Electronic components produced at Korean invested company Optrontec Vina in Vĩnh Phúc Province. The Ministry of Planning and Investment has proposed a super-speedy and streamlined investment procedure for high-tech projects in an effort to create a competitive advantage for attracting foreign investment. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thảo
The Ministry of Planning and Investment has proposed a super-speedy and streamlined investment procedure for high-tech projects in an effort to create a competitive advantage for attracting the global investment flows.
It could see investments being given the go ahead after just a little over two weeks, without the need for some additional paperwork.
Under the recent draft amendments to the laws on planning, investment, public-private partnership investment and bidding, investors after submitting documents to the management boards of industrial, processing and exporting, high-tech and economic zones, will get investment registration certificates after just 15 days.
Projects registered under this special investment procedure will not have to obtain other licences and permits related to construction, environmental protection, technology transfer and fire prevention and fighting, in order to shorten licensing time.
The proposal is raised in the context Việt Nam is having a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attract investments, urging the offering of outstanding competitiveness against other countries.
Technology giants around the world are showing significant interest in expanding investments in Việt Nam.
Those include Apple, Meta, Super Micro, Blackstone and Warbug Pincus, who during a recent meeting with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam Central Committee and State President Tô Lâm during his trip to the US, were positive about the potential of Việt Nam.
During the official visit of Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính to the Republic of Korea in July, several leading corporations announced plans for expansion in Việt Nam, including LG with $3 billion investment in the next three years, Samsung with a plan to make Việt Nam the group’s largest module production base in the world and Hyosung with $300 million investment in a data centre in HCM City.
However Việt Nam is not the only country that aims to attract these capital flows. There is fierce competition to attract investment in trending fields as neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have introduced and applied appealing support policies to attract large investments.
In Việt Nam, some big corporations have come to study investment opportunities, but have not chosen the country as a destination for their investments while some are watching for Việt Nam’s policy responses.
Applying existing investment procedures might undermine opportunities in attracting strategic investors in areas prioritised for attracting investments, the ministry said, adding that administrative procedures have been identified to be one among major problems of Việt Nam’s investment environment.
The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Việt Nam at the Việt Nam Business Forum early this year cited a 2023 survey of Japan External Trade Organisation that complicated administrative procedures such as licences are listed as the biggest risk to Việt Nam’s investment environment for Japanese companies, urging more effort for further administrative procedural reform.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Việt Nam also said that foreign investors face delays in approval procedures and time-consuming administrative burdens, which hinder or stall their projects and impact Việt Nam’s competitiveness.
Make a change
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment it normally takes from 250-350 days or even longer in some cases to complete the procedures on land, construction, environment, technology transfer, fire prevention and fighting according to the current regulations.
Thus, adding special investment procedures to shorten the licensing time will help improve the competitiveness in attracting investments in prioritised sectors.
With the special investment procedure, investors will not have to obtain licences or permits such as construction, environmental protection and fire prevention and fighting.
"This is because special investment procedures will be applied for investment projects in industrial and economic zones where there is available land, wastewater treatment system and fire prevention and fighting system," Vũ Thị Châu Quỳnh, Deputy Director of the Legal Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said.
Lawyer, Phạm Thanh Tuấn, said that many projects must spend even years to obtain all necessary licences and permits.
The proposal for special investment procedure is a new approach which will fundamentally change the State management on investment, according to Tuấn. The special investment procedure will help improve the attractiveness of the Việt Nam’s investment environment to strategic investors.
However, the golden opportunity does not last forever, requiring strong determination and immediate actions from relevant authorities to lay the red carpet for strategic investors, especially in the context that Việt Nam is striving to attract investments to promote the development of the semiconductor industry.
Trần Đắc Trung, Deputy Head of the Management Board of Hoà Lạc High-tech Park, said administrative reform was critical to attract strategic investors.
Streamlining administrative procedures to improve the investment environment would be one among three focuses to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), the PM said at the 5th HCM City Economic Forum on Wednesday.
"Besides, improving the infrastructure system and human resources to meet the demands of emerging industries such as semiconductor, hydrogen, artificial intelligence and cloud computing are vital," the PM said.
Việt Nam expects to attract US$30-40 billion in FDI in 2024.
Statistics of the Foreign Investment Agency showed that as of August 31, more than $20.52 billion was registered to be poured into Việt Nam.
Việt Nam has issued a strategy for developing the semiconductor industry to 2030 with a vision to 2024 which set the target to attract foreign investment into the sector to make it a $100 billion industry by 2050. — VNS