Countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have shelled out US$54.6 billion to fund their investments in 2,632 projects in Vietnam as of June 20, according to Vietnam’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA), an agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).
Singapore is the biggest ASEAN investor with 1,428 projects worth $32.2 billion for a 60.8% share of total registered investment.
Malaysia follows with 499 projects capitalized at $12.06 billion, and Thailand comes in third place with 392 projects at $6.8 billion.
ASEAN investment is primarily focused on the manufacturing and processing industry, the real estate sector, and the construction segment, said a report by VietnamNet Bridge.
The FIA said Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City tops the 55 provinces and cities that the regional group has invested in, with $15.07 billion injected into 1,114 projects. HCM is trailed by Hanoi with 417 projects funded at $8.58 billion, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau with 76 projects at $6.19 billion.
Meanwhile, outside of the ASEAN, another key investor is Taiwan. In the first half of this year, Taiwanese businesses injected US$297.41 million into 42 new projects and 21 operational ones.
By June, Taiwan runs 2,429 projects in Vietnam with a combined registered capital of $28.74 billion, ranking fourth among 103 foreign investors in Vietnam, after South Korea, Japan, and Singapore.
Beyond Asia, the U.S. is the seventh largest foreign investor with total registered capital topping $11.1 billion since 1988, according to MPI.
The U.S.’s largest scale project is Ho Tram in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, with a total capital of $4.2 billion. Intel Company has also invested in a $1-billion chipset plant in Ho Chi Minh City.
Foreign direct investment capital from the U.S. to Vietnam reached $71 million last year and about $73 million in the first half this year.
Another major partner is the EU, where bilateral trade with Vietnam surpassed $36 billion, and Vietnam enjoyed a trade surplus of around $19 billion.
Experts say the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership will bring more opportunities to Vietnam as it can boost Vietnamese exports of competitive products to EU markets.
The EU accounted for 19% to 20% of Vietnam’s exports of key products in 2014, 36% of its phone exports, 35% of its leather shoe shipments, and 16.8% of its outbound apparel sales.
Once the FTA between Vietnam and the EU is signed, the EU will liberalize 95% to 97% of tariffs on Vietnamese goods. The FTA between Vietnam and the EU covers many fields such as trade, service, investment, and government procurement.
Photo: Pinus
