2 days ago
Vietnam touts US$48 billion in project investments to spur growth
[HANOI] Vietnam on Tuesday (Aug 19) said around 250 projects, with investments totalling about US$48 billion, are being pursued in the country as the government seeks to show it's boosting economic growth.
The state is funding 129 projects ranging from urban development to transportation with a total investment of about 478 trillion dong (S$23.3 billion), according to a statement on the government's website.
Another roughly US$30.5 billion in investments for 121 projects financed by other sources, including from a handful of foreign companies, are simultaneously getting underway, it said.
The new ventures include the Rach Mieu two Bridge in the Mekong Delta, the Saigon Marina International Financial Center, state-owned Viettel Group's Research and Development Center and the Vingroup-developed National Exhibition and Convention Center in Hanoi.
The investments are estimated to be equivalent to about 13 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said, speaking in Hanoi. The projects will transform the 'state of our country's strategic infrastructure,' Chinh said.
The nation has been stepping up a drive to achieve its GDP growth target of at least 8 per cent this year despite global uncertainties and the government's ongoing efforts to work out the details of a US trade deal that will see a 20 per cent tariff imposed on Vietnamese goods.
Premier Chinh last month urged officials to come up with immediate and long-term measures to restructure the economy and support growth. Chinh aims for GDP expansion of 8.3 to 8.5 per cent this year. BLOOMBERG
