Jan-Feb foreign direct investment rises 15 percent

New investment pledges have more than doubled to $2.8 billion over the period, government statistics show.

Singapore had the largest investments in Vietnam in the January-February period with a new pledge valued at $435 million, followed by Malaysia and South Korea. Most of the investment funds went into the manufacturing and processing industries, according to the official figures.

“Foreign direct investment pledges and disbursements in the first two months of the year have increased significantly. This proves the investment environment has improved, boosting the confidence of foreign investors," the government’s online newspaper quoted a ministerial official as saying.

Vietnam expects foreign direct investments to increase significantly as investors seek to benefit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact. Vietnam is forecast to be one of the biggest winners among the 12 countries signing the pact, according to the World Bank

However, the TPP could not boost Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) or fuel its economic growth if the country lacked the determination to make institutional reforms and create a more favorable business environment, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told the meeting.

The TPP could add a cumulative eight percent to Vietnam’s gross domestic product and boost exports by 17 percent over the next 20 years, the World Bank said in the report titled Vietnam 2035: Towards Prosperity, Creativity, Equity, and Democracy.