Vietnam Prime Minister requests efforts to attract large-scale, high-tech FDI projects

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Thursday requested greater efforts be made by the country to attract large-scale, high-tech FDI projects, especially in the processing, manufacturing, electronics, semiconductors and hydrogen sectors.

This must start in February and carry on across 2024, he ordered.

Chairing a regular government meeting, the PM asked ministries, agencies and localities to forge growth engines, focus on unleashing and disbursing social investment sources, and facilitate the implementation of investment projects.

They were also required to boost exports, especially of agro-forestry-aquatic products, to major and promising markets, accelerate the negotiations and signing of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement between Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and complete free trade agreements with India, Brazil, and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur - Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay).

"It is necessary to better tap the Halal industry to promote potential new export markets," he noted.

PM Chinh also laid special emphasis on promoting new growth drivers; attracting investment in digital transformation and green transition; luring preferential green finance to develop renewable energy and new energy such as hydrogen; and building regional and international financial centers in Vietnam.

The leader stressed the need to speed up public investment disbursement and the implementation of the three national target programs on new-style rural area building, sustainable poverty reduction and socio-economic development in ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas, while pushing ahead with the ratification of planning schemes.

“We must ensure public investment disbursement is one of the key political tasks in 2024, and take new approaches to the national target programs,” he said.

It is necessary to promptly remove difficulties and problems in the supply of construction materials, site clearance and conversion of forest land use purposes to speed up the progress of key and important national projects, expressways, and inter-regional and coastal roads, Chinh added.

Ministries, agencies and localities must focus on removing difficulties for production and business; unleashing, mobilizing and effectively using resources; drastically implementing solutions on taxes, fees, trade and investment; streamlining administrative procedures; improving the business environment; and raising competitiveness, he stressed.

"We must strongly promote agricultural production, especially food; develop the agricultural processing industry and quality agricultural products with high added value; boost agricultural exports while ensuring national food security; and effectively implement a program on developing 1 million hectares of high-quality, low-emission rice," he stated.

The PM called for greater efforts to have the European Commission’s (EC) “yellow card” on Vietnamese seafood lifted.

Regarding services and tourism, he stressed the need to strongly develop service industries with potential and advantages such as transportation, logistics, education, healthcare and banking; take specific solutions to reduce transportation and logistics costs; increase tourist attraction; improve service quality; and promote tourism in key markets.

According to a report presented at the meeting, Vietnam continued to enjoy a positive socio-economic recovery in January with many remarkable results in all fields. In particular, the macro-economy was stable, inflation controlled, and major balances guaranteed, with the consumer price index (CPI) up 3.37% year-on-year, and exports up 37.7% to nearly $64.22 billion with a trade surplus of $2.92 billion.

The index of industrial production (IIP) in January rose by 18.3% over the same period last year, while total retail sales of consumer goods and services grew by 8.1% year-on-year.

The total registered FDI capital reached $2.36 billion, a year-on-year rise of 40.2%, with $1.48 billion disbursed, up 9.6%.

The country welcomed over 1.5 million international visitors in the month, an increase of 73.6% from the same period last year.