Knauf Vietnam, a Germany company, on July 16 started the construction of its first plant in the northern port city of Hai Phong. —  Photo baodautu.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — As of August 31, Germany has pumped US$1.34 billion into 236 projects in Viet Nam, the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency has reported.

 

The investment by Germany is the 22nd highest among 101 nations and territories that are investing in Viet Nam.

Among Vietnamese localities, HCM City was the most attractive destination for German businesses. They invested more than $234 million in 93 projects in the city.

It was followed by the southern provinces of Ninh Thuan and Dong Nai with two projects at $156.7 million and seven projects at $145.6 million, respectively.

The German investment came to a wide range of sectors including manufacturing, production, water, electric and gas distribution, retail and wholesale, agro-forestry and fisheries, wastewater treatment, finance and banking, insurance and science and technology.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese businesses have to date invested $92 million in 17 projects in Germany. They are investing in fields such as finance and banking, real estate, IT and trade.

A recent survey of the German ASEAN Chamber Network showed that German businesses were positive on Viet Nam's economic outlook and have high expectations for the next year in terms of sales, production, human resource demand and capital expenditure.

Seventy per cent of the German companies in the country confirmed positive market development over the past year and a good current situation leading to a more positive outlook than in 2013 on the overall economy, capital expenditure, and private and business consumption.

Around 50 per cent of the firms have performed better compared to last year and expect to continue this strong run, especially in sales where 56 per cent of the respondents forecast an increase over the next 12 months. — VNS