Wednesday, 23 April 2008

Vung Tau expected to regain lost FDI lead

17:26' 23/04/2008 (GMT+7)
VietNamNet Bridge - After losing its number two spot in the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) ranking last year, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province has regained the second position in the first quarter of this year and is expected to reach the pole position for all of 2008, said an official.
In Vung Tau
It ranked fifth in 2007, behind after Ho Chi Minh City , Hanoi , Dong Nai and Binh Duong provinces.
Only HCM City got more FDI in the first quarter of the year, said Le Kim Huong, director of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province Planning and Investment Department.
This quarter saw 14 new foreign-invested projects with a total registered capital of 2.12 billion USD, get their investment licenses in the southern coastal province.
So far this year, Vietnam has attracted 5.4 billion USD in FDI, a 31 percent increase over the same period last year, according to the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
With its current second position in attracting FDI, Ba Ria-Vung Tau could well rank first by year’s end, as the province is expected to grant investment licences for a total of 18-20 foreign invested projects, Huong said. That would put its total registered capital for 2008 at 10 billion USD.
Among foreign-invested projects expected to be licensed this year are the 520-million-USD Cai Mep Port Project and the 1.3-million-USD Bau Trung Vung Tau Tourism Project.
Huong said the province has implemented several measures to attract FDI.
The province has recently streamlined its administrative procedures to attract FDI, Huong said. For example, a one-door policy in granting investment licences to investors is now in place. The province’s geographic location as a prime spot for beach tourism is also an asset to lure port-related foreign invested projects.
Ba Ria-Vung Tau has also implemented several new measures in tandem to attract FDI, such as offering incentive polices for FDI while developing its infrastructure. Provincial officials also solicited advice from consultants to make prompt adjustments to its FDI policies, Huong said.

No comments: