A corner of Biên Hoà 2 Industrial Zone, Đồng Nai Province. Criteria for appraising FDI projects will help provinces attract foreign investment. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

HÀ NỘI — Criteria for appraising Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects and for assessing their quality and effectiveness at the provincial level were announced at a conference jointly held by the Institute of International Investment Studies Company (ISC) and the Australian Embassy to Việt Nam on Thursday in Hà Nội.

Phan Hữu Thắng, Chairman of ISC, said these two sets of criteria will help provinces attract foreign investment.

The Vietnamese Government has issued numerous legal documents on FDI, so the criteria for selecting FDI projects are spread among several different legal documents, causing unexpected problems in the appraising process.

Meanwhile, existing reports on FDI mainly focus on attracting and using FDI as well as its contribution to the economy, whereas a complete set of criteria to evaluate FDI efficiently and uniformly at all levels, sectors and localities to ensure consistency is lacking, he said.

These two sets of criteria will help make it easier for provincial authorities to make decisions on FDI projects, and will also improve the investment climate, he said. In addition, these criteria can be a reference for foreign investors who are looking for investment opportunities or doing business in Việt Nam.

There are 10 criteria for appraising FDI projects and 36 criteria for assessing their quality and effectiveness.