For developed cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Hai Phong, it is necessary to promote industry and high-quality services, creating high added value products and increasing competitiveness both domestically and globally, he said. At the same time, he urged not choosing labour-intensive and environmentally-unfriendly projects, he added.
Deputy head of the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment Dang Xuan Quang noted some major factors to attract more foreign investment such as ensuring sustainable socio-economic and environmental development, developing the private sector, drawing high-quality projects, and grasping opportunities from the fourth industrial revolution.
Since 1991, the foreign economic sector has been a driving force for Vietnam’s economy, contributing significantly to the country’s industrial productivity, services, import-export, State budget collection, and gross domestic product.
From 1991-2017, Vietnam lured nearly 162 billion USD in FDI. Notably, the presence of more large-scale projects worth at least one billion USD between 2011 and 2016 helped Vietnam become a destination to produce hi-tech products such as smart phones, tablets, and information technology. As of September 20, 2017, Vietnam had 24,200 active FDI projects with total registered capital exceeding 310 billion USD, with about 167 billion USD disbursed.
Vietnam attracted 25.4 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first nine months of 2017, up 34.3 percent year on year, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). Of the total, 14.5 billion USD went to 1,844 new projects, while 6.75 billion USD was added to 878 underway ones, and 4.16 billion USD was worth company shared bought by foreign investors. The MPI revealed that as of September 20, 12.5 billion USD of FDI was disbursed, a rise of 13.4 percent over the same period last year.
Exports of the FDI sector (including crude oil) reached 110.8 billion USD, up 21 percent year on year, and accounting for 71.9 percent of the country’s total export revenue. Meanwhile, the sector’s exports (excluding crude oil) hit 108.5 billion USD, an increase of 20.8 percent over the same time in 2016.
So far this year, foreign investors invested in 18 areas, mostly in the processing and manufacturing sector with 12.64 billion USD, or 49.6 percent of total FDI. Production and distribution of power was the second most attractive sector, which lured 5.37 billion USD (21 percent), followed by the wholesale and retail sector with 1.58 billion USD (6.2 percent).
