After President Joe Biden's visit last month, Vietnam may be about to welcome a new wave of investment.

Vietnam has already seen three large booms in foreign direct investment. The first time happened when Honda Motor started producing two-wheeled vehicles in Vietnam in 1997. The second wave lasted from the 2000s to 2008 when Lehman Brothers Bank (USA) collapsed, causing a  global financial crisis. In 2009, Samsung Electronics purchased a smartphone manufacturing facility in Bac Ninh.

The third boom has taken place strongly in the mid-2010s. With increasing purchasing power, Vietnam has become an ideal destination for foreign consumer businesses. For instance, in 2014, the Japanese retail behemoth Aeon launched its first location in Vietnam, the Aeon Mall Tan Phu Celadon.

President Biden's recent visit could stimulate a wave of US investment in Vietnam, an opportunity to form a fourth wave of FDI.

Before now, US FDI into Vietnam was viewed as extremely moderate compared to other Asian nations like Japan and Korea. By the end of 2022, the total direct investment capital of the US in Vietnam will be 11.4 billion USD, ranking 11th among countries and territories pouring capital into this market of more than 100 million people. By comparison, Korea is pouring 80.9 billion USD, Singapore is 70.8 billion USD, and Japan is 68.8 billion USD.

Vietnam wants to shift from traditional labour-intensive industries such as textiles, garments and electronics assembly to high-tech, high-value-added industries. To change the industrial structure of the nation, cooperation with American technological businesses, particularly those with positions in the semiconductor and AI fields, will be crucial.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh recently requested a human resources development project to train 30,000-50,000 engineers and 100 experts in digital transformation, chip and semiconductor manufacturing. Vietnam is also thinking about new initiatives and regulations to entice global corporations. More time will be needed to determine if Vietnam will experience the fourth FDI boom.

During his visit to Vietnam in September, President Joe Biden and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong established a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Large-scale corporate transactions were also made during Mr. Biden's visit. As an illustration, Vietnam Airlines secured a contract to purchase 50 Boeing 737 Max planes for roughly USD 10 billion.

Additionally, FPT Software disclosed a strategic partnership with American firm Landing AI. A collaboration agreement with Synopsys, a leader in semiconductor design, intellectual property protection, and software security, was also signed to assist the Vietnamese semiconductor industry in staff training.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh travelled to the US for business. The Prime Minister suggested that Nvidia build a factory in Vietnam while he was at the company's headquarters because Vietnam would provide a good basis for Southeast Asian operations. He also met executives from top US technology companies, including Elon Musk and Bill Gates.

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