Decision 667/QD-TTg 2022 approving the Strategy on foreign investment cooperation in the 2021- 2030 period

DECISION

Approving the Strategy for foreign investment cooperation in the 2021- 2030 period^[1]

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government; and the November 22, 2019 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration;

Pursuant to the Political Bureau’s Resolution No. 50-NQ/TW of August 20, 2019, on orientations for improvement of institutions and policies to raise the quality and efficiency of foreign investment cooperation toward 2030;

Pursuant to the 2021-2030 ten-year socio-economic development strategy approved at the 13^th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam;

Pursuant to the Government’s Resolution No. 58/NQ-CP of April 27, 2019, promulgating the Government’s Action Program for materialization of the Political Bureau’s Resolution No. 50-NQ/TW of August 20, 2019, on orientations for improvement of institutions and policies to raise the quality and efficiency of foreign investment cooperation toward 2030;

At the proposal of the Minister of Planning and Investment,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the Strategy on foreign investment cooperation in the 2021-2030 period (below referred to as the Strategy) with the following major contents:

I. VIEWPOINTS

1. To thoroughly study the guidelines stated in the Political Bureau’s Resolution No. 50-NQ/TW of August 20, 2019, on orientations for improvement of institutions and policies to raise the quality and efficiency of foreign investment cooperation toward 2030.

2. To ensure conformity with the 2021-2025 five-year socio-economic development plan, the 2021-2025 plan on economic restructuring, and the 2021-2030 ten-year socio-economic development strategy.

3. To associate foreign investment attraction with building and developing an independent and self-reliant economy in the spirit of intensive and extensive, substantive and efficient international integration.

4. To concentrate efforts on focal and central attraction of foreign investment; to select regions, markets and partners for promotion of development cooperation as suitable to the contexts in the world and the region; to relocate investment capital flows, reducing the dependence on markets with many risks and potential disputes; to prioritize the connection of global production and supply chains; to attract green investment, high technologies, supporting technologies, and modern management and administration methods.

5. To promote and improve the competitive advantages, ensuring suitability to development trends, approach to advanced international standards and harmony with international commitments, and ensuring synchronicity, consistency, publicity, transparency and high competitiveness.

6. To promote foreign investment cooperation in parallel with the process of socio-economic development, growth model renewal, economic restructuring and utmost promotion of internal resources; to closely associate and heighten the national competitiveness and competitiveness of each sector and enterprise; to intensify the connection between regions, zones and areas in the country on the basis of their comparative edges.

7. To build and form the public awareness about “Cooperation for joint development”, intensifying the connection of domestic production with the production chains of multinational groups in order to raise Vietnam’s position in production chains; to raise the localization rate and added-value content of domestic enterprises, organizations and individuals; to heighten the responsibility toward society and environmental protection with a view to raising the efficiency of foreign investment cooperation.

8. To ensure balance of the interests of investing parties with the interests of the State and the people in foreign investment cooperation activities in the spirit of interest harmony and risk sharing; to comply with the conditions on sustainable development and security and national defense maintenance.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. Overall objectives

a/ To attract foreign investment projects that apply advanced technologies, new technologies or high technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, modern governance, bring about high added value, exert positive spillover effects, and are capable of connecting global production and supply chains;

b/ To expand markets, making full use of capital, technology, management knowledge and business culture of the foreign investment sector; to raise the competitiveness of the economy, enterprises and domestic products; to boost domestic industry, agriculture and service sectors, and establish and enhance the role of Vietnamese enterprises in the international community;

c/ To comprehensively raise the efficiency and quality in the attraction and use of foreign investment capital, and increase the ratio of contribution of the foreign investment sector to socio-economic development as commensurate to the incentives and supports provided to this sector;

d/ To build and develop innovation centers and financial hubs of regional and international levels, creating an impetus for socio-economic development for the coming period.

2. Specific objectives

a/ To achieve the specific objectives stated in the Political Bureau’s Resolution No. 50-NQ/TW of August 20, 2019, on orientations for improvement of institutions and policies to raise the quality and efficiency of foreign investment cooperation toward 2030;

b/ To raise the ratio of registered investment capital of countries and territories in certain sectors to the total amount of the country’s foreign investment capital to over 70% in the 2021-2025 period and 75% in the 2026-2030 period, including: (i) Asia: Republic of Korea, Japan, Singapore, China, Taiwan (China), Malaysia, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines; (ii) Europe: France, Germany, Italia, Spain, Russian Federation, and Britain; and (iii) America: the United States;

c/ To increase by 50% the number of multinational groups present and operating in Vietnam among the world’s 500 largest groups ranked by Fortune magazine (the United States);

d/ By 2030, Vietnam will be among the ASEAN’s top 3 nations and the world’s top 60 countries according to the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings.

III. SOLUTIONS TO RAISE THE EFFICIENCY OF FOREIGN INVESTMENT COOPERATION

1. Efficiently implementing the issued documents

a/  The Political Bureau’s Resolution No. 50-NQ/TW of August 20, 2019, on orientations for improvement of institutions and policies to raise the quality and efficiency of foreign investment cooperation toward 2030;

b/ The Political Bureau’s Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW of March 22, 2018, on orientations for formulation of national industrial development policies through 2030, with a vision toward 2045;

c/ The 12^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW of June 3, 2017, on development of the private economy into an important motive force of the socialist-oriented market economy;

d/ The Government’s Resolution No. 58/NQ-CP of April 27, 2020, promulgating the Government’s Action Program for implementation of the Political Bureau’s Resolution No. 50-NQ/TW of August 20, 2019, on orientations for improvement of institutions and policies to raise the quality and efficiency of foreign investment cooperation toward 2030;

dd/ The Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1851/QD-TTg of December 27, 2018, approving the Scheme on boosting the transfer, mastery and development of technologies from foreign countries into Vietnam in priority sectors and domains through 2025, with orientations toward 2030;

e/ The Prime Minister’s Decision No. 67/QD-TTg of October 2, 2019, approving the Scheme on impacts of the US-China trade disputes on the attraction of foreign direct investment into Vietnam.

2. Improving the business investment environment and raising the quality, efficiency and competitiveness of the economy

To concentrate efforts on improving indexes for Vietnam’s competitiveness evaluation according to the evaluation criteria of the World Bank, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the World Economic Forum; to focus on low indexes on institutions, infrastructure and commodity market. Therefore, it is necessary to synchronously implement the following specific solutions:

a/ Regarding institutions

- To intensify the proactive, vigorous, equal and substantive participation of ministries, sectors and localities with a view to facilitating a fair, open and transparent business investment environment. To ensure stable, unified, synchronous and more complete investment and legal environments that can promptly catch up with new matters and handle inadequacies to heighten the quality and efficiency of foreign investment.

- To improve the forecasting capacity and transparency in the course of formulating legal documents; to formulate the process for monitoring and assessing the conformity, impacts and quality of policies and the effect and efficiency of policy enforcement.

- To study formulating a mechanism for flexible application of business investment procedures on the principle of post-licensing inspection to appropriate business lines in order to create competition in the course of attracting and using foreign investment capital.

- To strictly control the promulgation of business investment conditions for conditional business investment lines. To further reduce unnecessary and irrational business lines and business investment conditions, ensuring the full and consistent exercise of investors’ right to business freedom in accordance with law.

- To complete legal provisions on investment dispute prevention; to propose solutions so as to settle problems and disputes of investors and give early warnings about the possibility of occurrence of disputes between the State and foreign investors.

- To promulgate policies for creating a legal corridor for the development and management of new investment forms and modes in conformity with international practices.

- To strictly control foreign investors’ and foreign-invested enterprises’ acquisition of domestic enterprises, particularly big enterprises and enterprises operating in strategic fields; to strictly control investment projects threatening to cause negative impacts on national security and public order.

- To accelerate the formulation and improvement of institutions, creating full and comprehensive legal grounds for building and developing an e-government toward a digital government and digital economy in Vietnam.

- To review and evaluate the superior institutional solutions already applied on a pilot basis or applied with good results, and proceed with the institutionalization thereof for application nationwide; to assess the incentives that create institutional inequality between sectors in order to narrow then eliminate unequal and inconsistent institutional conditions.

b/ Regarding infrastructure

- To plan the development of infrastructure facilities toward synchronicity and modernity, with a strategic mindset and long-term vision in association with regional connectivity with a view to creating an impetus and spillover effects for development.

- To complete institutions and policies so as to create favorable conditions for various economic sectors, including the foreign investment sector, to invest in construction and commercial operation of infrastructure facilities in various forms, attaching importance to the model of public-private partnership (PPP), and study formulating a risk sharing mechanism conformable to international practices.

- To promulgate a list of projects eligible for priority in attraction of investment in infrastructure development with a view to developing the system of high-quality infrastructure facilities, such as  traffic infrastructure facilities, telecommunications infrastructure facilities, information technology, water, electricity, logistics, etc., in order to reduce the transport costs and input costs for enterprises, raising the competitiveness of the economy.

c/ Regarding the commodity market

- To diversify the export markets, making full use of advantages brought about by the concluded free trade agreements, particularly new-generation agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

- To scrutinize policies and measures on tariff and non-tariff barriers, ensuring compliance with international integration commitments as well as guarantee of the interests of domestic enterprises, raising the efficiency of cooperation with the foreign investment sector.

- To fully form and efficiently operate assorted markets serving commodity production, particularly markets directly related to foreign investment such as finance, land, labor and technology markets.

- To intensify the liberalization of market of commodity production factors; to ensure adherence to the market principles in access to land, capital and market entry opportunities.

3. Developing a science, technology and innovation ecosystem

- To promote and raise the awareness of administrations at various levels about the importance of innovation and innovation startup activities; to build and develop the National Innovation Center to be linked with regional, local, enterprise innovation centers with a view to developing the startup and innovation ecosystem and supporting enterprises to approach technological innovation and innovation startup activities.

- To resolutely and efficiently implement the Government’s Resolution No. 50/NQ-CP of April 17, 2020, on the Government’s Action Program for implementation of the Political Bureau’s Resolution No. 52-NQ/TW of September 27, 2019, on a number of guidelines and policies for proactive participation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

- To build and develop a science, technology and innovation ecosystem with a flexible management mechanism suitable to the digital business environment so as to facilitate innovation and innovation startup activities, laying a foundation for attracting and developing hi-tech sectors.

- To adopt policies to promote cooperation, technology transfer and governance based on agreement and voluntariness for Vietnamese enterprises; to improve standards and technical regulations on products, environment and natural resource protection, and energy conservation in harmony with regional and international standards.

- To improve the legal framework on establishment, protection and commercialization of intellectual property rights with a view to guaranteeing the rights and interests of organizations and individuals participating in science, technology and innovation activities.

4. Renovating and raising competition in foreign investment attraction

- To formulate policies on foreign investment attraction ensuring balance and rationality between regions and areas; to ensure that foreign investment attraction and cooperation comply with orientations, master plans, development requirements, and the goal of improving Vietnam’s position in global production chains.

- Investment incentive policies should be considered, based on outcomes such as added value, hi-tech components, research and development, and technology transfer, for Vietnamese enterprises, and support for Vietnamese enterprises to participate in supply chains at different levels.

- To proceed with incremental transition from foreign investment attraction suitable to groups of existing domestic products to anticipation and formulation of mechanisms and policies for raising the capacity to attract investment in the production of products prioritized for development in each period.

- To work out institutions and policies for economic zones, industrial parks, hi-tech parks, information technology parks, hi-tech agricultural zones, and other similar models toward clearly identifying development focuses and dominant mechanisms and policies suitable to the peculiarities of each model, ensuring linkage and synchronism with other regions.

5. Developing supporting industries and promoting linkage and spillover effects

- To assess the status, technological trends and market, and formulate a strategy for prioritizing the development of specific sectors of supporting industries in each period so as to avoid thinned-out and inefficient investment.

- To formulate a mechanism to provide due promotion and incentives in order to increase linkage between foreign investment and domestic investment, and fields prioritized for investment attraction; to raise the capacity to absorb technologies then practice autonomy of technologies; to develop industrial clusters and value chains, contributing to raising the domestic added value, competitiveness of products and the national position in global value chains.

- To further improve the legal environment for technology transfer on the basis of formulating a complete system of documents in implementation of policies in support of enterprises to invest in technological innovation; to promote the formation and development of intermediary organizations, facilitating the development of the science and technology market, and encouraging enterprises in technology transfer, application and innovation, and promoting the commercialization of outcomes of technological research and development; to form joint ventures and associations between foreign-invested enterprises and domestic research institutes and universities.

6. Promoting the internal capacity and making full use of competitive advantages so as to improve the efficiency of foreign investment cooperation

a/ Stepping up the enforcement of groups of policies that boost higher productivity and total factor productivity (TFP) to develop the internal capacity and competitiveness of the economy, specifically as follows:

- To study the establishment of the National Productivity Committee and formulate a strategy for raising the national productivity through 2030, with a vision toward 2045.

- To step up scientific and technological research and application and innovation; to emphasize the role and importance of innovation as a breakthrough of the strategy for raising the national competitiveness.

- To modernize and market education and training activities, including vocational training, with importance attached to raising professional qualifications, occupational skills and digital technology skills to meet practical demands and the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

- To intensify international cooperation in the training of experts, raising productivity to help enterprises satisfy the requirements of digital transformation.

b/ Boosting production and business development: To clearly identify key sectors, fields and products with competitive advantages in order to work out appropriate policies on development support; to concentrate on raising the productivity, competitiveness, technological level and innovation.

c/ Studying the establishment of a regional-level financial center

- To study a model of international financial center in the region for flexible application in order to link and promote economic development, ensuring national security interests.

- To study and formulate competitive and dominant institutions, laws and policies for the financial center toward: (i) ensuring a good investment and business environment; (ii) attracting and developing high-quality human resources for the finance sector; (iii) building the system of international-level infrastructure facilities and logistics; (iv) developing the transparent, healthy and strong national financial sector; and (v) building brands and fames of international level.

d/ Raising the capacity of domestic enterprises

- To develop the sector of domestic enterprises which are strong and capable of carrying out international integration; to render maximum support for startups, innovation enterprises and small- and medium-sized enterprises to enter into joint venture or association with the foreign investment sector, focusing on high technologies, new technologies, advanced technologies and key technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, modern services, manufacturing industries, information technology and financial services.

- To promote and support domestic enterprises to enter into joint venture or association through contribution of capital or purchase of shares or contributed capital amounts of foreign-invested enterprises in sectors and fields involving the use of high technologies and new and advanced technologies, proceeding to own and master technologies.

- To set orientations and provide support for domestic enterprises in assessing, selecting and receiving technologies transferred from foreign-invested enterprises, ensuring compatibility, synchronism and conformity with the objectives of national technology development in each period.

- To develop a database on domestic enterprises capable of supplying raw materials, materials, spare parts and accessories in the supporting industries for foreign investors to approach and connect.

dd/ Improving the quality of human resources

- To improve labor-related institutions in conformity with international practices, ensuring the implementation of commitments in new-generation free trade agreements; to improve the quality of human resources in order to attract high-quality foreign investment.

- To enhance training in professional knowledge, skills, discipline and culture and heighten the awareness of the workforce, particularly in sectors eligible for foreign investment attraction priority, in conformity with international standards and requirements on foreign investment attraction and use; to study formulating a mechanism for coordination with big domestic and foreign groups and investors in training human resources according to “orders”.

- To promote online training; to recognize the value of online learning certificates so as to develop the labor market.

- To encourage foreign-invested enterprises to provide training and improve skills and qualifications for Vietnamese workers for the latter to undertake important positions in foreign-invested enterprises.

- To promote the employment of Vietnamese workers who have worked or studied overseas, particularly developed countries, and returned to work in Vietnam; to further expand the linkage networks and study promulgating policies to promote enterprises’ employment of Vietnamese talents overseas.

- To encourage global vocational education institutions to invest in Vietnam; to step up the streaming in higher education, college education and vocational training; to reform the functions, tasks and organizational structures of education and vocational-training administration organizations to meet development requirements of the labor market; to intensify the application of the “school in enterprises” model.

- To invest in developing the modern system of labor market information for providing maximum support for enterprises in labor attraction, training and recruitment.

7. Heightening the efficiency of international economic integration and Vietnam’s position in the international arena

- To proactively carry out comprehensive international integration toward higher effect and efficiency, seizing opportunities and surmounting challenges so that international integration makes practical contributions with spillover effects and really becomes a means serving sustainable national development on the basis of defending national sovereignty and security.

- To apply measures for going side by side with, and supporting enterprises in the process of international economic integration and fulfillment of international economic integration commitments; to promptly listen to opinions and feedback of enterprises on policy matters and problems  in international economic integration and the process of negotiation and enforcement of free trade agreements.

- To protect legitimate interests of the Vietnamese State, enterprises and consumers in international economic, trade and investment disputes.

- To formulate and apply trade remedies with a view to protecting lawful rights and interests of domestic enterprises; to study and make use of advantages from international regulations on protection of intellectual property rights, including geographical indications, appellations of origin, labels, copyright, related rights, etc., to protect intellectual assets of Vietnamese individuals and organizations in foreign countries.

8. Modernizing and diversifying investment promotion activities

- To continue renewing, improving, and raising the efficiency of, investment promotion activities; to enhance the coordination and association between central and local authorities, between regions, and between state management agencies and professional associations in investment promotion activities.

- To innovate investment promotion activities to be substantive and effective with objectives and focuses. Investment promotion activities should be carried out in association with new investment cooperation criteria; to continue maintaining the traditional markets and partners while expanding new markets and partners.

- To proceed with proactive approach and flexible mobilization through different channels such as key opinion leaders, investors, business associations, international organizations, top consulting firms, and investment funds in order to attract big groups with quality projects brought into Vietnam.

- To make due investment with a view to diversifying and modernizing investment promotion activities and modes.

- To intensify the mechanism for dialogue with, and renovate and expand modes of receiving petitions and reports of, investors; to definitely and promptly remove difficulties and problems related to ongoing projects.

- To scrutinize and restructure the system of existing investment promotion agencies toward professionalism, independence, non-overlap and non-coincidence with agencies in charge of state management of foreign investment; to consider increasing the flexible association with trade and tourism promotion to meet the requirements and peculiarities of each locality; with regard to potential markets, to study the mechanism for cooperation and exchange toward privatization of investment promotion activities.

- To develop sets of national, central and local brands and images in conformity with relevant development master plans and the investment attraction strategy.

- To cooperate with big groups investing in Vietnam for building “ambassadors” of investment images for Vietnam in order to take advantage of the influence and brands of prestigious investors.

- To develop a set of criteria for evaluation of the efficiency of investment promotion activities at central and provincial levels.

9. Raising the effect and efficiency of state management of foreign investment

- To intensify inspection, examination and supervision of the licensing, adjustment and withdrawal of foreign investment projects, promulgate regulations on investment incentives and support, etc., and promptly detect violations and illegal signs; to review the implementation of policies for detecting lack of synchronism and consistency between localities.

- To ensure socio-economic-environmental efficiency of the local management of foreign investment in compliance with relevant master plans and conformity with criteria for project selection and screening, etc.; to ensure that the process and procedures for licensing, adjustment, withdrawal, and termination of operation of foreign investment projects comply with law; to complete the investment process and procedures which are open but controllable via legal instruments.

- To consolidate the apparatus of state management of foreign investment to be streamlined, effective and efficient with one focal point at ministries, sectors and localities, meeting the local, inter-sector, inter-regional and national management requirements; to raise the awareness and unanimity among administrations at all levels, particularly the heads.

- To step up the responsibility division, decentralization, authorization and coordination among ministries, sectors and localities in parallel with intensified examinations and supervision; to simplify and unify forms of enterprises’ periodical reports to competent authorities.

- To definitely handle projects causing environmental pollution, using land inefficiently or suffering business loss for many years, and projects not implemented or failing to fulfill the commitments; to prevent, and early and effectively settle disputes related to foreign investment.

- To complete the national system of databases and information on investment to be synchronous and connected with those of the sectors of labor, land, construction, tax, customs, banking, foreign exchange, securities, etc., and with of localities; to raise the quality of statistical work, ensuring timeliness, adequacy, accuracy, and conformity with international practices; to associate the responsibility of enterprises to make periodical reports with the post-licensing regime.

Article 2. Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall:

a/  Assume prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related units in, formulating the Prime Minister’s Decision on the action program for implementation of the Strategy on foreign investment cooperation in the 2021-2030 period;

b/ Summarize information on implementation of the Strategy and annually report thereon to the Prime Minister; to organize the preliminary review of implementation of the Strategy by 2025 and identify tasks and solutions for subsequent periods.

2. Other ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and provincial-level People’s Committees shall:

a/ Continue to perform the tasks assigned in: (i) The Government’s Resolution No. 58/NQ-CP of April 27, 2020, promulgating the Government’s Action Program for implementation of the Political Bureau’s Resolution No. 50-NQ/TW of August 20, 2019; (ii) the Political Bureau’s Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW of March 22, 2018, on orientations for formulation of policies on national industrial development through 2030, with a vision toward 2045; and (iii) the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 67/QD-TTg of October 2, 2019, approving the Scheme on impacts of the US-China trade disputes on attraction of foreign direct investment in Vietnam; and current regulations;

b/ Incorporate the Strategy’s viewpoints and objectives into socio-economic development master plans, plans and strategies of their respective ministries, sectors and localities;

c/ Carry out the preliminary review and final review of implementation of the Strategy in the sectors and scope of their management under the guidance of the Ministry of Planning and Investment; and send annual reports to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for summarization and reporting to the Prime Minister.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 4. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decision.-

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
PHAM BINH MINH