In his speech, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung emphasized that over the past three decades, foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises have become a dynamic development area with significant contributions to stimulating Vietnam’s economic growth.

The FDI sector has been contributing to economic restructuring, higher export turnover, international market expansion, job creation, technology transfer, Vietnam’s deeper integration into international trade and its broader participation in global supply chains, Minister Dung said.

The fourth industrial revolution is exerting a tremendous impact on investment, production, business, technology development, and human resources while posing huge challenges that require Vietnam to keep abreast with other countries by carrying out long-term development strategies, and intensifying proper investment in innovation, science and technology and high-quality human resources development in order to draw more foreign investment inflows into new industries, he said.

Regarding FDI attraction, Dung stated that priorities will also be placed on medical equipment manufacturing, health care services, education and training, high quality tourism, financial services, logistics, hi-tech agricultural development, smart agriculture, modern infrastructure development, 4.0 revolution-based sectors.

In addition, it is essential to ensure the harmony between export growth with investment in the development of value added products and services, and support industries, human resource training and the use of domestic raw materials, the Minister said while underlining the need to promote the connectivity between FDI enterprises, especially transnational groups and domestic enterprises toward developing cross-industry linkages based on each value chain.

Foreign investment attraction will continue to be focused on sectors where Vietnam still has advantages such as textiles and footwear with priority given to high-value-added activities associated with smart and automated production processes. It is essential to revamp mechanisms and policies to create new motivation for FDI attraction and use in industrial parks, export processing zones, economic zones, hi-tech parks, Minster Dung noted.

Concerning the market orientation and partnerships, Minister Dung underscored the necessity of promoting multilateralisation and diversification of FDI attraction from potential markets and partners, making the most of the relationship with strategic partners (comprehensive partners, and comprehensive strategic partners), the world's leading developed countries, transnational corporations holding advanced source technologies along with modern management. He proposed no attracting projects using outdated and eco-unfriendly technologies from some regional nations.

The Minster also affirmed Vietnam’s desire to welcome foreign investors with good will and responsibility, along with specific and result-oriented commitments and actions to do long-term business based on harmonious interests of investors, the State and the community.

Attendees discussed the process of improving the investment environment in Vietnam, challenges and investment opportunities in international integration process as well as issues related to concentrating  greater investment in growth linkage promotion and regional development, and connectivity between the FDI and domestic  sectors and FDI attraction from opportunities presented by industrial revolution 4.0.

The foreign-invested sector has become an important integral part of Vietnam’s economy. As of August 20, 2018, Vietnam lured 26,500 valid FDI projects with a total registered capital of US$334 billion. Of the figure, roughly US$184 billion has been disbursed.