According to Vietnam News Agency, total outbound Vietnamese investment reached USD431.7 million in the Jan-Sept period of 2019.
This figure was recently released by the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
The largest share of Vietnamese investment was poured into wholesale and retail sector, and auto and motorbike repairs with USD110.6 million, accounting for 25.6% of the total.
Unitel is a brand of Viettel in Laos. (Photo: cafef.vn)
Coming second was science-technology with USD83.4 million, followed by agriculture-forestry-fishery (USD64.1 million) and real estate (USD56.9 million).
Among the 30 countries and territories where Vietnamese investors landed during the period, Australia was the largest recipient with USD140.6 million, making up 32.6% of the sum.
Other major destinations for Vietnamese investment included the US (USD59.9 million), Spain (USD59.8 million), Cambodia (USD50.6 million) and Singapore (USD35.6 million).
Vietnamese investors have also made efforts to gain footholds in promising markets in the Southeast Asian region.
Vietnamese investment in Cambodia in the first seven months topped USD38.5 million, equivalent to the accumulative registered capital of the entire 2018, the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Cambodia ranks third among the 76 countries and territories where Vietnamese investors have been active. Vietnam is running 214 projects valued at USD3.2 billion in the neighboring country.
Vietnam is Cambodia’s fifth largest investor, after China, Thailand, the Republic of Korea and Japan, with capital mainly channeled into agriculture and forestry (USD2.1 billion), finance, banking and insurance (USD370.1 million) and telecom services (USD204.3 million).
Other spheres like aviation, mining, processing and manufacturing, warehouse services, health care, construction, tourism, hotels and real estate have also attracted Vietnamese firms.
Vietnam’s exports enjoy robust growth in US market
According to VOV News, despite regional peers such as Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan suffering from a decline in exporting goods to the United States, Vietnam has successfully maintained robust growth during the Jan-Sept period of 2019.
Footwear among major commodities exported to the US
The General Department of Customs reported Vietnam’s exports to the US reached USD44.65 billion during the period, up 27.6% year on year. This therefore represents the country’s largest export market, accounting for 22.9% of total turnover.
Currently, Vietnam is also benefiting from the effects of the ongoing US-China trade war, with several businesses changing their supply chains as a means of avoiding additional taxation placed on Chinese goods. This has led to several prominent US firms seeking a supply source of goods from alternative markets.
John Caplan, head of North America B2B at Alibaba Group, noted that with the country’s exports to the US growing in recent years, this has created a window of opportunity for local businesses to be proactive and penetrate the market across the Pacific.
Mary Tarknowka, executive director of AmCham Vietnam Ho Chi Minh city, stated her belief that the US will remain as the main export market for Vietnamese firms in the coming years.
Despite the positive signs of growth, the demanding market also requires exporters to improve their capacity and actively co-operate to build new supply chains in order to sustainably increase exports.
Vietnamese Defense Minister mentions East Sea in ASEAN meeting
Defense Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich has once again described international law as an effective tool to regulate relations between countries for regional peace and stability, according to VOV News.
Defense Minister Ngo Xuan Lich attends the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Retreat. (Photo: VNA)
Addressing the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Retreat in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 17th, Minister Lich underlined the East Sea situation.
He said “The most visible example is that recent tensions in the East Sea are caused by unilateral acts, which do not respect the legal and legitimate interests of other countries and do not match international norms and laws, especially the 1982 UN Convention of the Law of the Sea.
These acts threaten regional peace and stability and draw the attention of many countries outside the region. To make the East Sea truly become a sea area of peace and sustainable development, the prerequisite is that international law must be honored, which requires serious commitments and responsibility of countries in and outside the region.”
Defense ministers of the 10 ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partners are meeting at the ADMM Retreat and the 6th ADMM-Plus themed “Sustainable Security” on November 17th-18th.
They discuss measures to enhance trust and strengthen security between ASEAN members and dialogue partners in all respects. High on the agenda is cooperation in seven areas of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, maritime security, military medicine, counter-terrorism, peacekeeping operations, humanitarian activities and cyber security./.