FDI Tops US$20 Blnn in 2014
The total foreign direct investment (FDI) registered in the country topped US$20.23 billion in 2014, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency.
The agency noted that this figure showed a 6.5 percent decline compared with the same period last year but exceeded the annual target of US$17 billion by 19 percent. Up to 1,558 new foreign-invested projects, worth a combined total of US$15.64 billion, received investment licences during the reviewed period, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.6 percent, the agency said.
In addition, some 594 operating projects received approval to increase their capital by US$4.58 billion, or the equivalent of 62.4 percent of the figures seen in the same period last year.
As of mid-December, FDI disbursement has seen encouraging growth of 7.4 percent to reach 12.35 billion US$, the agency noted in its latest report.
The manufacturing and processing sector absorbed the lion's share of the FDI, with US$14.49 billion, or 71.6 percent of the nation's total FDI. Estate trading came second (US$2.54 billion, or 12.6 percent), while construction came third (US$1.05 billion, or 5.2 percent).
Among the 60 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, the Republic of Korea took the lead with US$7.32 billion, making up 36.2 percent of the total FDI registered in the country. It was followed by Hong Kong (US$3 billion, or 14.8 percent), Singapore (US$2.79 billion, or 13.8 percent) and Japan (US$2.05 billion, or 10.1 percent).
The agency said that the northern province of Thai Nguyen was considered the most attractive destination by foreign investors, having received US$3.35 billion in investments, accounting for 16.6 percent of the nation's total FDI. The southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City and southern Dong Nai province ranked second and third, with US$3.1 billion and US$1.83 billion respectively.
Other ideal investment destinations for foreign investors included the northern province of Bac Ninh, southern Binh Duong province and the central province of Khanh Hoa, attracting combined investment of US$4.29 billion.
According to the agency, the foreign-invested sector recorded a trade surplus of US$17.03 billion in 2014 as it had generated US$101.59 billion from exports–an annual increase of 15.2 percent, or equivalent to 68 percent of the country's total export turnover–while importing US$84.56 billion worth of goods, up 13.6 percent.
(CPV/VNA)
Vietnamese
