Japanese media said that Chinese companies' investment in Southeast Asia has surged. In Vietnam, from January to May 2019, the approval of new investment from China increased to nearly six times that of the same period last year. In Thailand, it increased to 2 times from January to March this year.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun website reported on June 13 that China’s approval for new investment in Vietnam has grown rapidly from January to May. If this rate is maintained, in 2019, China is likely to be the first to increase its investment since 2007.
According to reports, in Thailand, investment from China is also increasing. According to statistics, the direct investment from China approved by the Investment Board of Thailand from January to March increased to twice the same period of the previous year.
The Asian Development Bank said that Chinese companies have been increasing their investment in emerging Asian markets in recent years. In particular, Vietnam is geographically close to China and has low labor costs, so it was selected as the most important investment location.
After the Duterte regime came to power in the Philippines, investment from China also expanded rapidly due to improved relations with China. According to the statistics of the National Statistics Office of the Philippines, the amount of investment approval from China in 2018 has significantly exceeded that of 2017, and surpassed Japan, which ranked first in 2017, to the top.