HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Foreign direct investment (FDI), especially in southern provinces,is expected to increase sharply with a number of billion-dollar projects in thepipeline, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

The Department ofPlanning and Investment of Binh Duong province said a textile and garmentproject by Hong Kong’s Wai Chi Kai Knitting Company would soon be licensed andcould be the first billion-dollar project of 2019.

The company willinvest 1 billion USD to build a factory to produce knitted collar products,wrist bands, ribbed fabric, fabric, and textile and fashion accessories in theDong An II Industrial Zone in Thu Dau Mot city.

The People’sCommittee of Bac Lieu province is urging the Ministry of Industry and Trade tospeed up licensing of a 4.3 billion USD liquefied naturalgas (LNG)-fuelled power project by US company Energy Capital.

Though investmentprocedures for a power plant are not simple, Bac Lieu hopes the 3,200 MWproject will soon get an investment certificate.

In addition, threemajor projects are finalising procedures for getting a licence this year. Theyinclude a 500 million USD project by the Republic of Korea’s Hana Micron, whichin April signed a deal with the Bac Giang Industrial Zones Management Authorityto build a semiconductor production plant.

Apparel Far Easternis seeking to invest an additional 610 million USD in its existing plant while MeikoElectronics plans to add 200 million USD. CP Foods of Thai billionaire DhaninChearavanont is planning to invest 200 million USD in a pork and poultry farm.

In the first half ofthe year, Hong Kong remained Vietnam’s leading source of FDI with 5.3 billion USD,or 29 percent of total investment, thanks to Beerco Limited investing 3.85billion USD for a stake in Vietnam Beverage Co Ltd.

The RoK was secondwith 2.73 billion USD, followed by mainland China with 2.29 billion USD,Singapore with 2.2 billion USD, and Japan with 1.95 billion USD.

Overall, foreigninvestors have brought or registered to bring in 18.47 billion USD in the firstsix months of the year.

Hanoi remained themost attractive destination with more than 4.87 billion USD in the period, or26.4 percent of all FDI. 

HCM City was nextwith 3.21 billion USD, a 20 percent increase year-on-year. Of the sum, 539million USD went into new projects, a 3.6 percent increase. Forty-one percentwent into the property sector, nearly 22 percent into the technology sector,19.5 percent into wholesale and retail and repair of automobiles, motorbikesand other vehicles and 5.8 percent into manufacturing.

The southernprovinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai were third and fourth with 1.37 billionUSD and 1.2 million USD.

FDI from Japan

According to theMinistry of Planning and Investment, Japan has so far invested 57.9 billion USDin Vietnam in 4,190 projects, the second highest of any country or territory.

Recently, duringPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Japan, there were 32 memorandums ofunderstanding between Vietnamese and Japanese firms involving investment of 8billion USD.

A recent survey by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) found Vietnamsecond in the list of countries where Japanese enterprises want to expand infuture.

But according toJETRO, the country’s weakness is that its supporting industries are not capableof supplying FDI enterprises, and local firms need to collaborate with theirforeign counterparts to increase the rate of local content.-VNS/VNA