According to the Foreign Investment Agency’s statistics, in the first seven months Vietnam attracted $12.94 billion in FDI, including $8.7 billion in newly-registered capital for 1,048 projects, and $4.25 billion in expanded capital for 660 projects, signifying a respective increase of 46.8 per cent in total capital, 25.7 per cent in newly-registered capital, and 126 per cent in expanded capital on-year.

 

In addition, the disbursed capital reached $8.55 billion, up 15.5 per cent on-year.

 

Numerous large enterprises poured finance to Vietnam to build new facilities as well as expand their foothold in the local market.

 

Notably, Korean Seoul Semiconductor Company (SSC) has been licensed to develop a $300 million semiconductor and LED lighting equipment manufacturing factory in Dong Van I industrial park, in the northern province of Ha Nam.

 

On July 15, representatives of the company and the Ha Nam People’s Committee signed an agreement to develop the project. The construction is expected to kick off in August and will be divided into two phases. The first phase will have the total capital of $147 million, while the remaining $153 million will be disbursed during the second phase.

 

At the same time, LG Innotek, an LG Group subsidiary, plans to develop a $200 million camera production factory in the northern port city of Haiphong’s Dinh Vu-Cat Hai economic zone. The project is expected to be licensed soon.

 

Although LG Innotek will work on a smaller scale than SSC, it is LG’s third investment in Vietnam, following a $1.5 billion hi-tech screen (OLED) production factory and a $1.5 billion electronic goods production factory.

 

LG’s consecutive investments in Vietnam show that the group is relocating its production base to Vietnam as it previously committed.

 

Furthermore, numerous small and medium-sized Korean enterprises are planning to expand their operation into the Vietnamese market.

 

Following their Korean competitors, Japanese enterprises have also set foot in Vietnam. Notably, Japanese Daikin Industries will invest $93.6 million to build an air conditioner manufacturing plant in Hanoi, as part of its plans to capitalise on the Southeast Asian nation’s potential for rapid growth.

 

The plant will be located in an industrial park in the outskirts of Hanoi and is expected to start operation in 2018, with an annual capacity of 500,000 units. The figure may increase to one million by 2020, depending on the local demand.