Ministry looks for ways to boost FDI attraction
More contributions
According to the Foreign Investment Agency (the Ministry of Planning
and Investment), in 2013, Vietnam attracted more than 12,000 new FDI
projects and nearly 500 projects added its capital with total newly
registered and added capital of nearly 22 billion USD, an increase of 69
percent compared to 13.013 billion USD in 2012. This mark an increase
of 57 percent over the target of 13-14 billion USD set out by the
agency.
General Statistics Office Director Nguyen Bich Lam said a
strong increase in FDI helped total social investment capital in 2013
reach about 30.44 percent of the GDP, an increase of 7 percent compared
to 2012.
Together with FDI attraction, disbursement in 2013
reached 11.5 billion USD, an increase of 9.9 percent compared to 2012,
higher than an increase of 7.3 percent and 5.6 percent in the state and
non-state sectors respectively.
Not only significantly
contributing to the economy through attraction and disbursement, the FDI
sector also contributed to Vietnam’s economy in 2013 through
export-import activities.
Lam said that Vietnam’s export growth in 2013 greatly depended on the FDI sector.
Five solution groups
Minister Bui Quang Vinh said that in the context of the global
economic crisis and domestic difficulties, the FDI sector significantly
contributed to an increase in total social investment capital and
import-export activities. This was a success of Vietnam.
However,
the sector would have been able to contribute more if shortcomings in
FDI attraction and disbursement had been improved, reflecting through
the weakness of the infrastructure system, poor quality human resources,
undeveloped support industries, unimproved institutional issues,
inconsistent policies and complicated administrative procedures. These
shortcomings were confirmed by Vinh.
The ministry has launched
five solution groups to do away with those shortcomings, including
perfecting the legal system related to FDI attraction towards
consistency, openness, transparency, predictability; adjusting some
principles in investment; completing criteria for granting investment
licenses; renewing investment promotion activities; and strengthening
inspection and supervision of investment activities. It has also sought
ways to create favourable conditions for foreign-invested enterprises in
order to resolve difficulties on a timely basis.-VNA