Several member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have emerged as Vietnam’s leading investment partners after a few invested small amounts of capital in the country 20 years ago.
The flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) from ASEAN countries began to arrive in Vietnam in 1990, three years after Vietnam introduced the Law on Foreign Investment, with Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia being the pioneers. However, this dribble of investment turned into a torrent five years later with a combined capital of more than 3 billion USD being registered for 230 projects.
Right after Vietnam joined the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) in January 1996, FDI from ASEAN nations increased sharply, exceeding 7.8 billion USD by mid 1997.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, other regional countries invested in 53 projects with a registered capital of 263 million USD, during the first half of this year.
Singapore, Malaysia, Laos and Brunei are in Vietnam’s top 15 investment partners, with Singapore being the largest.
The investment has gone into real estate, wooden products, foodstuffs, transport and sports gear.
On the future prospects of FDI from ASEAN member countries, Dang Duc Long, an expert at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, said that most regional countries have an advantage in terms of capital and technology, but face a shortage of natural resources and have higher labour costs.
Therefore, these countries move labour-intensive manufacturing industries to markets that boast abundant natural resources and low labour costs like Vietnam. “This is a great opportunity for Vietnam to attract more investment,” he said.
While holding the ASEAN chair in 2010, Vietnam has been active by promoting cooperation in trade, investment and tourism within the bloc.
Along with calling for investment in overlooked industries, Vietnam has also linked up with a number of ASEAN countries to create industrial zones like the successful Vietnamese-Singaporean Industrial Park./.