooperation forms make up only a small part.

 

This year 2006 is considered a breakthrough in attracting US investment, when Intel Corp. has decided to increase its investment in Vietnam to US$1 billion, several months after being awarded the first US$605-million investment license.

 

US firms are waiting for the Vietnamese Government’s approval for many mammoth projects worth billions of dollars, which are expected to raise the total investment capital from the powerful economy into the Southeast-Asian country to around US$15 billion by 2010. The news was highlighted at a meeting held early November by the Vietnam-US Senior Executives Council on the visit by President Gorge Bush to Vietnam for APEC summit.

 

Phan Huu Thang, Head of the Foreign Investment Department under the MPI noted that FDI from the US into Vietnam is likely to grow fast as the country has now become a WTO member.