Dau Tu: What would you say about the FDI capital flow in 2009?
Vo Tri Thanh: Committed FDI capital in 2009 is obviously lower than 2008. The figure of $21 billion in committed capital is encouraging, showing that foreign investors still see long-term potential in Vietnam.
If we look at the sum of money poured into Vietnam in 2009, about eight billion dollars, we see that foreign investors’ financial situation is really healthy. They are making investments and aiming for long-term, not short-term, profits.
However, I can see some problems in the FDI flow in 2009.
Many FDI projects are in the real estate sector. When the real estate sector goes up and down, this will create negative effects in both the real estate market and the national economy. When a big volume of capital is poured into the real estate sector, this shows the big potential of the market, but we should also anticipate risks as well.
Besides, Vietnam still has disadvantages in attracting FDI, including its poor infrastructure and labor problems with a shortage of skilled workers and qualified managers
