Vietnam’s overseas investment on the rise (09/03)
06/08/2010 - 134 Lượt xem
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnamese companies have invested in around 200 projects abroad, totaling nearly US$1 billion.
Last year 33 overseas projects were licenced, with a total registered capital of over $136.5 million. In addition, four projects were allowed to increase capital, totaling $211.2 million.
Laos - the biggest investment market
Vietnam licenced the first overseas project in 1989. However, this project was not carried out. In 1999 the government issued Decree 22 encouraging Vietnamese businesses to invest abroad. Accordingly, ten projects were licenced in 1999 and 15 in 2000.
Vietnam’s overseas projects are mainly in the fields of oil and gas exploitation and power source development (40.09% of projects, 74.5% of total capital), agriculture (19.6% and 13.3%), and trade-service.
Laos is the biggest market of Vietnamese investors, with 60 projects worth $424 million, followed by Russia with 11 projects worth $73.06 million. Experts forecast that Vietnam’s overseas investment capital may reach $350-360 million in 2007, three times higher than 2006, with disbursed capital of around $100 million.
Vietnamese investors now have many favourable conditions to invest abroad. According to the Investment Law 2005, not only Vietnamese firms but also foreign-invested firms in Vietnam (wholly foreign own or joint venture) can invest abroad.
Decree 78 dated August 9, 2006 on overseas investment says that projects with capital of less than VND15 billion (US$930,000) would be licenced within 15 days. This regulation is considered very open.
Formalities still the biggest hurdle
Huynh Van Minh, General Director of the Saigon Trade Corporation (Satra) said that his company is implementing many projects abroad, including: Satra USA in the US, which specializes in import-export, trade; two meat and seafood processing factories in Cambodia; contributing capital to the Cho Ray Hospital project in Cambodia; and rubber projects in Laos and Cambodia. According to Mr Minh, each overseas project took over one year for fulfilling formalities.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment is compiling a policy encouraging overseas investment, which is considered a break-through to stimulate Vietnam’s overseas investment in the future.
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Pham Van Hien, Head of the Planning and Investment Department of the Vietnam Rubber Corporation said that under the government’s policy, the corporation would invest in 200,000ha of rubber in Laos and Cambodia by 2015. So far, it has planted the first 8,400ha in Laos and expects to have 10,000ha later this year. The corporation is negotiating to hire 10,000ha of land to grow rubber and trees in Savanaket, Laos. In Cambodia, the corporation has established nine companies to monitor nine projects there. The government has recently allowed the corporation to transfer $4 million to Cambodia to grow 4,000ha of rubber in 2007. |
Source: Nguoi lao dong
