Following the impressive results of attracting foreign investment (FDI) in 2023, reaching $36.6 billion, the activities of signing and issuing investment certificates to foreign investors have been very vibrant since the beginning of 2024.
FDI attraction yields positive results in the first month of 2024 |
FDI increases significantly from the first month of the year
The Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment) has reported that in January 2024, total newly-registered, adjusted, and contributed capital, as well as capital contribution to buy shares and capital contribution to purchase contributed capital from foreign investors, reached over $2.36 billion, a 40.2% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Among them, there were 190 newly-licensed investment projects, a 24.2% increase compared to the same period, with a total registered capital of over $2 billion.
In addition, there were 75 projects registering to adjust investment capital, with an additional registered capital of over $235.4 million. According to a representative from the Foreign Investment Agency, the newly-registered investment capital in January 2024 increased significantly compared to the same period due to the increase in the number of new projects. Notably, there was a project with a large investment capital of over $600 million, contributing to the strong increase in this capital flow.
In the picture of FDI attraction in the first days of 2024, Nghệ An province emerged as a bright spot when it granted investment certificates to 5 projects in the fields of high technology, components, electronic equipment, and green energy.
Some notable projects include the Radiant Opto-Electronics Vietnam Factory, invested by Radiant Opto-Electronics Corporation (Taiwan, China) with a capital of $120 million; Luxcase Precision Technology Co., Ltd. in the VSIP Nghệ An Industrial Park, with a total investment of $24 million, invested by Casetek Singapore Pte.Ltd (Singapore).
In recent times, this locality has been focusing on significantly improving the investment and business environment that is competitive and associated with administrative reform. At the same time, it has enhanced decentralization, delegation, and the initiative, creativity, and responsibility of all levels and sectors, thereby continuously increasing FDI in 2023 and early 2024.
In Vĩnh Phúc, FDI inflows into this locality have also been vibrant since the beginning of the year, as it has granted investment certificates to 2 new projects and approved capital adjustment for 5 projects, with a total capital of $68.21 million.
The leader of the Foreign Investment Agency stated that FDI inflows in the first month of 2024 have spread to 35 provinces and cities nationwide. Hanoi took the lead with a total registered investment capital of over $867 million, accounting for 36.7% of the total registered investment capital and 39.7 times higher than the same period in 2023. Bà Rịa – Vũng Tàu province ranked second with a total registered investment capital of nearly $282 million. Following are Bắc Giang, Bắc Ninh, and Đồng Nai.
“Hanoi’s investment capital has increased significantly due to a large new investment project with a total investment capital of over $662 million aimed at investing in a new urban area in Hanoi,” said the leader of the Foreign Investment Agency. In terms of the number of projects, TP HCM leads the country in terms of new projects, accounting for 42.1%.
Appropriate policies needed to catch investment waves
With the vibrancy from the early days of 2024, it is expected that the results of attracting FDI will continue to be impressive in the coming time. At a meeting with foreign investors on the evening of January 26 in Hanoi, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính emphasized that the Government of Vietnam always accompanies investors and made it clear that “your success is our success.”
Appropriate policies need to be issued soon to adapt effectively and flexibly to new investment waves.
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Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng stated that Vietnam will actively attract and cooperate in selective foreign investments, focusing on quality, efficiency, technology, and environmental protection. Priority will be given to projects with high added value, high technology content, links with domestic enterprises, spillover effects, and global production and supply chains.
According to the Minister, encouraged investment sectors include electricity, electronics, semiconductors; renewable energy, high-efficiency agriculture; digital economy, digital transformation; innovation, research and development; and financial center.
Assessing FDI attraction in 2024, Minister Nguyễn Chí Dũng pointed out that alongside opportunities and advantages, Vietnam will face challenges as the world and regional situations continue to be complex, and investors tend to seek investment opportunities in neighboring countries to shorten supply chains.
In addition, competition in attracting investment is becoming increasingly fierce, with some countries in the region such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia offering better resources, reduced taxes, or more support for foreign investors, requiring Vietnam to continuously improve its institutional framework, improve the investment environment, and assert its position on the foreign investment map.
The Minister also frankly stated that Vietnam’s investment and business environment still has some difficulties for enterprises. In particular, post-investment administrative procedures such as land, construction, fire prevention, and environmental regulations still have many shortcomings, affecting the smooth process of improving the investment environment.
To overcome these challenges, the Minister of Planning and Investment stated that the Government and ministries will continue to review and adjust foreign investment policies that are suitable for global investment trends. “Appropriate policies need to be issued soon to adapt flexibly and effectively to the impact of the global minimum tax, ensuring the trust of investors and maintaining the attractiveness of the investment environment,” the Minister said.
Along with that, administrative procedure reform, especially the implementation of post-investment procedures such as land, construction, fire prevention, environmental regulations, and customs, needs to be accelerated.
According to the head of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, efforts should be made to strengthen the linkage of human resources training according to the needs of enterprises, as well as proactively anticipate trends to train human resources to meet investment needs in high technology and advanced technology sectors in the near future.
At the same time, necessary conditions for infrastructure, clean land, energy, and human resources need to be prepared to attract large-scale investment projects that have a significant impact on economic and social development. “The progress of implementing public investment projects, especially projects in the transportation infrastructure, needs to be accelerated to meet the requirements of investors,” emphasized Minister Nguyễn Chí Dũng.
At the local level, Mr. Mai Sơn, Standing Vice Chairman of the Bac Giang Provincial People’s Committee, said that the province will continue to persist with efforts to improve the investment and business environment, attract investment, and timely remove obstacles and barriers for enterprises and investors.
At the same time, it will raise the quality of investment promotion activities to enhance the province’s image. Similarly, representatives from the Vinh Phuc Provincial People’s Committee stated that in the near future, they will accelerate the compensation and site clearance progress to complete the construction of complete infrastructure structures for industrial zones, such as Khai Quang, Binh Xuyen, Ba Thien II, Tam Duong II – zone A… to improve readiness in attracting investment.
In addition, they will focus on promptly listening and resolving difficulties for investors, and enhance consulting and support for investors and enterprises in preparing documents and procedures. At the same time, they will prepare the necessary human resources to meet the requirements of investors.
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Stability of the investment environment needs to be maintained Based on the results of FDI attraction in 2023 and the challenges of 2024 mentioned above, Minister Nguyễn Chí Dũng believes that to continue to achieve positive results in attracting this capital flow, the stability of the investment environment needs to be maintained, especially the commitments that the government has signed and the stability of policies. In addition, potential investors in key sectors such as high technology, information technology, and high-quality services should be selected to proactively engage in exchange and invite investment in Vietnam. |
Minh Chiến
