Twenty five years after attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Vietnam is ready to receive large investors after many years of small and medium-scale business investments.
Foreign investors have contributed significantly to the development of Vietnam’s economy, said Doctor Nguyen Mai during a seminar held to boost FDI by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. Most investments have been small and medium enterprises in Asia. These investments have increased 50 percent.
Registered FDI capital has increased to US$21.6 billion in 2013, an increase of nearly 55 percent over the previous year. Of this, US$11.5 billion has been leased which is 10 percent over 2012.
The South Korean Samsung Group has decided to build the largest cell phone plant in the world in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. The plant will provide 60 percent of the group’s output in the global market.
Vietnam should limit the development of industrial zones, said Dr. Mai. Experiences from developed and large countries show that Vietnam should focus on those that run on specific fields to lure larger FDI projects.
Several Italian businesses have contacted Vietnam about investment opportunities. Of them is a group of companies from Emilia – Romagna, where most of well-known car brands are manufactured.
The model of specialized industrial zones has been quite successful in the region and Italian businesses are studying to develop it in Vietnam, according to Carlo Alberto Roncarati, Deputy Chairman of Association of Chambers of Commerce of Emilia-Romagna Region.
They have listed Vietnam as one of the first-choice countries for foreign investment, said Palma Costi, President of the Legislative Assembly of Emilia—Romagna. The region’s administration mapped out policies to assist businesses to invest in Vietnam.
The Vietnamese government has recently built Phu My 3 Industrial Zone in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau meeting demand of Japanese investors. This is scheduled to receive large-scale business with advanced technologies from support-industry fields.
