According to the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), in addition to having a representative office in Cambodia , the bank has also cooperated with the Phuong Nam Company to set up the Cambodia Investment and Development Joint Stock Company with initial capital of 100 million USD. Meanwhile, the national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines, has joined Cambodian partners to set up the 100-million-USD Cambodia National Airlines.

The US, Australia, EU, Japan and Singapore have also been named as potential destinations for Vietnamese business investment. At present, several investment projects in real estate, agro-forestry-fishery processing and software production in these countries are awaiting approval from the Foreign Investment Agency.

In the first six months of this year, Vietnamese businesses invested over 1.5 billion USD abroad, raising the country’s total overseas investment since overseas investment activities commenced in 1988 to over 5.9 billion USD.

In Laos , a traditional market which draws considerable investment from Vietnamese enterprises, the scope of investment has expanded to tourism services along with two traditional fields--mining and afforestation. However, the size of Vietnam ’s investment projects is still small and the connection between Vietnamese businesses and the local market is limited.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, a plan to provide information on markets and locations that Vietnamese businesses are targeting, which is part of the government’s overall overseas investment promotion programme, has been urgently implemented. Regulations on Vietnamese businesses’ overseas investment have been revised in the direction of simplifying investment licensing procedures. The revisions are expected to be submitted to the government for approval later this year.

The list of priorities and regulations on remittance management relating to overseas investment activities has been amended in order to create a clear mechanism for Vietnamese enterprises to take advantage of low-cost investment opportunities during the crisis period.