VN's overseas investment to boom in niche markets

VGP - If the domestic economy recovers, Vietnamese investment activities in foreign countries will boom in five or ten years, serving to diversify forms of investment and minimize business risks, according to foreign investment managers in Việt Nam.

July 13, 2009 11:10 AM GMT+7

Investment in hydroelectricity projects in Laos is charming Vietnamese investors - Photo: Vietnamnet

Since 2008, investment abroad has become a vigorous trend, which is expected to surge around US $500 million per year and boom in the next five to ten years, said the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Based on the latest data of the FIA, until May 2009, Vietnamese enterprises were doing investment in 48 countries and territories, with 370 projects of over US $5.161 billion as the total registered capital.

Industry and construction are the most attractive sectors for Vietnamese investors (155 projects and US $4.2 billion in registered capital), followed by agro-forestry and services.

Vietnamese investors have involved in such hi-tech areas like petroleum exploitation and hydroelectric power generation.

Việt Nam's major overseas investment markets are Laos, Malaysia, Algeria, Cambodia, and Madagascar.

FIA Director Phan Hữu Thắng stated that Vietnamese enterprises are relatively self-motivated to figure out niche markets in big countries and emerging economies.

However, according to the MPI's experts, Vietnamese investors have just finished the market surveying phase. To boost up investment activities abroad, Việt Nam is striving to perfect its legal framework, streamline administrative procedures, strengthen overseas commercial agencies, and enhance capital management.

By Kim Anh