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| Many large US chip manufacturers are interested in investing in Vietnam. |
Meanwhile, industrial production continues to prosper, trade surplus reached USD8.08 billion, and FDI attraction hit more than USD6.17 billion. These are bright spots in Vietnam's economic picture in the first quarter of 2024.
Import and export report continued strong growth
The statistical agency emphasized that in the first quarter, import and export activities prospered. Accordingly, total import-export turnover was estimated to reach more than USD178 billion in the past 3 months. This level increased by 15.5% over the same period last year, of which exports increased by 17% (reaching USD93.06 billion), imports increased by nearly 14%. The trade balance of goods reported a surplus of USD8.08 billion.
Talking about export highlights, Mr. Tran Thanh Hai, Deputy Director of the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the good production recovery had contributed to the recovery of export growth.
In particular, many major export markets recovered and overcame the recession. To continue the export momentum, according to Mr. Hai, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will deploy many solutions, including expanding negotiations on free trade agreements (FTAs), realizing incentives from FTAs, innovating trade promotion activities, help businesses facilitate export of goods, and simplifying import and export procedures.
Foreign investment reported in 17 of 21 national economic sectors
According to statistics announced by the Foreign Investment Agency, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of March 20, the total newly registered capital, adjustments and capital contributions, share purchases, and capital contributions of foreign investors reached more than USD6.17 billion, an increase of 13.4% over the same period in 2023.
Foreign investors invested in 17 out of 21 national economic sectors; of which, the processing and manufacturing industry led with a total investment capital of nearly USD3.93 billion, accounting for nearly 63.6% of total registered investment capital, a slight decrease of 1.3% from the same period.
In the first 3 months of 2024, realized capital of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects reached about USD4.63 billion, an increase of 7.1% over the same period in 2023. This is a signal showing that this year's foreign investment disbursement tends to continue the positive trend.
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| Total FDI capital into Vietnam increases by 13.4%. (Illustration photo: VTV) |
Number of US businesses to Vietnam expected to reach record in 2024
Another bright spot of the economy this year was that representatives from 50 technology, energy, aviation, defense, agriculture and food businesses from the United States, the world's No. 1 power, concluded a trip on researching for expanding investment in Vietnam. This was the second year that Vietnam welcomed a large number of American business delegations to visit and seek investment opportunities and expand the market. This is an annual activity organized by the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC).
According to Mr. Ted Osius, President and CEO of USABC, Vietnam and the US have many commitments to strengthen bilateral economic relations after the two countries officially upgraded relations last year. Therefore, this year, USABC will break a record in the number of American businesses coming to Vietnam to seek and realize investment and trade opportunities between the two sides. This delegation of businesses applied a more comprehensive approach to both the public and private sectors, to best support businesses investing in Vietnam.
Representing the US banking sector in the delegation, Ms. Reta Jo Lewis, President of the US Export-Import Bank (EXIM), affirmed that she will continue to increase support for financial transactions between the US and Vietnam. On this occasion, EXIM signed a memorandum of understanding worth USD500 million with Vietnamese partners.
A representative of Atmo, an American enterprise specializing in providing multinational weather forecasting services with technology based on artificial intelligence, said he was very confident in the investment potential in Vietnam, a country that is being affected by climate change. A representative of Meta (Facebook's parent company) revealed that it will bring many new products and services to Vietnam, with confidence in Vietnam's potential to become a bright spot in Asia in the field of artificial intelligence.
According to the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, last year, American businesses invested in more than 1,340 projects in Vietnam with a total capital of over USD11.8 billion, ranking 11th in investment value. Leading American corporations, such as Intel, CocaCola and Cargill, have poured billions of dollars of investment capital into Vietnam.
In 2024, Vietnam sets a growth target of 6% - 6.5%. To achieve this goal, the Government needs to continue to effectively implement fiscal policy, effectively use public investment capital, and promote the internal strength of the market with a population of more than 100 million people stimulating consumption./.