Vietnamese firms capitalise on foreign investments

According to the Foreign Investment Agency’s statistics, as of December 20, 2015, Vietnamese enterprises had invested approximately $20.4 billion in 1,214 projects in the fields of natural mineral exploitation, agriculture, and telecommunications in foreign markets, primarily focusing on Laos, Cambodia, Africa, and the Americas, including $15.3 billion in 1,049 newly-registered projects and $5.1 billion in additional capital to 165 existing projects.

In 2015 alone, Vietnamese enterprises poured $774.8 million in foreign markets, $476.4 million of which was in 118 newly-registered projects and $297.4 million in additional capital to 70 existing projects.

Notably, Viettel Group is currently present in 10 countries in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, servicing 13 million subscribers on a market with a combined population of 175 million. According to Viettel’s financial report, the company’s 2015 revenues from foreign markets reached $1.5 billion, signifying a 25 per cent increase on-year. Looking to further capitalise on its overseas success, Viettel plans to increase its presence to 20 countries by 2020.

Information technology firm FPT Corporation (FPT), one of the first Vietnamese technology enterprises to take its business abroad, has made numerous successful overseas investment projects. According to its financial report, FPT acquired $221 million in revenues and $31 million in pre-tax profit from its foreign markets in 2015, an increase amounting to 41 per cent and 17 per cent on-year, respectively. In 2016, the group will focus on implementing its globalisation strategy with a targeted average increase in revenue of 40 per cent annually.

Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (Vinamilk) has earned well from its foreign investment endeavours and its thriving exports. In 2015, the company’s revenue from foreign markets increased by 39 per cent to $358.2 million, adding 20 per cent to the total Vinamilk revenue in 2015.

Another milk producer Nghe An Tate & Lyle Sugarcane and Sugar Limited Company, a subsidiary of TH Milk Food Joint Stock Company of Vietnam (TH Group), was licensed to construct the first phase of its hi-tech concentrated dairy, cattle breeding, and fresh milk production project worth $500 million in Moscow, Russia.

The first phase forms a part of a $2.7 billion hi-tech concentrated dairy and fresh milk production project, which is going to be Vietnam’s largest agricultural and food processing project in Russia.
Covering an area of 140,000 hectares, the $2.7 billion project will be developed in three phases from 2016 to 2025. Construction of the first phase is expected to be kicked off in April 2016.