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Summary

14 COVER STORY 18 COVER STORY
Significant foreign investment
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION going to manufacturing

IN 2M 2024 UP 5.7% and processing

F igures from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam
(GSO) show that industrial production in February
was estimated to have fallen by 18 per cent
compared to January and by 6.8 per cent compared to
February 2023 due to the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.
However, with a high 18.3 per cent increase posted in ith a series of projects with large investment capital
January, the production index for the entire industrial W being granted investment licenses in February,
sector increased 5.7 per cent in the first two months over registered foreign investment in Vietnam in the first
the same period last year. two months of the year increased sharply. While a highlight
in January was a huge project in the field of construction and
real estate investment, February 2024 saw the appearance of
a series of projects in manufacturing and processing. It is no
16 COVER STORY surprise that manufacturing and processing continue to
attract the most foreign investment, as Vietnam is evaluated
Exports expected as an economy with great growth potential and its position
in the global value chain is on the rise. Facing a wave of
to grow rapidly investment in manufacturing and processing, especially in
the high technology and semiconductor industry, many
localities are focusing on priority policies to attract
A ccording to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam investment into the field.
(GSO), export turnover of goods in the opening two
months of the year is estimated at $59.34 billion, up
19.2 per cent over the same period last year. Import turnover
of goods, meanwhile, is estimated at $54.62 billion, up 18 per 6 ECONOMY - POLICY
cent over the same period last year. Although the proportion
of turnover and exports from domestic enterprises remain
much lower than those of foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs), BUSINESSES EXPECT FURTHER
their growth rate is higher. This is a remarkable bright spot, IMPROVEMENTS IN THE BUSINESS
showing that the “internal strength” of Vietnam’s business
sector is indeed improving. Import-export activities, especially ENVIRONMENT
Vietnam’s exports, in the first two months continued to
achieve positive results. This can be viewed as a favorable
beginning to 2024, bringing expectations that exports for the
year as a whole will see “breakthroughs”.

2 023 was a year in which the business community faced
more difficulties than in previous years, according to
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy
Dong. The number of newly-established enterprises, the
number of those returning to operations, total registered
capital, and workforce were all down compared to 2022, while
the number of businesses withdrawing from the market was
much higher. These trends have continued in the opening
months of 2024. Efforts to reform the business environment
must therefore be accelerated and implemented more
substantively to strengthen trust and provide motivation for
businesses. Meanwhile, businesses expect that the
implementation of Resolution No. 02 will fundamentally
remove barriers and institutional shortcomings this year that
affect the development of businesses.

4 KINH TẾ VIỆT NAM | Số 10 | Ngày 4/3/2024 www.vneconomy.vn