Workers at a footwear factory in Vietnam. During the first two months of the year, Vietnam recorded 2.1 billion USD in new investment with 1.6 billion USD disbursed. (Photo: VNA) Duringthe first two months of the year, Vietnam recorded 2.1 billion USD in newinvestment with 1.6 billion USD disbursed, respectively a 6.8 percentand a 4.2 percent increase from the same period last year.
Much-anticipatedprojects include a sound equipment factory in WHA Industrial Park in Nghe An province,which just received over a quarter of a billion dollars in investment toupscale its production and technology. Once completed, the factory is expectedto employ up to 30,000 workers, making it one of the largest projectsin the province.
NguyenDuc Trung, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said the province'stop priority was to improve the investment environment to win over theconfidence of firms and attract more investment in the future.
Otherprojects that received additional investment were GE Vietnam (217 million USD)in Bac Ninh province and JNTC (163 million USD) in Phu Tho province,both manufacturers of electronic appliances.
Accordingto the Department of Foreign Investment, 71 FDI projects have applied toincrease their investment in recent months, a positive sign for themanufacturing sector as it shows a strong effort to speed up recovery byfirms.
Anincrease in the number of new projects and investment in existing projectsshows the strong confidence of foreign firms in the country's investmentenvironment.
DoNhat Hoang, head of the department, said the country had been working withforeign partners looking to relocate their production centres. Bringingtheir investment home is an effective way to support Vietnamese firms in theirintegration into the global supply chain.
Hoangsaid foreign investment was likely to pick up in 2022 as countries aroundthe world reopen and learn to adapt to the new normal post-pandemic.
TakeoNakajima, head representative of the Japan External Trade Organization, said Vietnamwould continue to be one of the most attractive investment destinationsfor Japanese firms, especially after the visit to Japan by Prime MinisterPham Minh Chinh who oversaw 25 cooperation agreements worth up to 12 billionUSD.
"Theagreements have set up a strong foundation for Japanese investment to flow intoVietnam in 2022 and the near future," said Nakajima.
Europeanfirms have been showing stronger confidence in the Southeast Asian economy.
EuroCham'sBusiness Climate Index (BCI) reached its highest point since thefourth wave of the coronavirus, with positive sentiment reaching 61 points, ajump of 42 points since the third quarter of 2021, with business leaderswelcoming the end of lockdowns and the re-opening of normal commercialoperations.
Whilethe BCI remains below its pre-pandemic peak, confidence is returning to themarket with 43 percent of firms saying they have plans to increase investmentwithin the first quarter of 2022.
"Majorbusinesses from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Europe and the US all have plansfor new investments in Vietnam in 2022, especially US businesses," saidMinister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung.
Hesaid to make the most out of foreign investments, the country must conduct acomprehensive review of its available resources, particularly land and energycapacity.
Otherpriorities include improving human resources, building supportingindustries and finding FDI projects that employ modern technologythat is sustainable for long-term national development./.
VNA
