After nearly four decades of opening up to attract foreign investment, Vietnam is entering an important transition period in its economic development strategy. The Politburo's promulgation of Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW on foreign-invested economic development is considered a milestone showing new thinking in attracting investment, aiming at quality, efficiency and added value instead of focusing only on the size of capital.
In an exchange with Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV), Managing Partner Nguyen Van Phuc, representative of HM&P Law Firm ("HM&P"), shared legal and policy perspectives around Resolution 10, and analyzed the impacts on foreign investors and Vietnamese businesses in the context of attractive competition FDI is changing drastically.
This change comes from both the domestic context and the global trend.
Attracting a lot of capital to attract the right capital flow...
According to Lawyer Phuc, Resolution 10 reflects a strategic change in Vietnam's development mindset. If in the past success was often measured by the number of projects and total registered FDI, now the focus has shifted to the quality of capital flows, innovation capabilities, technology transfer and contribution to national competitiveness.
This change comes from both the domestic context and the global trend. Supply chain fluctuations after the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical competition, requirements for sustainable development, digital transformation and the application of the Global Minimum Tax have made tax incentives no longer a decisive factor in competition to attract investment. Instead, the quality of institutions, human resources, infrastructure and innovation ecosystems are becoming factors that create the attractiveness of the investment environment.
Five major shifts in investment attraction thinking
According to Lawyer Phuc's analysis, Resolution 10 not only adjusts policies but also shapes major shifts in development thinking. In particular, the transition from attracting capital flows to building national capacity is prominent; from input incentives to actual results-based support; from project selection to strategic investor selection; expanding the focus to many international capital flows other than traditional FDI; at the same time, strengthen risk management to ensure a balance between market opening and the requirements of national defense, security and economic security. Lawyer Phuc commented:
"These shifts show that Vietnam is gradually building a more mature investment environment in which the value of a project is measured not only by the size of its capital, but also by its ability to create a spillover impact on innovation, supply chain development and enhance the competitiveness of the economy."
New opportunities for Vietnamese investors and businesses
Resolution 10 sends a clear message that Vietnam will continue to welcome projects with high technology content, great added value and commitment to long-term development. Accordingly, the competitive advantage of investors will no longer come mainly from the ability to take advantage of incentives, but from technological capacity, research and development (R&D) strategies, the ability to develop domestic suppliers as well as meeting digital transformation standards. green transformation and sustainable development. For Vietnamese businesses, this is also an opportunity to participate more deeply in the global value chain. However, to take advantage of this opportunity, businesses need to invest more heavily in governance, innovation, intellectual property, data governance, ESG and improve competitiveness instead of just stopping at the role of a traditional supplier.
At the end of the discussion, Lawyer Nguyen Van Phuc said that the core value of Resolution 10 lies not only in the goal of attracting more FDI projects, but also in opening a new reform cycle, in which institutional quality, innovation and competitiveness will become the foundation for Vietnam to attract investment capital flows new system and sustainable development in the long term.
Read more: Nghị quyết 10 - Bước ngoặt trong chiến lược thu hút đầu tư FDI
