Foreign investment in Vietnam falls 56% in Jan-Sept
HANOI - Vietnam suffered a 56 percent plunge in the value of newly
approved foreign-investment projects in the first nine months of
this year from 2001, an official said Tuesday.
The government has so far this year approved 468 new foreign
projects, worth a total of US$874.6 million. Most of them are in
the relatively investor-friendly southern provinces, the Ministry
of Planning & Investment official said.
Ho Chi Minh City, formerly named Saigon, received 149 projects
worth US$149 million, while Hanoi, Vietnam's northern capital,
received promises of 40 projects worth US$101 million, he said.
Although the total value of approved investments fell, the number
of projects increased 26 percent from the same period last year,
said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
World Bank officials say smaller-sized investments may actually
benefit Vietnam more in terms of employment creation and
contribution to its economy.
The amount of pledged investment last year was inflated by a US$400
million deal in September 2001 for a 715-megawatt power plant.
The ministry official said the actual flow of new foreign direct
investment into Vietnam in the first nine months of 2002 was
US$1.65 billion, up 3 percent from last year.
He said Vietnam also received US$933 million in overseas
development assistance from international donors in the January-
September period.
Vietnam is trying to attract more foreign investment, which it
needs for both capital and the expertise involved. It received
US$2.3 billion in foreign investment and US$1.71 billion in aid
last year.
The Associated Press - October 1st, 2002
Vietnam says its economy grew 6.9 percent in first 9 months
HANOI, Vietnam - Vietnam's economy expanded by 6.9 percent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier, slightly below the full-year target of 7 percent, the government said Tuesday.
Economists say it may be hard for the country to meet the target for the year because exports — a driving force behind growth — are being hit by weak global demand and low prices for the country's major agricultural products.
Vietnam's gross domestic product totaled 383.497 trillion dong (US$25.0 billion) in the January-September period, the General Statistics Office said.
The government says Vietnam's economy grew 6.8 percent in 2001.
Vietnam's growth figures are generally higher than those calculated by international financial institutions. The Asian Development Bank forecast last month that Vietnam will record full-year growth of 5.7 percent this year and 6.2 percent for 2003.
The statistics office said agricultural production rose 3.4 percent in the first nine months compared to the same period last year, and accounted for 23.1 percent of total GDP.
Production in the industrial and construction sectors rose 9.8 percent and comprised 38.7 percent of GDP, it said.
Services expanded 6.1 percent from last year and accounted for 38.2 percent of GDP, the statistics office said.
The Associated Press - October 1st, 2002
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