Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment to issue a list of fields and localities which should receive preferential investment.

It is a positive move by the government in the context of Vietnam ’s registered FDI in the first seven months of this year hitting only 8.03 billion USD, down to 66.9 percent against the same period last year.

Investors hoped that the government’s document along with other solutions will cement their belief to invest in Vietnam for the longer term.

Prof. Nguyen Mai, the Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, held that despite the downturn of the global economy, Vietnam has still taken advantage by starting negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement with the EU and improving the partnership with the US , thus attracting more FDI from the world’s leading economies.

According to the assessment of the Planning and Investment Ministry, although FDI in Vietnam has seen a decrease, recent data analyses still proved positive.

For example, the disbursement of the FDI in the first seven months of this year reached 6.25 billion USD, accounting for 99.2 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. This real flow of FDI capital around Vietnam has had a positive impact on the country’s budget and socio-economic development.

Additional registered FDI capital from FDI enterprises in Vietnam in July was up to 1.2 billion USD, representing 42 percent of the total additional capital in the first seven months of the year, and is another good signal.

Regarding export-import data of enterprises getting FDI, exports reached 39 billion USD in the first seven months, up 36.6 percent against the same period, accounting for 62 percent of the nation’s export turnover.

The annual report ‘Asian Economic Integration Monitor’ (AEIM) released by the Asia Development Bank (ADB) in late July forecast a huge FDI capital inflow into Vietnam and some other ASEAN countries.-VNA