VIR conference: Certain sectors remain magnets for FDI

This view was shared by many participants at a conference discussing the importance of investment partnerships to the Vietnamese economy, organised by VIR on May 15.

In the energy sector, rooftop solar power has become one of the areas attracting quite a lot of attention from investors around the world. As the technology has improved and developed, the production and installation costs of rooftop solar power systems have decreased significantly.

Policies in Vietnam related to rooftop solar power have been crafted to promote opportunities for domestic and foreign-backed ventures. According to a recent report by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, the energy produced from rooftop solar power in Vietnam reached 9.5 megawatts peak in 2020, twice the amount seen in 2019 and showing the ongoing potential of this sector.

A report published by the International Renewable Energy Agency suggests Vietnam has the potential to become one of the largest rooftop solar power markets in the Southeast Asia by 2025.

Bui Trung Kien, vice chairman of CME Solar Investment, shared a story about a garments and textiles company in the northern province of Nam Dinh and a delegation of US firms looking for partners to export goods to the US market. One of their non-negotiable requirements was that their partners had to use a clean energy source. As this company is a client of CME, it was selected ahead of local rivals as they had already completed the installation of a rooftop solar power system.

Speaking about the real estate sector, Trang Le, head of Research and Consulting at JLL Vietnam, noted that previously, FDI had focussed primarily on residential real estate in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. However, at present, overseas capital is spreading more into industrial real estate and high-end, serviced luxury condos.

Prof. Nguyen Mai, chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign-Invested Enterprises said that it is urgent to improve the investment environment by simplifying a series of unnecessary administrative procedures and removing a range of sublicenses that take a long time to disburse for one deal, all of which cause investors to hesitate to inject money into the country.

“Improving the environment is vital as neighbouring countries are offering attractive incentives, such as available clean land, tax incentives, and licence permits, to entice groups in The Fortune Global 500,” Mai said.

He added that, in Indonesia, the president will directly approve and grant the licences for high-tech projects with investment capital from $75 million upwards.

VIR to hold major foreign investment conference on May 15 Vietnam Investment Review will hold a conference on May 15 to gather government officials, senior economists, international organisations, and the business community to discuss foreign investment inflows in Vietnam, and how to foster more in the new era.

VIR conference attracts hundreds of participants Hundreds of government officials, senior economists, international organisations, and the business community participated in a major foreign investment conference hosted by VIR to discuss the contributions of foreign-invested enterprises to the country's development.

Investment companies share Vietnamese success stories In the first panel discussion at today's VIR conference, with the theme 'Together We Thrive', companies and organisations shared their success stories and the lessons they have learned when investing in Vietnam.

VIR honours investors who help make Vietnam an FDI success story VIR has granted medals to honour the investors, businesses, and organisations that have contributed to making Vietnam a foreign direct investment (FDI) success story.