Vietnam attracts more foreign investors

At the end of 2013, Japanese-American Joint venture Fuji Xerox opened a 300 million USD manufacturing facility in the northern coastal city of Hai Phong. The company aims to make its facility in Vietnam its biggest manufacturing plant, replacing its operations in China.

Atsusuke Kawada, Chief Representative, JETRO Vietnam said: “Japanese companies, especially small and medium enterprises, are looking to invest in ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand. Vietnam in particular is very attractive, due to the improving business environment, low labour costs, stable political situation and strong government support".

The Ministry of Planning and Investment report that South Korea was the largest foreign direct investor to Vietnam during the first quarter and the country currently accounts for over 25% of foreign direct investment.

In the past year, many foreign companies have shifted production to Vietnam, including big names like Samsung, Microsoft, or Intel.

“In 2014, Intel moved two manufacturing plants to Vietnam, and now make 80% of their products in Vietnam. This shows that they see great potential in Vietnam. I believe that 2015 will see significant increase of FDI into Vietnam” – said economist Nguyen Mai.

Besides the traditional advantages such as low labour costs and stable political environment, 2015 will also see significant administrative reforms and equitisation of state-own enterprises, which is expected to improve Vietnam’s business environment and attract more foreign investors to the country.