Kenya youths employment opportunities project

The figure is twice that recorded at a similar event in 2018 and includes US$823 million in manufacturing, US$763 million in renewable energy, US$214 million in agriculture and US$200 million in commerce, services and industrial infrastructure.

According to Binh Phuoc Chairman Tran Tue Hien, the province currently has 13 industrial parks covering 4,686 hectares in total, with eight having completed their infrastructure and commenced operation.

In 2020 Binh Phuoc’s export revenue is expected to reach US$2.84 billion, up 7.33% from last year.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister spoke highly of the province’s efforts to improve the business environment and asked provincial leaders to seize on the opportunity to welcome large investors.

He suggested that the province should give priority to developing transport infrastructure, creating breakthroughs in administrative reform and making the local business climate friendly and attractive to investors.

The Deputy PM also asked investors to fulfil their commitments on disbursement, comply with environmental protection regulations and be socially responsible.

On the same day, Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh attended the inauguration ceremony of the CPV Food manufacturing complex at Becamex Binh Phuoc Industrial Park.

Lam’s introduction happened during the halftime break of a J1 League match between Osaka and Urawa Reds. He had earlier spent 14 days in quarantine.

Wearing the number 1 jersey, Lam was introduced alongside Australian forward Adam Taggart.

“Hello everyone, I’m Dang Van Lam, a goalkeeper from Vietnam. I’m really happy and excited to be here for the first time. I will train really hard to play well and contribute to the club,” Lam said.

Osaka is currently fourth on the table after 12 J1 League rounds. The club is slated to play in the AFC Champions League tournament. To get a regular spot in the team, the 28-year-old keeper will have to prove his worth and compete against other keepers in the team like South Korean Kim Jin-hyeon and Japanese Kenya Matsui.

Lam, who grew up in Russia and spent his youth at Spartak Moscow and Dynamo Moscow clubs, moved to Vietnam in 2011 to play for the Hoang Anh Gia Lai club. After unsuccessful spells in Laos and Russia, his career finally took off in 2015 after he joined Hai Phong FC.

He retained his excellent form for the next four years, got called up to the national team and has become its number one choice.

In 2019, he transferred to Muangthong United for $500,000 and put in 42 appearances for the Thai club.

He will be the fourth Vietnamese to play for a Japanese club, after Le Cong Vinh (Consadole Sapporo), Nguyen Tuan Anh (Yokohama FC) and Nguyen Cong Phuong (Mito Hollyhock). All three predecessors played for the J2 League, making Lam the first Vietnamese to play for a J1 League team.

Lam was in the news earlier this year when he decided to end his contract with Muangthong United and move to Osaka. Muangthong has reported him to FIFA for contract violation, but Lam’s agent said the player has every right to terminate the contract since the Thai club had cut his pay without telling him.

In the first six months of this year, the country attracted a number of major projects, pushing the average size of each FDI project from US$4.3 million in 2019 to nearly US$6 million in the first half of 2020.

However, there is no clear evidence of global FDI shifting from China to new investment destinations, including Vietnam. It takes 2-3 years to move a factory from one place to another following the careful consideration of all opportunities. Moreover, in the context of global investment activities having been almost paralysed due to Covid-19, the investment promotion activities of multinational corporations have also been interrupted, so investment decisions are very difficult to implement at this time. In addition, host countries have also made policies to keep existing foreign investors as well as increase tax and land incentives and reduce costs and procedures to attract new investors; therefore, Vietnam has to face many competitions. The country should have a proactive and appropriate investment attraction strategy to attract “some new eggs” in line with the principle of “not putting all your eggs in one basket”.

There are now three trends of global FDI inflow shifting: factory shifting, the transfer of parent company’s capital and order shifting. According to economic experts, the movement of factories is very difficult, because companies around the world are struggling due to the pandemic. Therefore, an immediate opportunity that Vietnam can seize is the shifting of orders from the corporations which are operating their production in Vietnam. This trend can happen soon and rapidly, so Vietnamese enterprises should prepare all relevant conditions to receive and gradually master the technology needed.

Opportunities always come with challenges. In the long term, Vietnam should promote oriented investment to important investors. The attraction of FDI capital at the expected levels in terms of both quantity and quality depends largely on the preparedness of Vietnam. In particular, the most important solution is to improve the capacity of departments and agencies in the localities as well as management boards in order to give advice on how to select investors and projects in line with the new orientation contained in Politburo’s Resolutin No.50-NQ/TW on orientations to perfect institutions and policies and to improve the quality and effectiveness of foreign investment cooperation towards 2030.

It is also crucial to review conditions related to land, infrastructure and human resources to be ready to receive shifted investment capital flows. Vietnam should focus on multinational, hi-tech and environmentally friendly corporations.

By Anh Duc

Top exports

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in the first two months of 2021, the export value of nine groups of products exceeded US$1 billion each, accounting for 73.8 percent of Vietnam’s total export value. Of these, the export value of phones and components reached US$9.3 billion, accounting for 19.2 percent of the total, a year-on-year increase of 22.8 percent.

Computers, electronic and optical products also significantly contributed to export growth. In the first two months of 2021, the production index of these products grew 21.2 percent compared with the same period last year. The manufacturing of communication devices, mostly phones and components, grew 22.9 percent. Specifically, 35 million mobile phones were manufactured, up 1.2 percent; phone component production reached VND95.4 trillion, up 55.7 percent. Major export markets of these products include the EU, the US, and China. Exports to China in the first two months of this year reached nearly US$2.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 103.9 percent.

In 2010, phones and components accounted for 3.2 percent of Vietnam’s total export value. This increased six-fold to 19.5 percent in 2016 and has been maintained around 20 percent since then. In the first two months of 2021, these products topped the list of Vietnam’s exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with value reaching US$551 million, a year-on-year increase of nearly 108 percent, accounting for two thirds of total export value.

Mobile phone manufacturing at VinSmart

Opening way for domestic firms?

Foreign investment in Vietnam in manufacturing phones and components has been increasing. While Apple’s major suppliers such as Foxcon, Luxshare, GoerTek, and Compal already have factories in Vietnam, the mobile giant keeps encouraging its suppliers to shift manufacturing from China.

The export value of Samsung’s phones and components grew sharply in the first two months of 2021. By the end of 2020, about 50 Vietnamese companies had become Samsung’s tier-1 suppliers. However, foreign firms keep importing input components for phone manufacturing in Vietnam.

In the first two months of this year, Vietnam imported US$3.64 billion worth of phones and components, a year-on-year increase of 74.6 percent. Domestic companies are expected to contribute to a resurgence in phone and component exports.

Do Thi Thuy Huong, member of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Electronic Industries Association, said that in the post-Covid-19 period, additional electronics companies with foreign direct investment (FDI) will move their manufacturing facilities to Vietnam, creating opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to supply them with components and accessories. “We want FDI projects in the electronics sector to create breakthroughs for Vietnamese companies to create domestic value added in exports to benefit Vietnamese consumers,” she said.

In February 2021, VinSmart, a member of Vingroup, launched three made-in-Vietnam smart phone models on the website of the leading US conglomerate AT&T. This development has encouraged Vietnamese companies to invest in manufacturing phones and components for export and boosted their confidence in their global competitiveness. Nguyen Thi Hong, General Director of the Mobile Division of the VinSmart Research and Manufacture Joint Stock Company, said that in 2021, VinSmart will concentrate on creating high-quality products for sale to the US market.

Economists forecast global consumption of mobile phones will grow well in 2021 and until 2024.

Lan Anh