Goertek Group has increased its investment capital to 500 million USD in a factory specialising in manufacturing electronic products, network equipment, and multimedia audio products in Nghe An (Photo: baodautu.vn)
Last year, despite the adverse impacts caused the pandemic, the country was still able to attract 31.15 billion USD in FDI, representing an annual rise of 9.2%.
Most notably, China's Goertek Group recently moved to increase its capital from 100 million USD to 500 million USD in a factory specializing in manufacturing electronic products, network equipment, and multimedia audio products in the central province of Nghe An, thereby becoming the largest investor in the locality.
Furthermore, Ju Teng International Holdings Ltd has been granted an investment certificate for its electronic component and automobile accessories project worth 200 million USD at the Hoang Mai Industrial Park in the central province of Nghe An with Excel Smart Global Limited being the main investor.
Moreover, the northern province of Bac Giang has granted investment certificates to a number of Taiwanese financiers, including Zhengzhou Boruikate Tools Co. Ltd and FUSHINI Vietnam Joint Stock Company. In addition, Capella Real Estate Joint Stock Company also received an investment certificate in order to build infrastructure for Yen Lu Industrial Park, with total investment reaching roughly 2,700 billion VND.
Prof. Nguyen Mai, chairman of the Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), believes that moving forward the nation is likely to attract 40 billion USD of registered capital this year. This can largely be put down to the signing of new generation free trade agreements (FTAs), continued economic recovery, and the reopening of international routes as the COVID-19 pandemic has been brought under control.
Le Tuan, head of Investment Department under the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, revealed that several Taiwanese investors have devised their investment plans and were in the process of waiting for the country to reopen international flights before injecting their capital.
Aside from Taiwanese investors, Japanese, Korean, and Singaporean financiers have also unveiled their new plans in the Vietnamese market through a number of large-scale projects locally, all of which clearly demonstrates the trust of foreign investors in the Vietnamese investment climate.
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) forecasts that global investment flows will recover this year and are likely to hit US$1,500 billion thanks to pandemic containment efforts at countries globally and new investment incentive policies.
In line with this, the country will remain an attractive investment destination for foreign financiers due to it being a key investment hub within the ASEAN region, along with its improved business climate and enhanced national competitiveness, experts said.
CAAV proposes increasing frequency of regular int’l flights
Aircraft of Vietnamese airlines (Illustrative photo: VNA)
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has proposed the Ministry of Transport allow to expand the scale and frequency of regular international flights, including those from/to Europe and Australia, reported Vietnam News Agency.
CAAV Director Dinh Viet Thang suggested the ministry permit the authority to inform aviation authorities of France, Germany, the UK and Russia on the resumption of regular international passenger flights, with the initial weekly frequency of 10 flights per leg for each side.
CAAV also sent documents to aviation authorities of Australia to inform that airlines of both countries can resume regular flights between the two nations with 10 flights per leg a week.
An airplane of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (Photo: VNA)
It also wants to take the initiative in working with countries and territories to decide on markets and frequency based on demand as well as aviation agreements.
In the first week of this year, 16 regular passenger commerce flights arrived in Vietnam from the US, Japan, Thailand and Cambodia, among others, bringing nearly 1,000 passengers.
The authority's statistics indicated that about 140,000 overseas Vietnamese are hoping to return home to celebrate the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) – Vietnam’s longest and biggest traditional festival. In excess of 30,000 passengers per week are projected to fly home in the coming time.
CAAV has informed authorities in the Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore and Taiwan (China) on the increase of weekly passenger flights to 14 per leg amid rising demand.
Vietnam leads ASEAN in installed power capacity in 2021
Vietnam’s total installed power capacity totalled 76,620 MW in 2021, 7,500 MW higher than the previous year, and the highest among ASEAN member states, Vietnam News Agency quoted sayings of CEO of the Vietnam Electricity (EVN) Tran Dinh Nhan at the company’s year-end meeting on January 14.
An offshore wind power project in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu. (Photo: VNA)
The installed capacity of the renewables hit 20,670 MW, up 3,420 MW year-on-year and accounting for 27 percent of total. The EVN’s total power output, comprising generation and imports, rose by 3.9 percent year-on-year to 256.7 billion kWh.
The share of renewable power is increasing, with generating capacity reaching up to 60 percent of the load capacity at times, causing overloads on inter-regional transmission lines and several locations, Nhan said.
This year, the State-owned corporation plans to accelerate licence granting and budget allocation of five key power generation projects, namely Tri An Hydropower Plant Expansion, and thermal power projects Dung Quat I & III, O Mon III, and Quang Trach II. It will also focus on expanding Hoa Binh and Ialy hydropower plants and Quang Trach I Thermal-power Plant.
Vietnam’s export to Hungary ranks first in Southeast Asia
Vietnam continues to maintain its leading position in Southeast Asia in exporting to Hungary with turnover to the market estimated to reach over 1 billion USD in 2021.
Electronic components are among Vietnam’s key export items to Hungary. (Photo: vinhphuc.gov.vn)
According to the Hungarian Statistical Office’s data quoted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam’s export turnover to Hungary in 2020 reached more than 1 billion USD, up 86.4% over the same period last year.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s export turnover to Hungary reached 872.8 million USD; Thailand, 516.9 million USD; Singapore, 363 million USD; the Philippines, 136 million USD; and Indonesia, 115.3 million USD.
In the Jan-October period of 2021, Vietnam’s exports to Hungary were valued at 842.7 million USD, up 5% from the same period last year, while exports from Malaysia were 586.7 million, down 12.2%; Singapore, 494.4 million USD, up 56.5%; Thailand, 426.6 million USD, up 10.1%; Philippines, 141.7 million USD, up 28.2%; and Indonesia, 119.5 million USD, up 26.2%.
Vietnam’s key export group to Hungary is electronic components, accounting for the highest value and contributing significantly to promoting Vietnam’s exports to Hungary in recent years.
Hungarian statistics showed that Vietnam’s electronic components export to Hungary in 2020 reached 747 million USD, accounting for 74.1% of the market’s total import turnover from Vietnam. In the first 10 months, export turnover of the group reached 574.8 million USD, accounting for 77%.
Thus, Vietnam is the first country in Southeast Asia exceeding 1 billion USD of export turnover to Hungary, and the value has been maintained since 2020./.