The Ministry of Planning and Investment has been carrying out its task as the foremost economic advisor and key policymaker of Vietnam with potent support from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Outward investments, which fell for a short time because of Covid-19, resumed again after the social distancing policy ended.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) on Wednesday virtually signed a US$42 million agreement to advance Vietnam’s economic competitiveness.

State management agencies are at a loss in finding suitable capital for improving the runways at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat international airports.

Saying that ‘the sun is still shining above the Vietnamese sky’, the World Bank has also noted that the country should not ignore risks that could occur during bad times.

In 2019, foreign direct investment attraction was a bright spot of Vietnam’s economic picture. It is expected to continue being one of the vital drivers of the country’s growth this year and beyond.

The number of businesses established in 2019 increased by 5.2 percent, but the number leaving the market rose more sharply, by 20.2 percent, compared with 2018.

Delay in paying government debts was due to the lack of seriousness of related government agencies in following the instruction of the prime minister.

Vietnam offers big incentives to foreign investors to attract investments, but the benefits from FDI have been modest, experts say.

The best factories and companies from the US and Japan do not move to Vietnam, but to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

If Vietnam doesn’t have a reasonable policy on using capital from FDI, it will have to pay a heavy price for it, experts say.

Experts warn that if state-owned enterprises (SOEs) make outward investments, the state would lose capital.

Despite relatively high leasing fees, ready-made workshops are still being chosen by foreign investors, especially those from Japan and South Korea.

Chinese investment capital in the first four months of 2019 alone amounted to 70 percent of the investment capital in the entire year 2018.

Of seven large projects registered in the first five months of 2019, five belonged to Chinese investors.

The main reason for amending the Public Investment Law is ‘difficulty in the implementation’. Is this true?

Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue asked MOF to set up a mechanism to control the enterprises.

Some economists warn that the higher investment capital for national important projects may make it more difficult to manage public projects and lend a hand to unnecessary use of state funds.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) says it will change the current policy on attracting and using FDI and begin to offer investment incentives more selectively.