Foreign direct investment and urban growth in Vietnam: spatial, economic, and demographic perspectives

Abstract

This research reviews the volume and the spatial pattern of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) over three decades in Vietnam. Since Vietnam embraced the market mechanism, Doi Moi, in 1986, foreign investments have become a crucial part of Vietnam, integrating with the world economy beyond former communist countries. Analysing the profiles of 24,624 FDI projects reported in the period 1988–2017, this research has observed the following three interlocked features. (1) Spatial development. Along with growing volume, inward FDI has been highly concentrated in the two top-tier city-regions: the Ho Chi Minh City Region (HCMCR) and the Hanoi Capital Region (HCR). These two city-regions have attracted ..