Malaysian Scholar Hails Vietnam as Role Model in FDI Attraction

Despite Covid-19 impacts, FDI inflows into Vietnam during the first nine months of this year rose 4.4% year on year to $22.15 billion. Photo: VNA

Dr Oh Ei Sun, Principal Adviser for Pacific Research Centre of Malaysia, has told Vietnam News Agency in Malaysia that Vietnam has demonstrated its activeness and sense of responsibility as the Chair of ASEAN last year and Vietnam’s contributions to ASEAN cooperation must be held in high regard, said Oh, who is also a Senior Fellow at Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

Describing Vietnam as a rapidly emerging economy in the region and a success story in foreign investment attraction thanks to its effective one-stop-shop mechanism, he said regional countries are hoping to learn from Vietnam’s practices in this field.

He also spoke highly of Vietnam’s national strategy on the Fourth Industrial Revolution as the country is among those experiencing the fastest pace of industrialisation and digitalisation. Vietnam has truly played a leading role in raising awareness of Industry 4.0 in ASEAN cooperation, he stated.

He went on to highlight Vietnam’s initiative and activeness in addressing disputes in Bien Dong Sea (South China Sea), particularly accelerating the conclusion of an effective and practical Code of Conduct (COC) in the regional waters.

Workers assemble cars in a factory of Ford in the northern province of Hai Duong. Photo courtesy of Ford Vietnam.

Despite Covid-19 impacts, FDI inflows into Vietnam during the first nine months of this year rose 4.4% year on year to $22.15 billion, said the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment as cited by Vietnam Investment Review (VIR).

As of September 20, $12.5 billion was poured into 1,212 newly-licensed projects, up 20.6% in value but the number of projects was down 37.8% over the same period last year. Meanwhile, $6.6 billion was added into 678 underway projects, a year-on-year rise of 25.6% in capital but down 15.8% in project number.

Among 18 sectors receiving investment from foreign investors in the first nine months of this year, processing manufacturing took the lead with $11.8 billion, accounting for 53.4% of the total FDI. It was followed by power production and distribution with over $5.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Singapore led 94 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the period with total investment capital of nearly $6.3 billion, followed by the Republic of Korea with over $3.9 billion, and Japan with nearly $3.3 billion.

The Mekong Delta province of Long An attracted the highest amount of FDI during the period with over $3.6 billion, including $3.1 billion in a big energy project.

Northern port city of Hai Phong came second with $2.7 billion, while Ho Chi Minh City came third with nearly $2.4 billion.

The export revenue of the FDI sector still increased in the January-September period by 22.9% to nearly $178 billion.

Foreign companies including Nestlé and LG continue to expand in Vietnam since they see the country’s Covid-19 setbacks as temporary, according to VnExpress.

A manufacturing chain of chocolate drink Milo at a factory of Nestle in Vietnam. Photo courtesy of Nestle Vietnam

Nestlé has announced a $132-million investment in the next two years to build a new plant in the southern province of Dong Nai.

This is part of its long-term vision as it sees Vietnam as a regional and global manufacturing hub, said CEO of Nestlé Vietnam, Binu Jacob.

Samsung Vietnam CEO Choi Joo Ho said his company’s investment strategy in Vietnam has not changed.

It has received support from the government and local leaders during the fourth wave of Covid-19, the stay-at-work model helps keep production going and South Korean experts are able to go through immigration quickly, he said.

It has been expanding its investment, purchasing manufacturing equipment for its six plants diversifying into 5G technology and laptops, he said.

"Samsung has been mostly investing in manufacturing chains in Vietnam, but from now the company will raise Vietnam’s position to a new height: a global research and development hub."

Its $220-million R&D center in Hanoi is now 50% complete and set to be inaugurated by the end of next year.

Swedish company Tetra Pak announced two weeks ago an additional EUR5 million ($5.85 million) investment in its EUR120 million packaging plant in the southern province of Binh Duong that will increase its capacity by 43%.

The investment shows the company’s confidence in Vietnam’s post-pandemic recovery, its CEO, Eliseo Barcas, said.

LG said last month it would invest an additional $1.4 billion in its manufacturing facility in Hai Phong this year, taking the total investment to $4.65 billion./.

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