Investment

Vietnam attracted 25.4 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first nine months of 2017, up 34.3 percent year on year, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Vietnam Railways (VNR) has proposed an investment of over VND4.6 trillion (US$202.4 million) in order to buy new locomotives and carriages by 2020, with 70% of the total amount to be borrowed from the State-owned Vietnam Development Bank.

Vietnam will reform rice production to gain sustainable development in the production and export of rice, according to Vietnam's Rice Market Development Strategy from 2017 to 2020.

A new mountain road tunnel opened to traffic on August 21, helping to reduce the travel time through the Deo Ca Pass between Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa provinces from 60 minutes to just ten minutes.

FDI flows into Vietnam, including capital from newly registered projects, capital added to existing projects and capital used to buy shares, was US$21.93 billion in the first seven months of 2017, up 52% over the same period of 2016.

Do Nhat Hoang, head of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, has underlined the need for Vietnam to further improve its investment environment in order to attract more Japanese businesses.

After 30 years of strong and stable growth, the Vietnam economy is moving into a more challenging period. Although many of its economic fundamentals remain strong, the country's manufacturing industry need to shift its productivity to higher standard.

Disbursed foreign direct investment in 2017 was estimated at US$9.05 billion as of July 20, up 5.8% over the same period last year, according to the report of Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Ninh Binh's Department of Industry and Trade has over the years cooperated with relevant branches, and sectors to launch synchronous measures to improve the investment environment, remove difficulties, and increase competitiveness for enterprises.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), the total social investment in the first half of 2017 increased by 10.5% compared to the same period last year, equivalent to 32.8% of the GDP,

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has licensed two thermo-electric plants in the northern province of Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa province in the central region.

The exports of agricultural-forestry-aquatic products in June reached US$2.97 billion, raising the total export value in the first half of the year to US$17.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 13.1%, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Protecting the property rights to artificial forests and cultivated aquatic animals is of the utmost importance to attracting private investment in aquaculture and forestry, a recent report on the Vietnamese economy has concluded.

PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), a subsidiary of State-owned energy giant PetroVietnam, will invest in nine gas-fired power plants by 2025.

The commitment signed by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and all 63 provinces and cities in the spirit of the Governmental Resolution 35 on creating a favourable business environment for enterprises has initially produced positive results.

Vietnam exported about 79.3 billion USD worth of commodities in the first five months of 2017, an increase of 17.4 percent from the same period last year.

The PM has recently approved a project on the restructuring of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the period of 2016-2020, with a focus on State-owned economic groups and corporations.

As many as152 new companies have been formed in Ninh Binh in the first quarter of this year ,representing a year-on-year increase of 10%, reported the Department of Planning and Investment.

Agricultural and economic experts gathered at a Hanoi conference on May 24 to discuss the measures needed to recognise and re-position market for agricultural products in Vietnam.