Many foreign direct investment companies are upbeat about their business prospects in Vietnam, especially in the first quarter of 2020.

Workers are seen at an FDI firm. Many FDI companies are upbeat about
their business prospects in Vietnam, especially in the first quarter of 2020
- PHOTO: KY ANH 

The General Statistics Office’s report showed that foreign invested companies were more confident about their business prospects in the coming months as 88.6% of them have forecast their trading and manufacturing activities will improve or stabilize compared with the previous three months.

The percentages for State-owned enterprises and private owned ones were 81.1% and 83.7%, respectively.

Released last week, the survey on the business outlook for the processing and manufacturing industries showed that 46.7% of firms queried had positive operations in 2019; 17% of those surveyed had difficulties in their operations, while 36.3% of them thought their business operations were stable.

The report also highlighted questions related to the business outlook in the coming quarter compared with the fourth quarter of this year.

Some 48.1% of observed firms expected improvements in the coming months, 15.1% of enterprises forecast more difficulties and 36.8% of companies thought their business operations would be unchanged.

Vietnam is considered an attractive investment destination with an abundant labor force and relatively low labor costs compared with other countries in the region.

The political system is stable and the economic growth rate is among the highest in the world. Meanwhile, the U.S.-China trade dispute has made Vietnam a bright spot, attracting foreign capital.

The report also showed that the total foreign investment in Vietnam as of December 20, including newly registered capital, adjusted registered capital and capital contribution and the share purchases of foreign investors, reached US$38 billion, a 7,2% increase compared with the same period last year.

This year also saw a significant foreign investment expansion through share purchases, with total value reaching US$15.5 billion, up 56.4% compared with 2018. Disbursed foreign investment in 2019 was estimated at US$20.4 billion, up 6.7% from the previous year.