Foreign investors have reinforced their large-scale investments in Vietnam

In late April, Thanh Hoa People's Committee gave in-principle approval for the $115.8 million Thang Long Thanh Hoa Industrial Park (IP) for Sumitomo Corporation.

Kenta Kawanabe, general director of Thang Long Industrial Park (Vinh Phuc) Corporation, had a meeting with leaders of the People’s Committee to discuss the detailed implementation plan.

The project will cover 167 hectares with an investment of about $115.8 million, of which Sumitomo will contribute 15 per cent.

The province has set out a plan to complete land clearance for phase 1 to hand over to the investor in September to kick off construction. The province has asked Sumitomo to put the IP into operation within no more than 36 months from the date of the land lease agreement.

The Japanese group already operates three IPs in Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, and Hung Yen.

The corporation is also working with authorities to look for land for its next expansions.

In the past two months, leaders of Sumitomo have met leaders of Vinh Phuc People’s Committee to present plans to build a second IP in this province.

Sumitomo is a prominent foreign-invested enterprise in Vietnam, having invested in residential real estate, urban railways, IPs, thermal power plants, and logistics.

“The eagerness of foreign investors to develop IPs shows their trust that Vietnam is still a prominent investment destination. In addition, this eagerness is also an answer to the recent increase in foreign-invested capital in the country, especially records in disbursement,” said Yoshihiro Wake, an expert from Abeam Consulting Vietnam.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), foreign investment registered in Vietnam hit $13.82 billion in the first four months, marking a yearly rise of 40 per cent. Investment disbursement was estimated at $6.74 billion, up 7.3 per cent on-year. This also marks the highest figure for the first four months in the past five years.

“In April, the US countervailing tax policy caught most countries off guard, immediately impacting global business sentiment, investors, economic growth, and world trade. However, Vietnam proactively prepared early, enhancing diverse, flexible, and effective exchanges and engagements at all levels and channels, particularly the phone call between Party General Secretary To Lam and President Donald Trump. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also chaired 11 meetings on negotiation strategies with the US. As a result, Vietnam was among six countries prioritised by the US for negotiations out of over 100 economies. This has strengthened the confidence of the business and investor community in our responsive policies,” Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang said on May 6.

“Global corporations continue to trust and increase investments in Vietnam,” he noted, citing numerous major US and EU companies investing anew, expanding, or building supply chains in Vietnam. This underscores Vietnam’s critical role in global supply chains,” said Thang.

In reality, foreign investors have offered to develop a series of large-scale projects. Once these units are approved, billions of dollars will pour into the country.

The US tech giant Qualcomm has plans to build its third-largest research and development (R&D) centre in Vietnam, specialising in AI.

“The group has explored the opportunities and wants to build an AI technology R&D centre in the country. It will be the company's third largest centre of such kind, after the ones in India and Ireland,” Jilei Hou, senior vice president of engineering at Qualcomm Technologies, said at a meeting with Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung in Hanoi in mid-April.

On April 1, Vingroup, a leading Vietnamese conglomerate, announced that it had sold its 65 per cent stake in AI company MovianAI to Qualcomm, but the transfer price was not disclosed. On the same day, Qualcomm announced the acquisition on its website.

“MovianAI brings together the best AI scientists and researchers in the world and possesses a very high-quality research lab. Through the acquisition of MovianAI, Qualcomm demonstrates its strong commitment to contributing to AI R&D as well as nurturing AI talent in Vietnam,” said Jilei Hou.

In Vietnam, Qualcomm currently has representative offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The company established its first R&D centre in Southeast Asia in 2020, located in Hanoi.

SK Group is eyeing to develop an LNG-fired power plant in Ninh Thuan province, home to Vietnam's future nuclear power plants, following its similar proposals in Nghe An and Thanh Hoa, all in central Vietnam.

In Ninh Thuan, SK Group has proposed building a 1.5GW LNG power plant and a 240,000-cubic metre LNG storage facility in Ca Na commune, Thuan Nam district, with a total investment of $2.35 billion.

It is expected that the government will approve the project in September 2025, and the LNG storage facility and the LNG power plant are scheduled to be put into operation by 2030.

SK is also interested in bidding for the $2.1 billion Quynh Lap LNG-fueled power project in Hoang Mai township, and an LNG power plant in Thanh Hoa.