Last year’s record high registered foreign direct investment (FDI) is also expected to lead to high disbursed FDI proportions in the country this year.
Investors will have more opportunities to participate in Vietnam’s renewable energy projects
|
Thang explained that the APEC’s role in the record high foreign investment inflows cannot be denied. It is sure that the APEC will position Vietnam as a desirable destination for an increasing number of investors. Thanks to successfully hosting the APEC 2017, Vietnam has become better known among foreign investors, reaching those who had yet to consider investing in Vietnam.
“Besides, back in 2006-2008, after Vietnam hosted the APEC for the first time, we saw a massive wave of foreign investment, setting an FDI record in 2008 with $71.7 billion. On this basis, Vietnam can be optimistic about foreign investment capital inflows in 2018 as well as the subsequent years,” Thang said.
It needs to be added that 2017 marked the 30th year that Vietnam opened its doors to FDI. During these three decades, Vietnam has gradually affirmed its position in the international arena, producing constant growth that has become one of the major factors attracting foreign investment capital, he said.
According to experts, foreign investors will continue to find traditional export-oriented sectors, such as electronics, garments, and footwear, to be attractive this year. In addition to export-oriented sectors, the domestic market also provides an opportunity for investors. With growing urbanization and rising incomes, industries such as education, real estate, retail, food and beverage, e-commerce, and FMCG will continue to grow in 2018.
The aforementioned industries will continue to be a priority for the government in the short term. For the long-term, the government is shifting its focus on high-tech and environmentally friendly investments and projects such as renewable energy and high-tech agriculture.
According to Thang, Vietnam has so far planned to focus on attracting FDI to high-tech and environmentally friendly projects. Notably, Vietnam will stimulate investment in renewable energy projects, high-tech agriculture, as well as smart cities, among others.
It will try to attract FDI, while keeping its national identity and safeguarding the environment, Thang said, adding that the country will build solutions to create balance in FDI attraction, instead of focusing on Hanoi, Haiphong, Bac Ninh, Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, and Thanh Hoa.
Recently, with assistance from the World Bank, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has drafted an FDI strategy for 2018-2023, focusing on priority sectors and investment quality, rather than quantity. The draft aims to incentivize and make it easier for investors to invest in high-tech industries. The initial focus is on four major sectors: manufacturing, services, agriculture, and travel.
According to experts, three decades of opening the doors to FDI is long enough to summarize and evaluate the effectiveness of attracting foreign investment to craft appropriate policies to focus more on quality, optimize the benefits of capital flows, as well as strengthen links between domestic and foreign enterprises to serve the socioeconomic development of Vietnam.
