Vietnam is exerting significant efforts to enhance its investment climate.

DNHN - Mr. Do Nhat Hoang, Director of the Foreign Investment Department (MPI), stated in an interview with the Government Portal that Vietnam has made significant efforts to improve the investment and business environment.

To "draw a picture" of the overall investment environment of our country today, what are the notable features, sir?

Mr. Do Nhat Hoang: The investment and business environment of our country has been increasingly improved with many measures, including timely solutions, such as stabilizing the macro-economy, implementing 3 strategic breakthroughs, and perfecting institutions, infrastructure, and human resources.

Based on grasping difficulties and dialogue with the business community, the Government and the Prime Minister gave very quick and close instructions. For example, the State Bank has reduced the operating interest rate four times; The Ministry of Public Security advises the Government and the Government has submitted to the National Assembly to amend the Immigration Law, thereby allowing the registration of electronic visa applications. Or several conditions for fire prevention and fighting were also promptly revised.

In addition, another bright spot is that the Government and the Prime Minister drastically assigned and requested ministries and local agencies to speed up the disbursement of public investment, to focus on strategic infrastructure such as the North-South expressway. , coastal roads, inter-provincial roads, and routes connecting ports and airports. This is an important factor to help improve infrastructure and promote logistics.

Therefore, the difficulties have been partly solved, investors highly appreciate the investment environment in Vietnam and many investment delegations have come to survey Vietnam.

As far as I know, Jetro has surveyed and assessed the investment environment of Vietnam ranked 2nd in Asia and 3rd in the world. EuroCham rated Vietnam as the 5th most attractive investment destination in the world.

On the other hand, the direction of the investment wave of Japanese and Korean businesses to Vietnam is still good, but the implementation is a bit slow due to internal factors, such as the appreciation of the yen's exchange rate.

Recently, within the framework of the President of the Republic of Korea's visit to Vietnam, several dozen leading Korean enterprises have approached our country's market, and about 80 to 90 investment commitments have been awarded to arrange investment projects. to expand investment in Vietnam.

In particular, after the Government declared net zero commitment at COP26, many European investors expressed strong interest in Vietnam, especially in the fields of technology and clean energy.

According to a survey by the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce, 90% of businesses confirm that they will invest in Vietnam even though our country is facing difficulties due to the impact of the world economy. Businesses believe in signs of prosperity in the medium and long term.

In early 2023, the High Commissioner of Europe and the ministers of the Netherlands led more than 200 Dutch businesses to Vietnam to explore business opportunities through 30 investment promotion seminars.

In Asia, Taiwanese (Chinese) investors are currently having a very strong investment wave in Vietnam in the fields of electronics, informatics, high technology, and innovation. Large Chinese corporations in the high-tech sector are also interested in expanding their investment in Vietnam

Recently, during a business trip to Belgium and the Netherlands, the Minister of Planning and Investment worked with many large corporations in these two countries on investment in the electronics and renewable energy industries. Along with that, countries such as Singapore and the United States also consider Vietnam an attractive investment destination.

It can be said that many opportunities are coming to Vietnam. This is a good signal in the investment flow, in line with our policy and guidelines on digital transformation, green transformation, innovation, and renewable energy.

As he just shared, the efforts have yielded positive results. One of them is that despite the challenging context, FDI in 7 months has increased again after many months of decline. What factors contributed to this result?

This increase is due to the efforts of the entire political system, as stated by Mr. Do Nhat Hoang. In particular, the Government and the Prime Minister have swiftly and flexibly directed the ministries, branches, and localities to identify impediments to the expansion and distribution of investment by businesses and to promptly remove them. private. Investors have confidence in our business and investment climate.

In the past seven months, there has been an increase of 0.8% in capital disbursed, 4.5% in newly registered capital, 75.5% in the number of projects, and 38.6% in new investment capital.

The majority are medium-sized businesses that prioritize traditional trading partners such as Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong, and Singapore...

Sir, what are the chances of attracting investment between now and the end of the year?

Mr. Do Nhat Hoang: With the past period's success in enhancing the investment environment and welcoming investment, investor confidence has been bolstered. With this mindset, the situation of foreign investment in Vietnam will improve in the coming years.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has collaborated with pertinent agencies to draught and advise the Government to submit investment support incentives for high-tech projects to the National Assembly. It is anticipated to be presented at the October session of the National Assembly.

Existing guidelines and policies in the Investment Law, particularly Resolution 50 of the Government on enhancing selective investment attraction, high-quality and effective high-tech projects. However, we are now better equipped to deploy synchronously and adapt to the new reality.

Minh Nguyen