An aerial view of the Amata City Halong Industrial Estate in Vietnam.

SET-listed Amata VN, an industrial estate developer in Vietnam, expects its revenue to increase by 15-20% in 2024, driven by more foreign investment in Vietnam, especially from China, as a result of geopolitical conflicts and the US-China trade war.

The US-China trade war is causing Chinese entrepreneurs to relocate production facilities to Southeast Asia, while other investors want to expand their business in the region, with Vietnam being their preferred investment destination.

"Vietnam is expected to experience an influx of foreign investment in electronics, auto parts and semiconductors," said Somhatai Panichewa, director and chief executive of Amata VN, a subsidiary of Thai industrial estate developer Amata Corporation Plc.

The company is targeting sales of 550-625 rai of industrial land in Vietnam this year.

Amata VN is developing four industrial estates spanning 18,000 rai of land in total under a US$860-million investment budget. They are Amata City Bien Hoa Industrial Estate, Amata City Long Thanh Industrial Estate, Amata City Halong Industrial Estate and Quang Tri Industrial Estate.

The facilities will accommodate more than 200 businesses, generate investment worth 6 billion baht and create 60,000 jobs.

Amata City Bien Hoa, located in Dong Nai province in southeastern Vietnam, is set to be a model eco-industrial park, while Amata City Long Thanh in southern Vietnam will be developed into a high-tech industrial complex.

Vietnam's GDP is expected to grow by 6-6.5% this year after it reached 5.6% in the first quarter, said Yasuo Tsutsui, Amata VN's manager for marketing, sales and partnership management.

GDP growth in Vietnam stood at 5.5% in 2023.

Up to 70% of foreign investment in Asean goes to Vietnam, with Singapore ranked first in terms of the investment value, followed by Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.

Both Vietnam and Thailand are attracting more foreign investors and each country has the same goal of building a regional semiconductor manufacturing hub within its borders.

But Vietnam seems to be more attractive to foreign investors because of high economic growth, the large population, cheap wages and more affordable electricity prices than Thailand's, said Mr Tsutsui.