Projects seeking foreign investment must provide more information

The construction of the Samsung R&D Centre in Hà Nội. — Photo vov.vn

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is seeking to increase foreign investment into Vietnamese projects in the 2021-25 period. To do so, the ministry recognises that more information is required when proposing projects in the future.

Going forward, localities and local ministries that submit projects for investment must include the project name, expected scale including land area, and investment capital, as well as a full profile on the project objectives, project status, investment type, and investment scale.

The form to submit a project for investment will also include other important criteria, such as the demand for electricity and water; investment costs; and the estimated time of project implementation.

There must also be a local information overview, including variables, advantages, economic development situation, transport infrastructure, labour resources, and more specific information such as preferential policies, market analysis, investment procedures, and project implementation.

If the proposed project meets the criteria of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the project will be opened to foreign investors. The aim is that, for the first time, Việt Nam will have a portfolio of national projects calling for foreign investment in promotion.

When the Draft List was submitted to the Government in February, Nguyễn Đình Nam, Director of Việt Nam Investment Promotion and Associates Corporation spoke with a reporter from Đầu Tư (Investment) newspaper. Nam said that although the development of the list was necessary and important, in reality, it did not help much for investment promotion.

Previously, projects that called for foreign investment only had project names. Projects on the list usually lacked too much information, he explained.

To attract investment effectively, each project needs to be accompanied by detailed documents and approved by competent authorities, with enough information for investors to refer to before making investment decisions, said Nam.

When explaining previous failures the Ministry of Planning and Investment admitted that there were problems related to specific information on each project.

The new list will overcome the shortcomings of the previous as much as possible, the Ministry of Planning and Investment emphasised.

The development of private profiles for each project is underway. If this is done well, it is expected to make a fundamental difference in investment promotion through the national project list. — VNS