Investment

Vietnam’s overseas investment increased by over 38 per cent in November. But a reduction of nearly $1.2 billion in investment in oil and gas exploration and development and production in Russia by PetroVietnam in December resulted in a decline of nearly $370 million for the year as a whole. The country currently has 1,448 investment projects overseas, with total capital of nearly $21 billion.

Australia has among the world’s largest outward investment, ranking it 15th globally in 2020. But its investment in Vietnam remains quite modest, with 545 projects and total capital of $1.94 billion, accounting for only 0.5 per cent of foreign capital in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has approved the task of planning to preserve and promote Ba Be Lake and the Cho Don Safety special national relic site on a total of nearly 27,000 ha in northern Bac Kan province.

A traffic project connecting the three northern mountainous provinces of Lai Chau, Lao Cai, and Yen Bai with the Hanoi - Lao Cai Highway has gotten underway, with total investment of more than VND5 trillion ($235 million), of which over $187 million is loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), nearly $4.5 million is grants from the Australian Government, and over $43 million is counterpart funding from the Vietnamese Government. The project will be completed in 2024.

Considering transport infrastructure connecting the central urban area with suburban areas and satellite cities as being one of three breakthroughs, Hanoi plans to start construction of three urban railway lines in the 2021-2025 period in addition to prioritizing ring roads.

The Vinh Phuc ICD Logistics Center, construction of which began on December 24, will be the first “superport” within a smart logistics network in the ASEAN region, on an area of 83 ha and with total investment of VND3.9 trillion ($170.7 million). The port will function as a Distribution Center (DC) and Inland Container Depot (ICD).