BoI set to help Thais planning to invest in Vietnam

Foreign investors who want to use domestic resources have to cope with many challenges, he said at the conference entitled “Investment Opportunities in Supporting Industries in Vietnam”, which was hosted jointly by the BoI and the Vietnam Embassy’s Trade Office. 

While Vietnam’s economy is growing, supporting industry is not sufficient enough and they are mostly small and medium enterprises which rely on imported material, he said. 

Supporting industry plays a very crucial role in many industries for export such as textile, automobile, electronic applicants, petrochemical and food processing, he said, nothing that Thai investors interested in Vietnam have the potential and technology to do business in such sectors. 

Despite the Thai economic slowdown over previous years, Thai investors also have a great potential to do business in neighbouring Vietnam. According to Vietnam’s Planning and Investment Ministry, Thai investors have spent about US$9.44 billion (Bt329 billion) in 466 projects in Vietnam as of June this year, ranking 10th out of all nations and territories investing in Vietnam.

A Thai project was worth $20.26 million, much higher than the average value of $14 million of foreign investment in the country. Thai investors have mainly been investing in manufacturing, processing and supporting industries, accounting for 80 per cent of the total number of projects invested in Vietnam.

The BoI has a clear policy to help Thai investors do business in Vietnam, notably in the sector of supporting industry, he said, adding that consulting and providing information about investment is BoI’s main role. The agency also plans to set up an office in Vietnam to support Thai investment as well as promote economic ties and cooperation between the two countries, he said. 

Dang Xuan Quang, deputy director general of Vietnam’s Planning and Investment Ministry’s foreign investment agency, said Vietnam was offering a lot of incentives for foreign investors who want to do business in supporting industry. A preferential tax rate of 10 per cent is available for a 15-year period, he said, adding that there will be tax exemption for the first four years and a 50 per cent tax reduction for the subsequent nine years. 

The government will also provide funding and incentives for activities such as research and development, application and transfer, human resources, international cooperation, market development, he said. 

 The authority stipulated general incentive policies for enterprises operating in supporting industry, including incentives on import-export tax, value-added tax and favourable interest rates for investment credits capital, Quang said. 

THE NATION