Foreign companies have continued pouring investment into Vietnam to take advantage of the expected opportunities presented by the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP), said a local economist.

Expected opportunities presented by the TPP agreement help to attract more FDI to Vietnam

According to Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung, head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), the signing of TPP is hoped to bring many trade and investment opportunities to Vietnam. The wave FDI coming into the country has been progressing in recent years and is expected to continue for years to come after the agreement is signed.

Professor Nguyen Mai, former Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, said the higher FDI can be attributed to an improved business climate and political stability in Vietnam along with lower interest rates and better infrastructure.

After the World Bank released its report, “Doing Business 2014”, which showed the investment climate in the country had lost ground compared to last year, the prime minister urged miniseries, agencies and localities to make improvements.

This year, Samsung plans to produce 230-240 million mobile phones in Vietnam. Other large firms also plan to set up research and development centres in Vietnam, which may help to boost the development of supporting industries.

The Foreign Investment Agency predicted that Vietnam would attract a total FDI of USD22 billion, including both the newly-registered and added capital, equal to that of 2013. Of that amount USD13-14 billion is expected to be disbursed.

In January, about USD400 million came in from foreign investors, Singapore contributing the most, with 132.65 million.