The seminar was held in Hanoi on November 26 by the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and Malaysia’s Asia Institute of Research and Management.

MPI deputy minister Nguyen Bich Dat said Vietnam is a potential market having a population of 84 million and cheap labour costs. Vietnam holds a favourable geographic position among Southeast Asian countries, which can be connected to China by air, water, rail, and road. Vietnam has allocated 55 percent of the State budget for infrastructure construction and 22 percent for education.

Phan Huu Thang, director of the MPI’s Department of Foreign Investment, said the flow of foreign investment into Vietnam is increasing, with an estimated total amount of US$16 billion by the end of this year.

At the seminar, Phan Lam Phuong, chairwoman of the Quang Binh provincial People’s Committee, said Quang Binh offers investors preferential policies in terms of income tax, export tax and land rental exemption and reduction. In addition, the province applies special treatment, including financial assistance in labour training, infrastructure construction and site clearance.

Other speakers spoke of the need to perfect local investment policies and projects with due attention to both Vietnamese and foreign partners’ interests.