Ministry to target Vietnam

Amid the government's renewed calls for businessmen to invest in Southeast Asia, Economic Affairs Minister Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) said Saturday that Vietnam will be the key country for a delegation from his ministry that is set to visit Southeast Asia in September or October. Lin said the ministry plans to target Vietnam because that is where Taiwan investment has grown the fastest in Southeast Asia. He added that the ministry will come out with a concrete schedule for the tour later in the week. Citing the ministry's statistics, Lin said Taiwan firms have channeled US$5.7 billion into Vietnam over the past seven years. Taiwan investment in Vietnam also grew by 50.6 percent in the first quarter of this year, despite the fact that Taiwanese capital entering other Southeast Asian countries registered drops during the same period, he noted, adding that Taiwan is Vietnam's second-largest investor. A total of US$7.2 billion-worth of Taiwanese capital was approved last year by the ministry for overseas investment projects, with China taking the lion's share of 39 percent, or US$2.8 billion, followed by Southeast Asia with 23 percent, or US$1.7 billion.