The lack of incentives has led many foreign companies to abandon investment in Vietnam

Vietnam's investment ministry says the country has missed out on billions of dollars in investments from multinational companies such as Intel and LG Chem because of a lack of adequate investment incentives.

The investment ministry said in a June 29 document that U.S. chipmaker Intel had proposed investing $3.3 billion in a project in Vietnam and asked for 15 percent "cash support" from Vietnam, but later decided to move the project to Poland, according to a document they reviewed.

After asking Vietnam to bear 30 percent of the investment cost, South Korea's LG Chem Co LTD also skipped Vietnam and invested in a battery project in Indonesia, the document said.

"Recently, many large groups came to Vietnam to explore investment opportunities, but later decided to move to other countries due to the lack of investment support regulations in Vietnam," the document said.

Vietnam is a key manufacturing base for companies such as Samsung Electronics, Foxconn and Intel, and its economic growth is heavily dependent on foreign investment. Foreign-invested companies account for about 70 per cent of its total exports.

Confirming a Reuters report in November, the ministry document said Intel had shelved an investment plan in Vietnam that would have doubled its local business.

The document added that Austrian semiconductor maker AT&S decided to invest in Malaysia after its request for Vietnamese support for investment was not met, and Samsung Electronics is also moving some of its production to India.

Multinationals have been eyeing Vietnam's plans for an investment incentive fund after the National Assembly last year approved the world's lowest corporate tax rate of 15 per cent, increasing the amount of tax companies actually pay.