Embracing the New Wave of FDI

Mr. Do Nhat Hoang, Director of the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment), shares insights into Vietnam's investment environment based on evaluations by Japanese businesses and other international organizations.

- With the recent global shift in FDI, has Vietnam become a truly attractive destination, sir?

Indeed, there is presently a new wave of foreign direct investment entering Vietnam. First and foremost, South Korean investment is crucial. South Korea's southern strategy prioritizes Vietnam. When it comes to investing in Vietnam, South Korean investors are particularly swift to make judgments. Samsung, for example, invested $20 billion in Vietnam over the course of five years. We continue to anticipate Samsung to announce substantial initiatives in Vietnam soon.

The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) reports that Japanese corporations are contemplating several investment projects in Vietnam. However, due to the yen's devaluation, Japanese firms are temporarily paused in their investment plans.

Meanwhile, China has emerged as a significant investor in Vietnam. Many Chinese investment ventures are now among the world's top ten firms, with enormous scale.

However, we will not accept projects that, regardless of their size, use outdated technology, pose potential environmental pollution risks, or are labor-intensive.

Regarding US investment capital, many semiconductor manufacturing corporations have come to Vietnam. Also, many American investors are "quietly" coming to Vietnam to explore the semiconductor ecosystem, like Apple, Dell, and others.

- So, how has Vietnam prepared to embrace this new wave of investment?

Vietnam has prepared clean land, clean energy, and logistics infrastructure. Alongside this, Vietnam is actively addressing administrative procedure bottlenecks. Previously, when FDI businesses encountered difficulties at any stage of investment in Vietnam, it was challenging to meet with local leaders to find solutions.

Now, FDI businesses can directly dialogue with provincial leaders, Chairmen of the Provincial People's Committees, and Secretaries of the Provincial Party Committees, who are ready to meet businesses to find solutions, provided the investment is serious. With these efforts, FDI businesses regard Vietnam as an attractive investment destination.

Thus, it can be said that Vietnam's current FDI attraction policy is very favorable, while many countries around the world have inconsistent investment policies that continually change. Vietnam always maintains an "open" policy to attract investment. This is one of the important factors helping Vietnam gain the interest of many global investors.

However, this is also a time when we select and attract high-quality FDI projects that align with the country's economic and social development strategy, as well as changes in science and technology in the "Industry 4.0 Revolution" and the trend of shifting international capital flows.

Vietnam will prioritize attracting foreign investors in high-tech fields, advanced technologies, environmentally friendly technologies, clean energy, renewable energy, medical equipment manufacturing, and health care services.

It is necessary to ensure a balance between export growth and the development of value-added products and services that utilize domestic raw materials, develop supporting industries, and train local human resources.

- Are there still barriers to attracting foreign investment into Vietnam, such as high-quality human resources and supporting facilities, sir?

I have also heard this opinion from FDI investors, that the available human resources and supporting facilities do not yet fully meet the needs. The Vietnamese government is aware of all these issues and has solutions in place.

For example, regarding human resources, Vietnam needs the cooperation of investors and partners to realize training plans, rather than going it alone.

Samsung in Vietnam plans to open a technician training class soon and is considering expanding this strategy in the future. These resources will help Vietnam improve its high-quality human resources.

Vietnam commits to always sharing, accompanying, and creating favorable conditions for FDI businesses to conduct efficient, sustainable, and long-term investments in Vietnam.

With Vietnam's reform efforts over time, international organizations have highly rated the investment environment in Vietnam. For instance, Japan annually evaluates the investment environment of 50 countries worldwide. Vietnam currently leads in Asia and is second globally in attractiveness, considered a reliable investment destination according to evaluations by Japanese businesses investing in Vietnam.

According to Eurocham, Vietnam is among the top 10 investment destinations for European countries.

- Thank you, sir!