A view of DEEP C Industrial Zone in the northern port city of Hai Phong. The country drew US$6 billion of FDI into IZs in the first half of the year. — Photo congthuong.vn

The ministry said Viet Nam attracted 335 FDI projects in the period. The country has welcomed a total of 9,835 with registered capital of $197.8 billion so far. The disbursement capital at IPs and EZs reached 72.3 per cent of the total.

Meanwhile, IPs and EZs have received VND62.7 trillion in terms of newly-registered capital and additional capital poured into 282 projects by Vietnamese investors during the six-month period, said the MPI. Overall, domestic investors have committed VND2.3 quadrillion to IPs and EZs, of which 46.3 per cent of the amount has been disbursed.

The ministry said by the end of June 2020, the country has 336 IPs with total area of some 97,800 ha, of which 261 are operational, while 75 are in the process of site clearance and construction. The occupancy rate reached 76 per cent at operating IPs.

The country has 17 coastal economic zones covering a combined area of approximately 845,000 ha on land and water surface.

Le Dang Doanh, former director of the Central Insitute for Economic Management (CIEM), said the approval of the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) has been an advantage for Viet Nam in attracting FDI.

Doanh said Viet Nam should consider some issues when appealing for FDI from the EU. Viet Nam 's advantage of attracting FDI comes from the early conclusion of the EVFTA. However, this advantage only exists in the short term because the orientation of both ASEAN and the EU would create a regional FTA between the two blocs.

Nguyen Thuong Lang from the School of Trade and International Economics said when the EVFTA takes effect, not only trade but the flow of investment capital from the EU to Viet Nam would also increase significantly.

Attractive fields for EU businesses to invest in Viet Nam are clean industries, processing industry, manufacturing and high technologies. In addition, partners from other countries could also choose Viet Nam as an investment location for export to EU to take advantage of the agreement.

Dinh Trong Thinh, a senior specialist from the Academy of Finance, said COVID-19 exposed the dependency on markets, disrupting supply chains around the world, including Viet Nam.

With good prevention and control of the pandemic, Viet Nam is scoring strong points with foreign investors. They see the consensus of the people and the Government in the battle against COVID-19. At the same time, investors see that the country has a stable economy, politics and culture as well as FTAs with many large markets. Therefore, many would choose Viet Nam as an investment destination over other countries, he said.

However, it is because of the above advantages that some could commit origin fraud. — VNS