Vietnam Attracts Over US$12 Billion Worth of FDI In Five Months

Vietnam attracted more than US$12 billion in both new and additional foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges in the first five months of 2017, up 10.4 per cent compared to the same period of 2016, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

So far this year, the country has licensed 939 new investment projects with a total registered capital of US$5.59 billion, equivalent to 73.9 per cent of the 2016 figure. Another 437 projects have registered to increase capital by US$4.74 billion, up 83 per cent from last year.

The January-May period saw over 2,060 arrivals of foreign investors, who have contributed capital through the purchase of shares, leading to a total capital contribution of US$1.79 billion, representing a 116.2 per cent increase against the previous year.

As of May 20, FDI disbursement had reached US$6.15 billion, up 6 per cent over the same period of 2016.

The manufacturing industry remained the largest FDI attraction in five months with an investment of US$8.09 billion, claiming 66.7 per cent of the total figure for the period. The mining sector came second with US$1.28 billion (10.5 per cent of the total), followed by the retail and wholesale industry with US$798 million (6.5 per cent of the total).

The Republic of Korea was the largest foreign investor in Vietnam in the first five months of 2017 with a US$4.41 billion (36.4 per cent of the total) investment, followed by Japan with US$1.94 billion (16 per cent) and Singapore with US$1.23 billion (10.21 per cent).

Bac Ninh province attracted the most FDI capital from January to May with US$2.76 billion (22.7 per cent of the total), followed by Binh Duong with US$1.64 billion (13.5 per cent) and Ho Chi Minh City with US$1.39 billion (11.4 per cent).

NDO