The past four months have seen a striking contrast between the influx inforeign direct investment (FDI) and outflow in Vietnamese investment.
While FDI inflow into the country dropped by almost 50 percent comparedwith the same period last year, Vietnamese investment abroad equalled60 percent of the total outflow in 2010.
According to theForeign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning andInvestment, in the first four months of the year, FDI inflow reached 4billion USD, down 47.8 percent against the same period last year. TheGovernment licensed 262 new foreign-invested projects with a totalcapital of 3.2 billion USD between January and April, a year-on-yearreduction of 54.9 percent.
FIA figures also revealed thatVietnamese enterprises' overseas investment in the first four monthsamounted to 1.8 billion USD, compared with the total overseas investmentof 3 billion USD in 2010.
The overseas investments are mainly in energy, rubber plantation and telecommunications projects.
These include the 800 million USD Ha Se San 2 Hydropower Plant investedin by Electricity of Vietnam International JSC (EVNI); and the 31.7million USD rubber plantation project licensed to Chu Se-Kampong ThomJSC that will cover 4,000ha. Both investment licenses were granted bythe Cambodian government.
By the end of February, localcompanies had invested in 575 projects in 55 countries and territorieswith total registered capital of 23.7 billion USD. About 4.3 billion USDof this overseas investment went into 88 projects in the mining sector,followed by the agriculture-forestry sector with 1.87 billion USD.
In addition to neighbouring countries like Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar,local firms have also invested their money in destinations such asJapan, France, Germany, the US, Britain and African countries.
The outbound investment licensed in the first four months is also muchhigher than the target of 1.5 USD to 2 billion USD set earlier by theMinistry of Planning and Investment for the whole of 2011.
MPI statistics also indicate that overseas investments averaged 66million USD a project, much higher than the average 14.6 million USD forFDI projects in the country.
However, the FIA said, thereturn on overseas investments has been very poor so far. Although theirvolume has risen steadily over the last few years, there has beenincreasing concerns over the efficiency of overseas investments.
Experts say the Government began encouraging local companies to investoverseas during 2007-2008, when the economy had ample capital sources.Now that the country is caught in macro-economic difficulties, it'snecessary to reassess the feasibility of overseas investment projects,they add, citing the high trade deficit, unstable balance of paymentsand falling foreign reserves.
Dr Nguyen Minh Phong of theHanoi Institute for Socio-Economic Studies noted that in some cases,local businesses have applied for an overseas investment project withthe aim of purchasing properties or resettling themselves abroad.
But an ex-senior FIA official, who declined to be named, said at a timethat the local market is experiencing difficulties, local companiesshould be allowed to invest their capital abroad and transfer profitsback home.
To better check the efficiency of overseasinvestment projects, FIA has recently required Vietnamese investors withprojects abroad to submit reports on their business performances.
The move aims in particular to check the efficiency of such projects aswell as the transfer of capital abroad by State groups and enterprises.
"To regulate the capital outflow, it is necessary tomonitor and analyse overseas investments, instead of depending onshort-term data," Phong was quoted by the Dien Dan Doanh Nghiep(Business Forum) newspaper as saying./.
While FDI inflow into the country dropped by almost 50 percent comparedwith the same period last year, Vietnamese investment abroad equalled60 percent of the total outflow in 2010.
According to theForeign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning andInvestment, in the first four months of the year, FDI inflow reached 4billion USD, down 47.8 percent against the same period last year. TheGovernment licensed 262 new foreign-invested projects with a totalcapital of 3.2 billion USD between January and April, a year-on-yearreduction of 54.9 percent.
FIA figures also revealed thatVietnamese enterprises' overseas investment in the first four monthsamounted to 1.8 billion USD, compared with the total overseas investmentof 3 billion USD in 2010.
The overseas investments are mainly in energy, rubber plantation and telecommunications projects.
These include the 800 million USD Ha Se San 2 Hydropower Plant investedin by Electricity of Vietnam International JSC (EVNI); and the 31.7million USD rubber plantation project licensed to Chu Se-Kampong ThomJSC that will cover 4,000ha. Both investment licenses were granted bythe Cambodian government.
By the end of February, localcompanies had invested in 575 projects in 55 countries and territorieswith total registered capital of 23.7 billion USD. About 4.3 billion USDof this overseas investment went into 88 projects in the mining sector,followed by the agriculture-forestry sector with 1.87 billion USD.
In addition to neighbouring countries like Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar,local firms have also invested their money in destinations such asJapan, France, Germany, the US, Britain and African countries.
The outbound investment licensed in the first four months is also muchhigher than the target of 1.5 USD to 2 billion USD set earlier by theMinistry of Planning and Investment for the whole of 2011.
MPI statistics also indicate that overseas investments averaged 66million USD a project, much higher than the average 14.6 million USD forFDI projects in the country.
However, the FIA said, thereturn on overseas investments has been very poor so far. Although theirvolume has risen steadily over the last few years, there has beenincreasing concerns over the efficiency of overseas investments.
Experts say the Government began encouraging local companies to investoverseas during 2007-2008, when the economy had ample capital sources.Now that the country is caught in macro-economic difficulties, it'snecessary to reassess the feasibility of overseas investment projects,they add, citing the high trade deficit, unstable balance of paymentsand falling foreign reserves.
Dr Nguyen Minh Phong of theHanoi Institute for Socio-Economic Studies noted that in some cases,local businesses have applied for an overseas investment project withthe aim of purchasing properties or resettling themselves abroad.
But an ex-senior FIA official, who declined to be named, said at a timethat the local market is experiencing difficulties, local companiesshould be allowed to invest their capital abroad and transfer profitsback home.
To better check the efficiency of overseasinvestment projects, FIA has recently required Vietnamese investors withprojects abroad to submit reports on their business performances.
The move aims in particular to check the efficiency of such projects aswell as the transfer of capital abroad by State groups and enterprises.
"To regulate the capital outflow, it is necessary tomonitor and analyse overseas investments, instead of depending onshort-term data," Phong was quoted by the Dien Dan Doanh Nghiep(Business Forum) newspaper as saying./.
