Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) One bright spot in January was that 153 newforeign-invested projects, valued at 1.2 billion USD, were grantedlicenses, up 48.5% in number and 3.1 times in value, which was asignal to confirm the confidence of foreign investors in the investmentenvironment of Vietnam, the FIA said.
During the month, capital added in operating projects byforeign investors saw a yearly decline of 76% to 306.3 million USDwhile their capital contributions and sharepurchases also declined 61% year-on-year to over 174 million USD.
At the same time, disbursedcapital also witnessed a decline of 16.3% to anestimated 1.35 billion USD in the first month, the FIA said,adding that the processing and manufacturing industry saw 1.05 billion USD worthof foreign investment disbursed, making up 77.6% of the total.
Since January saw two long holidays - New Year and Lunar NewYear, the decrease recorded in registered foreign investment capital, oreven disbursement, had not yet reflected the general trend of foreigninvestment capital flows to Vietnam in 2023, according to theagency.
Projects related to wholesale, retail, and repair of automobilesand motorised vehicles accounted for the lion’s share of the total registeredsum, at 54.1% or 651.9 million USD. They were followed by those in theprocessing and manufacturing industry, which together registered 351.2 million USDin capital or equivalent to 29.1% and those in other sectors at 202 million USDor 16.8%.
Also in January, 28 foreign countries and territories invested in Vietnam.Singapore was the largest with 767.6 million USD, followed by China with 198.2million USD.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese investors poured 126.7 million USD intotheir projects overseas, increasing by 3.4 times against the same month in2022.
Among three countries and territories receiving investmentfrom Vietnam, the Republic of Korea was the leading country with 125.1million USD, accounting for 98.7% of total investment capital;followed by Thailand (1.5 million USD or 1.2%); and Laos (140,000 USDor 0.1%).
Foreign investment bonanza
Vietnam is expected to attract a lot of FDI this year due to itsimpressive economic performance in 2022, improved business climate and theadvantages brought by the free trade agreements it has signed, experts said.
Do Van Su, Deputy Director of the Department of ForeignInvestment, said Vietnam is likely to attract 36-38 billion USD worth of FDI in2023.
The Republic of Korea, Japan and Taiwan (China) are expected to beamong the main sources of investment as they continue to pump money intoSoutheast Asia.
Economist Le Dang Doanh said the country needs to further speed upadministrative reforms, improve its investment environment and ensurepolicy stability.
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said prioritywould be given to projects that use new and green technologies and have highadded value.
Though there are admittedly still problems related to humanresource quality, Vietnam remains an appealing destination for foreigninvestors due to its supportive policies, he added.
A recent survey done by the Ministry of Planning and Investmentfound 76% of enterprises saying they were satisfied with the Government’ssupport policies.
They were most satisfied with the VAT waiver and reductionpolicies, and those to stabilise gasoline prices, improve the work permitissuance process and customs clearance procedures, and support import- exportand workers’ livelihoods.
To continue to attract foreign investment, Dung said it isvital for Vietnam to develop innovation and financial centresat the regional and international levels.
It is also important to stabilise the economy and improveinfrastructure and the quality of human resources, he added.
Last year, FDI was worth nearly 22.4 billion USD, according to theGeneral Statistics Office.
Of the more than 100 nations and territories investing last year,Singapore topped with 6.46 billion USD, followed by the RoK (4.88 billion USD)and Japan (4.78 billion USD).
They invested in 54 provinces and cities of which Ho Chi Minh Cityattracted the most, 3.94 billion USD.
Binh Duong was second with 3.14 billion USD and Quang Ninh wasthird with 2.37 billion USD./.
VNA
