Spillover effects of FDI: Do Domestic Manufacturing Firms Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment in Vietnam?
Introduction
Back in the 1990s, foreign direct investment (FDI) became the largest source of external finance for many developing countries. In Vietnam in particular, the Law on Foreign Investment promulgated in the 1986 Congress to attract FDI was considered the first step of the doi moi (renovation) reform. The cumulative FDI increased from 28 projects of total US$ 140 million FDI in 1988 to 8266 project for roughly US$ 78 billions at the end of 2006. FDI, therefore, has generally lived up to the expectation that it would play a key role in accelerating economic growth (GSO’s Statistical Yearbook, various years). [1]
The most important benefit of FDI in previous literature was proved to create spillover effect. Lipsey (2002), for instance, argued that the expecting FDI inflows would bring about new technologies, know-how and hence contribute to increasing productivity and competitiveness of domestic industries. FDI, on the other hand, is criticized for stealing market share of their domestic counterpart and generating considerable costs (Blomstrom and Kokko, 2003).
The understanding on this spillover effect in the Vietnamese context is currently rather poor. In fact, there appears to be no empirical evidence on this matter. The objective of this research is to focus on FDI flows and its effects on domestic enterprises in Vietnam using a panel on manufacturing firms between 2002 and 2006. Research questions and a review of literature on spillover effect on developing countries are outlined in the next sections. Section 4 and 5 describe data and methodology used for the research. Some remarks are offered in the final section.
Objectives
This project is proposed to empirically examine the spillover effect of FDI on the Vietnam’s manufacturing sector. Particularly, we will concentrate on two specific questions:
i) Does the FDI sector have a positive spillover effect on domestic firms?
ii) Do FDI enterprises exhibit higher productivities than their domestic counterparts?
It is hoped that the project will provide some first insights on the spillover effect of FDI in Vietnam, which will be useful for policy makers as well as further research on this area.
Spillover effects of FDI: a Review
Spillover effect has been considered as one of the most important benefits of inward FDI in developing countries. This spillover effect of FDI on the host country may take place through the two major channels (i) diffusion of know-how by
The ending of the economic embargo of Vietnam in 1994 opened a new panorama over international marketing. A new high potential market, with more than 70 millions of people was avaiable for the companies: the next great frontier.
I believe that one of the best investments I could make would be an FPI (foreign portfolio investment) into state-owned industries in China. Announced on April 23rd, the government has opened 8 state-controlled industries to investment. I’d recommend FPI (as opposed to FDI) in this venture because, while China is opening these industries up, they are not opening them up for control. Still, companies like Sinopec Ltd., a large oil company, are up to selling about 30% of the SBU that controls its filling stations, a unit valued at over $20 billion. As the middle class continues to grow and be able to purchase more items (like cars), the huge population’s demand for necessary products like these will continue to grow. Companies like Sinopec are adamant that they will not give up any control, and that’s why FPI would be preferable to FDI when it comes to these industries. Another significant reason that I’d prefer FPI over FDI in China is due to risk (political, socioeconomic, etc.) These companies say the reason they won’t lose control is because they don’t want to have to change their operational practices. With FPI, these companies won’t get paranoid that investors are trying to change them. The previous reasons are very specific, but China has general policies, procedures, and trends in place (good or bad) that make it plain for investors to see that they are wanted, and business is a priority. China has an autocratic government, which is very efficient in getting things done, so it is more conducive for companies to work in. China also has very low wage costs ($1.74 per hour). Also, China has some of the least progressive environmental regulations laws, which lowers costs. China’s GDP growth rate is still at 7.5% (14th in the wor...
Zheng, P. (2009). A comparison of FDI determinants in China and India. Thunderbird International Business Review, 51(3), 263-279. doi:10.1002/tie.20264
Off-shoring is the establishment of business operations outside national boundaries. The process of moving business outside these boundaries is to garner an advantage either through tax breaks, lower wages, lower transportation cost and/or relaxed regulations ("Offshore definition," 2014). Many firms either branch out as a horizontal multinational or vertical multinational. Horizontal multinational’s produce the same good or services as abroad. This foreign direct investment (FDI) is done to strategically place production closer to the target market. Doing this provides advantages surrounding transportation cost while enhancing learning associated with local needs. A vertical multinational is one that fragments a portion of its good to take advantage of lower cost (i.e. cheap labor). Markusen and Maskus found horizontal multinational replaces trade whereas, a vertical multinational positively correlates with trade (Markusen & Maskus, 2001).
It is difficult to determine whether offshore outsourcing has a positive or negative effect on the U.S. economy. It may actually depend on which perspective you take on it. As stated by Hira and Hira (2005), outsourcing in the services sector is a major shift in how the economy operates and will have serious impacts, both positive and negative, on the trajectory of economic growth, distribution of income and the workforce. However, there are many factors to take into account when considering globalization. Companies must familiarize themselves with the various rules and regulations of global business, tariffs, trade agreements and barriers, and decide how to go global; global consistency or local adaptation. All of these issues affect a company’s plan to move forward with offshore outsourcing.
China’s trade with the world grew substantially in the first three decades of the 20th century, marking a historic time for the country. In the 1840s, the Chinese economy was strongly closed; however, when Great Britain and other powerful countries pressured their economy, China was willing to open international trade within their own economy. Over the next 60 years, China experienced a small opening of trade amongst other foreign powers, allowing transactions amongst foreigners allowed. The funded railroad aroused industrialization, as well as publicity and overseas shipping (Yan, 2014). The main reason for moderation in China is because they are so much more focused on production rather than consumption. Last year, China’s consumption accounted for 35 percent of their economy; a little over 10 years ago, it was rated that 50 percent accounted for their overall consumption (Reich, 2010). Foreign exports and imports arose dramatically, increasing the yearly expansion rate of trade to about 7.4 percent. The Chinese economies share in world trade grew a little under 2 percent from the late 1800s to the mid 1900s. By the early 20th century, comparative advantage was presented all throughout their economy (Yan, 2014).
I found this article "Foreign direct investment: Companies rush in with the cash" on the financial times website (www.FT.com) published December 11, 2002 written by John Thornhill. The reason for choosing this article is my personal interest in the Chinese economy and its attractiveness to the foreign investors. Apart from the foreign direct investment this topic has also helped me in understanding the impact of Chinese economy on the global market.
Outsourcing has only very recently become an issue in the United States, and as a result it has become a very popular political issue during campaigns for presidency. Outsourcing is the idea that a company will subcontract to a third party, usually outside of the US, for various parts of its business structure. An example of this and perhaps the largest source of outsourcing is call centers for tech support, where a company will subcontract to a third party and that party will build up the call center and hire the workers for it. Many people have been affected by outsourcing since it started being used widely in the 1980s, and most would argue that outsourcing is not a good business model, that while it not only negatively affects them, it affects the whole economy. While there are some unmistakable positives to outsourcing, I would argue that as a whole, the negatives far outweigh the positives and outsourcing is bad for the United States.
Magee, S. P. (1977). Multinational corporations, the industry technology cycle and development. Journal of World Trade, 11(4), 297-321.
Rao, S. , P. Sharma, and R. Acharya.Canada–U.S. trade and foreign direct investment patterns. Calgary: Calgary University Press, 2003.
Around the 1930s, Brazil and Latin American began following the process of Import Substitution Industrialization, which lasted until the end of the 1980s. The ISI policies devaluated the currency in order to boost exports and discourage imports, followed by adopting different exchange rates for goods (Watkins). ISI in Brazil had an interesting effect; it created a three-prong system of governmental, private, and foreign capital being directed at the infrastructure and heavy industry, manufacturing goods, and the production of durable goods. The program worked at first but then became a serious economic problem. When the 1980s came around Brazil realized that ISI policies lead to inefficient industries because of their lack of exposure to international competition, the policies ignoring the rural sector, and finally limiting the local producers. Following the end of the ISI policies, Brazil went through many plans to correct the economy and none seemed to work until the Real Plan made real changes to the country.
In the year 2007, China and India ranked first and second respectively in the list of ideal foreign direct investment (FDI) destinations, according to A T Kearney, a global strategic management consulting firm (The Press Trust of India Limited, 2007a). The two nations, because of their similarities in geopolitical, economic and demographic aspects, are often compared with each other. To determine which one is more attractive for businesses to expand to, this essay will examine the business environment of both countries from the following perspectives: political/legal, economic, socio-cultural and technological.
Woodward, D. (2001). The next crisis?: Direct and equity investment in developing countries. London: Zed Books.
... to the country and bring with it the advantages of advanced technology, management practices and assured markets. In due course there is a technology transfer as the local workforce gains knowledge of the manufacturing processes and management practices. The value added in these industries is a contribution to GDP and foreign exchange earnings. Therefore FDI contributes to foreign exchange earnings, employment creation and increases in incomes, especially of skilled and semi-skilled workers in these industries
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. (2012). India’s Experience with fdI: Role of a Game Changer. Retrieved from http://www.assocham.org/arb/general/Indias_Experience_with_FDI_Role_of_a_Game_Changer.pdf