The Department of Planning and Investment of Binh Duong province said a textile and garment project by Hong Kong’s Wai Chi Kai Knitting Company would soon be licensed and could be the first billion-dollar project of 2019.
The company will invest USD 1 billion to build a factory to produce knitted collar products, wrist bands, ribbed fabric, fabric, and textile and fashion accessories in the Dong An II Industrial Zone in Thu Dau Mot city.
The People’s Committee of Bac Lieu province is urging the Ministry of Industry and Trade to speed up licensing of a USD 4.3 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled power project by US company Energy Capital.
Though investment procedures for a power plant are not simple, Bac Lieu hopes the 3,200 MW project will soon get an investment certificate.
In addition, three major projects are finalizing procedures for getting a licence this year. They include a USD 500 million project by the Republic of Korea’s Hana Micron, which in April signed a deal with the Bac Giang Industrial Zones Management Authority to build a semiconductor production plant.
Apparel Far Eastern is seeking to invest an additional USD 610 million in its existing plant while Meiko Electronics plans to add USD 200 million. CP Foods of Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont is planning to invest USD 200 million in a pork and poultry farm.
In the first half of the year, Hong Kong remained Vietnam’s leading source of FDI with USD 5.3 billion, or 29 percent of total investment, thanks to Beerco Limited investing USD 3.85 billion for a stake in Vietnam Beverage Co., Ltd.
The RoK was second with 2.73 billion USD, followed by mainland China with USD 2.29 billion, Singapore with USD 2.2 billion, and Japan with USD 1.95 billion.
Overall, foreign investors have brought or registered to bring in USD 18.47 billion in the first six months of the year.
Hanoi remained the most attractive destination with more than USD 4.87 billion in the period, or 26.4 percent of all FDI.
HCM City was next with USD 3.21 billion, a 20 percent increase year-on-year. Of the sum, USD 539 million went into new projects, a 3.6 percent increase. Forty-one percent went into the property sector, nearly 22 percent into the technology sector, 19.5 percent into wholesale and retail and repair of automobiles, motorbikes and other vehicles and 5.8 percent into manufacturing.
The southern provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai were third and fourth with USD 1.37 billion and USD 1.2 million.
FDI from Japan
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Japan has so far invested USD 57.9 billion in Vietnam in 4,190 projects, the second highest of any country or territory.
Recently, during Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Japan, there were 32 memorandums of understanding between Vietnamese and Japanese firms involving investment of USD 8 billion.
A recent survey by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) found Vietnam second in the list of countries where Japanese enterprises want to expand in future.
But according to JETRO, the country’s weakness is that its supporting industries are not capable of supplying FDI enterprises, and local firms need to collaborate with their foreign counterparts to increase the rate of local content.
Source: VNA