U.S. companies rise on Vietnam investment table

U.S. companies rise on Vietnam investment table

HANOI (Reuter): The United States has climbed six places on Vietnam's foreign investment chart in the past month and the amount invested has nearly quadrupled to US$78 million, according to official figures released yesterday.

U.S. companies now have 11 projects licensed in Vietnam compared with four projects with capital of $20 million on May 3, the State Committee for Cooperation and Investment (SCCI) said.

The May 3 chart marked the first U.S. entry in the list, in 24th position, following President Bill Clinton's lifting of a 30-year-old U.S. trade embargo on February 3. In the new list, the United States was in 18th place.

A full list of the U.S. projects was not available. They include Mobil's oil exploration joint venture in Vietnam's offshore Blue Dragon Field and joint-venture deals signed by soft drink makers Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola.

Otis Elevator became the latest U.S. company to sign a joint venture agreement with an Hanoi enterprise this week. Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea remain the dominant investors in projects now underway, with pledged capital totaling $3.7 billion.

Following are the top 10 investors (tabulate under position, country, number of projects, total capital in U.S. dollars): 1. Taiwan, 124 projects, $1.58 billion. 2. Hong Kong, 143, $1.42 billion. 3. South Korea, 65, $700 million. 4. Australia, 34, $616 million. 5. Singapore, 58, $537 million. 6. Japan, 53, $496 million. 7. Malaysia, 25, $494 million. 8. France, 48, $436 million. 9. Britain, 13, $358 million. 10. Netherlands, 12, $350 million.