VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam enterprises have remitted home profits amounting to US$430 million earned from outbound investments, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Do Nhat Hoang, head of the ministry’s Foreign Investment Agency, said in Hanoi last week that such huge profits were mainly obtained from oil and gas exploitation, telecommunications and rubber farming.

“Some projects have gained initial success and remitted profits home,” Hoang said.

Viettel, PetroVietnam and Hoang Anh Gia Lai are the three main groups dominating these sectors.

According to the ministry, 712 local projects had remained valid in 60 countries and territories by late last year, with total registered capital of US$12.4 billion and total realized capital estimated to reach some US$3.8 billion.

Last year, there were 75 new outbound projects licensed in 28 nations and having total registered capital of US$1.3 billion. Among these projects, the realized capital amounted to around US$1.2 billion, up 28% from 2011.

Vietnam’s overseas investments have tended to increase in areas under Vietnam’s investment orientation such as Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar. However, some important projects in Laos and Cambodia are moving slowly, according to Hoang.

Hoang said that the Government was considering issuing a directive on managing operations of Vietnamese enterprises in Laos and Cambodia.

It is estimated that total registered capital and disbursements of Vietnam’s outbound investments will be nearly US$1.5 billion and US$1 billion this year.

Vietnam’s outbound investments mainly belong to State-owned enterprises and are made in Laos with 222 projects (US$4.2 billion), Cambodia with 104 projects (US$2.4 billion), the U.S. 100 projects (US$313 million) and Singapore 47 projects (US$613 million).

Meanwhile, total registered capital of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Vietnam is estimated to reach US$13-14 billion this year, and realized capital of such projects will be around US$10.5-11 billion, equivalent to that of last year.

To improve the FDI capital attraction, Hoang said that Vietnam needed to increase the planning quality and efficiency, the management of foreign capital inflows and boost coordination between central and local management agencies in supporting foreign investments.

Besides, the agency should improve the investment attraction to focus on certain sectors, areas and partners, avoid scattered investment promotion, remove barriers for foreign investors in fields that Vietnam needs and restrict projects which are not encouraged.

There were 98 countries making investments in Vietnam until last December 15, with 14,489 valid projects and total registered capital of US$213.6 billion. Among these, Japan was the biggest investor and accounted for 13.6% of registered capital.

Source: SGT