Foreign direct investment inflows into Vietnam’s textile and garment industry mounted to 19.5 billion USD over the last three decades with the Republic of Korea (RoK) being the top investor.

Korean investors have injected roughly 4.8 billion USD to 464 projects in the sector. It is followed by Taiwan with nearly 3 billion and 132 projects, Hong Kong (2.4 billion USD, 147 projects), China (2.1 billion USD, 197 projects), and British Virgin Islands (1.6 billion USD, 70 projects).

Major garment-textile producers from the RoK, Taiwan, Japan and other countries and territories have helped the domestic industry join in global supply chains and expand foreign markets, particularly the US and the EU, said Vu Duc Giang, Chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS).

FDI firms have played an important part in boosting the sector’s production capacity and exports. Last year, Vietnam’s garment-textile exports grew by 16.1 percent from a year earlier to over 36 billion USD, 65 percent of which came from FDI companies.

The signing of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and Vietnam’s free trade agreements with the EU and Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which promise to cut taxes and further open market access to members, is exptected to pave the way for more FDI to land in the industry.

FDI should be prioritised in material producing projects to make Vietnam less dependent on imports.