Vietnam on strong track to recovery, may return to 6% growth: HSBC

As foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows keep adding to country’s production capacity, its manufacturing sector is witnessing a rebound, leading to more export opportunities.

Both total and fresh FDI reached close to their respective historical highs last year, particularly with greenfield FDI jumping to a four-year-high of 5 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Fresh manufacturing FDI soared to a new peak of more than $15 billion, 80 per cent of which is concentrated in manufacturing. This puts Vietnam in a leading position in the Association of South east Asian Nations (ASEAN), behind Malaysia, a government news portal reported citing the HSBC document.

Though Japan and South Korea have been big investors in Vietnam traditionally, China has been fast expanding its footprint in the country.

For the first time last year, China beat its two neighbors to become the largest FDI investor, the HSBC report noted.

Vietnam attracted nearly $36.61 billion worth foreign investment last year, up by 32.1 per cent year on year, the Foreign Investment Agency said.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)