Hanoi (VNA) - Despite a year-on-year slip in foreign direct investment (FDI) toVietnam in the first four months of the year, foreign investors still signedmajor deals in the country and confirmed its ongoing investment appeal.

Inearly April, the SK Group of the Republic of Korea announced the signing of anagreement with the Masan Group Corporation to acquire a 16.26 percent stake inVinCommerce, a Masan subsidiary, for a cash consideration of 410 million USD.

Japan’sSumitomo Mitsui Finance Group (SMFG) then outlaid 1.37 billion USD for 49percent of FE Credit.

Thetwo deals warmed up Vietnam’s merger and acquisition (M&A) market, confirmingthat it is still attractive and that investors are still seeking valuabledeals.

Inthe first four months of the year, FDI in Vietnam was not far below the figure inthe same period last year thanks to major projects being signed, including a3.1 billion USD gas-fuelled power plant in Long An province, the 1.31 billionUSD O Mon II thermal power project in Can Tho city, and the adding of 750million USD to the LG Display project in Hai Phong city.

Vietnamattracted a total of 12.25 billion USD worth of FDI in the period, equal to 99.3percent of the figure in the same period last year, including 8.5 billion USD goingto new projects.

Accordingto Nakajima Takeo, Chief Representative of the Japan External TradeOrganisation (JETRO) in Hanoi, its survey on business trends showed that the majorityof enterprises believe it will be difficult to expand production and businessin the next one or two years but still consider Vietnam to be a leading investmentdestination among ASEAN member countries.

Meanwhile,a recent survey by EuroCham revealed that European firms in Vietnam areconfident about recovery in the country, with its Business Climate Index (BCI) hitting 73.9 points.

Whenasked about the prospects of Vietnam’s business environment in the nextquarter, 67 percent predicted either “excellent” or “good” - a 12 percentincrease compared to the previous quarter.

Meanwhile,business leaders are also more optimistic about their own companies. More thantwo-thirds (68 percent) predict that orders and revenue will remain steady orincrease over the next three months, which is a 25 percent increase compared tothe fourth quarter of 2020.

EuroChamPresident Alain Cany attributed the results to European firms’ confidence inthe Vietnamese market, where business has not been greatly interrupted by the COVID-19pandemic.

However,amid fierce competition from other countries in FDI attraction, experts said thatVietnam should work harder to win favour.

AmchamVice Chairman John Rockhold said that the country should consider non-carbonfacilitation, while Nguyen Hai Minh, Vice President of EuroCham, held that it needsmore high-tech human resources to meet investor needs./.