According to the 2024 White Paper released by the European Business Association in Vietnam (EuroCham), the business environment in Vietnam has significantly improved, and Vietnam’s global investment appeal remains strong. 63% of surveyed companies have ranked Vietnam in their top 10 FDI destinations. 31% consider Vietnam as one of their top 3 investment targets, with 16% seeing Vietnam as the best investment destination.
Notably, over half of the surveyed companies plan to increase their foreign direct investment in Vietnam by the end of this year.
According to experts, Vietnam is likened to a rising star in attracting FDI in the high-tech sector. (Illustrative photo)
Record-breaking confidence is being restored
In this context, experts believe that the expectation of a record FDI in 2023 being reestablished in 2024 is highly optimistic.
Analyzing with
VTC News
, economist
TS. Nguyen Tri Hieu
states that Vietnam is regarded as a rising star in attracting high-tech FDI and has a great attraction to multinational corporations in the search for investment opportunities in Asia.
The attraction of Vietnam does not only come from political stability, cost advantages in cheap labor, the ability to maintain macroeconomic stability amidst global turbulence, and promising economic growth with a population of up to 100 million people but also from the significant effects from notable achievements in diplomatic relations with major partners that occurred in 2023.
“In 2024, many forecasts show a brighter global economy, so attracting FDI to Vietnam will have many advantages. However, to attract ‘eagles’ to Vietnam, we need to improve investment policies, including administrative procedures, land policies…to enhance attractiveness. In addition, the labor force also needs to be improved in terms of quality.”
, said TS Nguyen Tri Hieu.
Sharing the same opinion, TS Nguyen Minh Phong also believes that Vietnam has many prospects and advantages in competing for FDI with fundamental factors such as political stability, geographical location, infrastructure, attractive incentive policies, and high growth rates; rapid population growth and an improving labor force in terms of quality.
In addition, manufacturing in Vietnam continues to expand, especially in high-tech fields. Moreover, Vietnam’s foreign economic environment is being actively improved.
Phong predicts that in 2024, Vietnam can continue to prove itself as an attractive choice in the region for foreign investors. Furthermore, new FDI flows into the manufacturing sector with breakthroughs in 2023 continue to bring hopes for Vietnam.
Phong also cited evidence: EuroCham’s Business Confidence Index (BCI) for Q3/2023 in Q4/2023 increased to 46.3 points, noting the confidence trend of European companies operating in Vietnam is showing signs of recovery.
“The important issue is that we have to ‘build a nest for the eagles’, which means building industrial zones specialized in green sectors rather than old-fashioned ones. At the same time, we need to promote investment with specific targets towards businesses and sectors that we are trending towards,”
Phong said.
Promising signs at the beginning of the year
According to data from the Foreign Investment Agency, Ministry of Planning and Investment, in January 2024, total foreign investment reached over 2.36 billion USD, an increase of 40.2% compared to the same period in 2023. In which, newly registered capital investment increased significantly.
Specifically, in the first month of 2024, 190 new investment projects were granted Investment Registration Certificates, up 24.2% compared to the same period; the total registered capital reached over 2 billion USD, an increase of 66.9% compared to the same period. The number of projects increased, especially large-scale projects (over 600 million USD), which are among the main factors driving the strong increase in foreign direct investment.
At the same time, disbursement capital is also very optimistic, reaching 1.48 billion USD, an increase of 9.6% compared to the same period last year.
In January 2024, total foreign investment poured into Vietnam reached over 2.36 billion USD, an increase of 40.2% compared to the same period in 2023. (Illustration: Cong Thuong Newspaper)
Regarding investment sectors, foreign investors have invested in 15 out of 21 industries in the national economy. In which, real estate business took the lead with a total registered capital investment of over 1.27 billion USD, accounting for 53.9% of the total registered capital investment and doubling compared to the same period; processing and manufacturing industries ranked second with a total registered capital investment of nearly 926 million USD, accounting for 39.2% of the total registered capital investment.
In terms of investment partners, there were 39 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in January 2024. Among them, Singapore led with a total investment capital of over 1.4 billion USD, and Japan ranked second with nearly 297 million USD.
In terms of the number of projects, China is the leading partner in terms of new investment projects (accounting for nearly 19%); South Korea leads in terms of capital adjustment (accounting for 26.7%) and capital contribution (accounting for 25.3%).
To enhance FDI attraction, the Ministry of Planning and Investment stated that it will continue reviewing and adjusting foreign investment policies in line with global investment trends. Along with that, localities need to continue administrative reforms, especially the implementation of procedures after issuing investment registration certificates.
