Vietnam is expected to see a new foreign direct investment (FDI) wave as more foreign companies plan to move investment into the country.

The US-China trade has triggered the trend of shifting production lines from China to Southeast Asia and other markets, including Vietnam which was seen as a promising destination.

Meanwhile, many countries are fighting against the Covid-19 pandemic while Vietnam has basically controlled the disease, while maintaining its economic growth momentum.

Pegatron, Amazon and Home Depot have started recruiting and seeking to open new supply chains with Vietnam being among potential markets.

Other US giants like Google and Microsoft have announced their plans to relocate their production facilities of new phones, personal computers and some other devices from China to Southeast Asia with factories in Vietnam and Thailand expected to be the beneficiaries, the Nikkei Asian Review reported.

Microsoft is scheduled to start producing its Surface line, including notebook and desktop computers, in the northern region of Vietnam in the second quarter of this year at the earliest, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.

Since late February this year, Apple has announced recruitment notices in Vietnam for a number of positions in HCM City and Hanoi on its official website.

In a recent move, Taipei-listed Wistron Corporation, another manufacturing partner, also chose Vietnam as part of its USD1 billion expansion plan for this year and the next, along with India and Mexico, Bloomberg said.

GoerTek, one of Apple’s important manufacturing partners in China, which has two assembly plants in Que Vo Industrial Park in Bac Ninh Province revealed in March that it was preparing to establish a unit in Vietnam.

Dr Le Dang Doanh, former head of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said that it is essential to select hi-tech FDI projects for the high economic value and environmental protection.

Doanh suggested that Vietnam needs to boost administrative reform to lure investors. He cited a report by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry as saying that up to 54% of Vietnamese company admitted paying bribes for administrative procedures to be quickly completed.

The country needs to improve the infrastructure network which remained limited, while logistics fees, including road fees, are still quite high.

However, Vietnam has a young labour force which needs to master the skills suitable for new and ever-changing jobs. Dan Viet/Dtinews

Vietnam needs more efforts to lure new FDI wave

While other countries are setting up specific and clear priorities to attract FDI projects, Vietnam is still pursuing a strategy with multiple targets that could lead to missed opportunities.

Is Vietnam ready to receive new FDI wave after Covid-19?

Prof Nguyen Mai, an expert on FDI, and chair of the Vietnam Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises (VAFIE), pointed out three problems in the picture of FDI in Vietnam.