Overseas investment promotion conference held

HCM City (VNA) - Oversea investment is an important measure for the country to retain the initiative in international economic integration, agreed a conference on overseas investment held in Ho Chi Minh City on Sept. 5.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the conference
organiser, an increasing number of Vietnamese businesses are interested in
expanding their production and business abroad.

The ministry also noted that the country's legal system for overseas
investment has been basically completed and licensing procedures have been
simplified to facilitate this trend.

However, the conference's participants said there is still no specific
policy or mechanism to assist businesses in making investment in other
countries, including information and consultancy. They also proposed that
preferential treatments in terms of capital and tax be given to important
projects that can positively impact on national economic development.

To date, Vietnam has 317 valid overseas investment projects, with a
total capital of 2.5 billion USD.

Vietnamese businesses have made their presence in five continents, but
most of the investment is concentrated in some Asian countries such as Laos
(123 projects worth 1,28 billion USD), Malaysia (7 projects, 162 million
USD), Cambodia (34 projects, 153 million USD).

Oil-rich countries are also favourite destinations with a 245 million USD
project in Algeria , a 117 million USD project in Madagascar and a 243
million USD project in Iraq .

Russia , a traditional trade partner of Vietnam , has attracted 14
Vietnamese investment projects valued at 198 million USD.

By the end of July, overseas investment projects had disbursed about 1
billion USD, accounting for 40 percent of the total capital. Industrial
projects represented 58.8 percent of the total disbursed capital and 60
percent of the total registered capital.-