Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung has asked localities to bring their advantages into full play to welcome a wave of shifting FDI over the next six months.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung at the event 

He made the statement during a government-to-locality online conference in Hanoi on July 2.

The Minister briefed attendees on the economic situation in the first half of this year, saying that total social investment reached VND850 trillion (US$36.92 billion), up 3.4% against the same period last year and equal to 33% of the country’s GDP.

As of June 20, Vietnam had raked in US$15.67 billion in foreign investment, down 15.1% year-on-year, while industrial production expanded 2.71%.

The country posted growth of 1.81% in the first half, Dung continued, its lowest result in decades but a truly remarkable figure given the situation. Vietnam is one of only a few countries posting GDP growth.

As many short-term and long-term challenges remain, Dung urged ministries and localities to focus on economic recovery in a spirit of “fighting against economic recession is like fighting the enemy”, similar to the fighting COVID-19 motto initiated by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

He also asked them to foster innovation, apply regional and global standards and rules in economic management, seek new growth engines, and accelerate economic restructuring and recovery towards the development of a more independent and sustainable economy.

He also urged the review of all conditions regarding land, infrastructure, and human resources, to prepare for the shift in FDI to the country. Greater attention should be paid to environmentally-friendly projects funded by high-tech and multinational conglomerates, he said.