The friend-shoring trend, a market of 100 million people, and a centerpoint of the Asia-Pacific region will help Vietnam maintain its appeal as a major destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). Whether the global minimum tax is a plus or a minus in 2024 depends on how the country prepares itself. Following are the observations by Associate Professor Dinh Trong Thinh at the National Institute for Finance in a talk with The Saigon Times. A piece in the global semiconductor puzzle Since 2020, due to the lingering impact of the pandemic, the attraction of FDI into Vietnam has fluctuated annually, but from a long-term perspective, the FDI inflow has remained steady. Data from the General Statistics Office showed that the total amount of foreign investment, comprising fresh FDI pledges, additional funds into active FDI projects, and portfolio investment, totaled US$28.5 billion, falling 25% against 2019. However, foreign investment recovered right in following year, with FDI alone hitting US$31.15 billion, a steep rise of 92% year-on-year. In 2022, the FDI amount plunged to US$27.72 billion, but bounced back in 2023, with the fresh FDI as of November 20 recorded at US$28.85 billion, a 14.8% year-on-year increase. More steady has been the […]