Overseas investors ramp up preparations for post-pandemic operations
The latest report from the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed that in the first four months of 2020, about 335 capital-adjusted projects recorded an added investment of more than $3.07 billion, up 45.6 per cent on-year. However, total newly- registered capital hit $6.8 billion, down 9.1 per cent on-year.
Several notable moves were made just before the globe was affected by coronavirus, with many groups looking to get back on track as soon as possible. Recently, Thailand-based SCG gained approval to pump an additional $1.39 billion into Long Son Petrochemical Complex located in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, increasing the total investment capital to $5.1 billion.
The new investment in the Long Son complex is expected to breathe new life into the venture which is running significantly behind schedule. The project’s construction began in early 2018. Last year, SCG vowed to put the project into operation in late 2022.
The integrated complex will have a total olefin production capacity of 1.6 million tonnes a year and will create more than 20,000 jobs during construction, including more than 1,000 skilled positions. It is expected to contribute around $60 million to the annual state budget.
In February, German bearing and industrial equipment manufacturer Schaeffler Vietnam inaugurated its $50 million new plant at Amata Industrial Park in the southern province of Dong Nai, setting a solid foothold in Vietnam with the total registered investment capital of $160 million. Helmut Bode, general director of Schaeffler Group in the Asia-Pacific, said the facility will produce robotic components to orders by businesses from across the world.
Georg F. W. Schaeffler, chairman of the group, added that Vietnam has a strategic location in Asia and a diversified, stable, and fast-growing economy with a talented and well-educated workforce, which was why the company chose the country to build its first manufacturing plant in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, Bosch Vietnam has expanded investment in its existing manufacturing facility in Dong Nai, increasing the company’s total registered capital in Vietnam to $530 million. As of now, the group has disbursed $195 million of this, from the initial $54 million figure.
The production capacity of the factory has also been continuously extended, with the annual initial capacity rising from 1.6 million to 26 million transmission belts, satisfying Bosch’s global manufacturing and quality standards.
The investment and the company’s continuous growth in the past 10 years has shown Bosch’s long-term commitment to further strengthening its presence in Vietnam.
“The group will pour an additional $100 million in the manufacturing facility in Dong Nai in the next five years to expand the operation of the transmission belt as well as modernise manufacturing lines,” said Mallikarjuna Guru, general director of Bosch Vietnam.
Source: VIR
