Improving ODA and FDI disbursement (13/8)
13/08/2012 - 16 Lượt xem
US$1.9 billion in ODA disbursed
According to the Ministry of Planning
and Investment, an estimated US$1.9 billion in ODA was disbursed from
January to July 2012, up 24.6 percent from the same time last year.
This amount included more than US$1.7 billion in preferential loans,
with the remainder being grants.
Some assessed that this achievement deserves to be recognized in the context of public investment being tightened to prioritize macroeconomic stability and a curbing of inflation. Meanwhile,
domestic and foreign experts thought that this achievement was rather
modest as Vietnam, which is still thirsty for development investment
capital, has been receiving high levels of assistance from international donors.
Ministry of Planning
and Investment statistics show that from 1993-2011, during which 19
Consultative Group (CG) meetings for Vietnam took place, donors pledged to provide Vietnam with total assistance of almost US$71.8 billion, an average of more than US$3.7 billion per year. The average figure was US$7.3-8 billion per year in the 2009-2011 period alone. Of the
US$71.8 billion, US$52 billion was committed through agreements signed
between the Vietnamese Government and donor representatives for
concrete projects. Of the
US$52 billion, 87 percent was in preferential loans and the remainder
grants. This reveals that Vietnam's projects and their targets were
welcomed by international donors.
As of late 2011, just over US$33.4 billion in ODA was disbursed (an average of about US$1.7 billion per year), accounting for more than 64 percent of the total ODA signed between Vietnamese Government and donor representatives and 46.7 percent of the
total committed ODA for Vietnam. World Bank Vice President Pamela Cox
assessed that Vietnam hasn't quickly utilized ODA and this made the
efficiency of ODA use in poverty reduction and socioeconomic development humble.
Fields
and localities in which ODA hasn't been well disbursed include
transport and agriculture and rural development, with Ho Chi Minh City
and Hanoi suffering in particular. This mostly refers to infrastructure
development projects. Improving the pace of ODA disbursement is one of the most important elements of ODA management, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at a recent meeting with relevant ministries, sectors and localities.
Bumper FDI?
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, an estimated US$6.25 billion in FDI was disbursed in the first seven months of 2012,
a slight decrease compared to the same time last year. In Vietnam, more
than 13,500 effective FDI projects have a large registered capital that
hasn't yet been disbursed.
In the first seven months of this year, while 231 FDI projects increased their registered capital by almost US$3 billion (up 5.2 percent from the same period of 2011), 584 newly licensed projects had a total registered capital of only US$5.2 billion (44 percent less than the same time last year); many projects had their investment licenses revoked due to tardy implementation, including real estate projects worth hundreds of billions of US dollars each.
There are several major reasons of decreases
in FDI, including the world economy's tardy recovery, the public debt
crisis in the EU, and Vietnam's FDI promotion policies that are being
renovated towards encouraging hi-tech, environmentally friendly and
small-space projects, especially support industry development projects.
Another important reason was the high inflation lasting from 2011 to early 2012. This was reflected in the Business Competitiveness Index (BCI) survey. European Business Chamber of Commerce
(EuroCham) in Vietnam President Preben Hjortlund said that EuroCham's
BCI decreased from mark 56 to mark 48 and that this decrease points out
a decrease in investor trust in Vietnam as an investment destination.
The index was a less-than-50 mark when EuroCham carried out the first survey in the third quarter of 2010. That shows that businesses were becoming less patient while emphasizing a need for Vietnam to improve its investment environment's competitiveness and attractiveness.
Vietnam
has received ODA for 20 years since Japan again began ODA provision for
Vietnam in 1992, and Vietnam has experienced almost 25 years of FDI
attraction since the Vietnamese National Assembly approved a foreign
investment law in December 1987. The 2012 CG meeting is nearing and ODA
and FDI project realization will be a major topic of the
meeting. Speeding up ODA and FDI disbursement and improving ODA and FDI
efficiency will not only be an urgent necessity for the economy but
also be of great significance in the coming time, according to Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai.
Donors
said that their preferential credit for Vietnam would not prolong for a
long time because Vietnam has become a low average-income country.
Vietnam should exploit this precious source of assistance wisely and efficiently for its socioeconomic development./.
Source: VEN
Source: VEN
