Vietnam to Disburse US$7 Bln FDI This Year

Vietnam will speed up the disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects this year, aiming to curb high inflation, said an official from the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

 

“The MPI will ask local authorities to review the implementation of FDI projects in April and May for classification and will work with foreign investors to remove remaining hurdles for their projects from this June”, Phan Huu Thang, Head of the MPI’s Foreign Investment Agency said.

 

Thang said that the classification is aimed to prioritize key projects and deal with difficulties for tardy projects.

 

He attributed the slow FDI disbursement to stagnant site clearance and land compensation, difficulties in administrative procedures as well as local authorities’ lack of determination in solving complicated cases.

 

The MPI hopes to increase total disbursed capital to US$10 billion in 2008, including US$7 billion from foreign investors, compared to US$8 billion in 2007, Thang said.

 

According to the official, Vietnam is estimated to have attracted US$4.8 billion in FDI in the first three months of this year. Foreign investors are said to have disbursed US$1.6 billion during the time, up 20 per cent on-year. (Investment)