The U.S. House of Representatives gave its final approval to a sweeping, debt-financed tax bill at the end of 2017, representing the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years. The changes include the country’s corporate income tax rate falling from 35 percent to 21 percent, as of January 1, 2018. “We’ve become competitive all over the world. Our companies won’t be leaving our country any longer because our tax burden is so high,” CNBC quoted President Donald Trump as saying at a recent cabinet meeting. The president called it “above all else a jobs bill”, contending that changes to the business tax structure would encourage more companies to relocate their operations to the U.S. and hire more workers. But what Trump claims to be positive for the U.S. could have negative implications for its foreign partners. “The overhaul could have negative impacts on U.S. backed investment in Vietnam. U.S. businesses are likely to review their investment strategies in overseas markets, including Vietnam,” economist Nguyen Tri Hieu said. They could withdraw their profits from Vietnam to relocate their operations back home, instead of expanding their investments in Vietnam, he added. “This is a concern for our economy.” However, what is more worrying is that some countries could offer tax incentives to persuade U.S. companies to stay, local media quoted Vu Viet Ngoan, head of the economic advisory group for Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, as saying. This could affect Vietnam’s competitiveness in attracting foreign investors,… [Read full story]
FDI inflow feared to dwindle in 2014 Quoc Hung By Quoc Hung - The Saigon Times Daily HCMC – The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), having beaten all expectations last year, is feared to dwindle in 2014 as authorities tend to be more choosy while the business environment remains unfriendly to investors, experts said. Last year saw registered FDI surge to US$21.6 billion compared to the target of US$13-14 billion set at the year’s beginning by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. The total FDI disbursement also rose 9.9% to US$11.5 billion. “Such results are beyond all expectations,” said…... [read more]
The wealthiest Americans would benefit the most from President Donald Trump's proposed tax cuts while many upper middle-income people would face higher taxes, independent experts said on Friday in the first detailed analysis of the plan. A U.S. Senate panel took Trump's proposal, announced on Wednesday, a step forward by unveiling a budget plan for the coming fiscal year that acknowledges lost revenues from tax cuts, while Trump pressed ahead with selling the plan to the public. A report from the non-profit Washington-based Tax Policy Center found that in 2018, about 12 percent of taxpayers would face a tax…... [read more]
Vietnam received an estimated $17.5 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2017, up 10.8 percent from the previous year, the government's ministry of planning and investment said. This was in line with the government's expectation in November. FDI pledges for new projects, increased capital and stake acquisitions jumped 44.4 percent from a year ago to $35.88 billion, the ministry said in a report published on its website. The manufacturing and processing sector received the most foreign funds in 2017, the report said, followed by electricity production and distribution. Japan, South Korea and Singapore were the biggest foreign investors in…... [read more]
FDI inflow predicted to be lower than last year Le Hoang By Le Hoang - The Saigon Times Daily Part of Samsung’s plant in the northern province of Bac Ninh is seen in this file photo - Photo: Hung Le HCMC – The fact that Vietnam only attracted US$11.18 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the January-September period, a year-on-year fall of 25.5%, has prompted predictions about a lower FDI inflow than last year. As of now, Samsung CE Complex (SECC) in HCMC’s Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) has become the most capital-intensive project approved in the country. The US$1.4-billion…... [read more]
Vietnam received an estimated $1.05 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in January, up 10.5 percent from the same period the previous year, the government's ministry of planning and investment said. FDI pledges for new projects, increased capital and stake acquisitions fell 24.1 percent from a year ago to $1.255 billion, the ministry said in a report published on its website late on Monday. The manufacturing and processing sector received the most foreign funds in January, the report said, followed by the retail and wholesale sectors. South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong were the biggest foreign investors in Vietnam in…... [read more]
