Interest in renewables drives foreign investment surge

Interest in renewables drives foreign investment surge, photo source: shutterstock

At last week’s conference on reviewing 30 years of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction in Vietnam, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, cities and provinces announced memoranda of understanding on investment co-operation, investment certificates, and investment agreements for 24 foreign-invested projects with the total registered investment capital of more than $10 billion. The projects, with the majority focusing on renewable energy, making up over 50 per cent of the sum, reflect the country’s future strategy to promote renewable and environmentally friendly energy.

The highlighted projects include the $4 billion liquefied natural gas power plant invested by Delta Offshore Energy Pte., Ltd., the $407 million wind power project of UPC Vietnam Ltd. in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu, the $600 million Egeres Enerji-invested wind power project in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, the $48.7 million solar power project of Univergy K.K in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong, and the $46.6 million solar power park of GA Power in the central province of Ha Tinh.

Also at the conference, some billion-dollar projects in prioritised sectors were also licensed, including the $1.5 billion software park and inland container depot project of Jiayuan International in Hanoi, the $1.34 billion mechanical supporting industry park of Hyosung Advanced Materials, Vietnamobile’s $800 million 4G and 5G telecommunications infrastructure development project, the $500 million investment expansion by LG Display, and the $500 million infrastructure development of Indochina Company Limited.

In Vietnam’s FDI attraction strategy, the priorities include high-tech fields, renewable energy, medical equipment production, and high-end services such as financial services and logistics, and high-tech agriculture. With the new projects, Vietnam’s FDI picture will definitely brighten in the coming months, surely making the government’s 10 per cent FDI increase target this year feasible.

Christopher Malone, managing director at Boston Consulting Group, said that Vietnam has made great achievements in FDI attraction in recent years. However, to compete in FDI attraction in the future, there are two crucial themes for Vietnam to effectively approach 4.0 and innovation. The first is the critical need to absorb innovative capacity, and the second is the need to specialise.