VietNamNet Bridge – With investments of 3.6 billion USD in the first 10 months of the year, the Republic of Korea (RoK) has become the top foreign investor in Vietnam this year.

A memorandum of understanding for a 1,200MW thermal power plant in the central province of Ha Tinh signed between Samsung C&T, a subsidiary of Samsung Group, and the General Department of Energy a few weeks ago marked a significant jump in Korean investment.

The Vung Ang Thermal Power Plant No 3 will be just one of several investments by Samsung C&T in the country.

In a joint communique released after a visit by Korean President Park Geun-hye to Vietnam last year, the two governments affirmed cooperation and support for Korean firms investing in infrastructure in the energy sector – like a fuel depot in Dung Quat, a thermal power plant in the south, and an MoU between the Thanh Hoa People's Committee and Korean energy company KEPCO to speed up work on the Nghi Son Thermal Power Plant No 2.

KEPCO was the first to enter the energy sector in Vietnam when it joined hands with Japanese company Marubeni to build the 1,200MW Nghi Son plant. It was followed by Samsung.

In August KEPCO also sought investment opportunities in the Song Hau No 3 thermal project in the Mekong province of Hau Giang.

Korea's Lotte Group has shown interest in building the Quynh Lap No 2 thermal plant in Nghe An Province.

If all these fructify, Korean investors will be pouring billions of dollars into Vietnam's energy sector.

Singapore ranked second with investments of 2.6 billion USD, followed by Hong Kong (China) and Japan.

According to figures from the Foreign Investment Department, FDI as of October 20 was worth 13.7 billion USD, nearly 29 percent down from the same period last year.

But actual disbursement, as opposed to commitment, amounted to 10.15 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 5.9 percent, Do Nhat Hoang, head of the department, said in Hanoi last week.

"That is the ‘real' investments in the country," he said.

VNA/VNN