Vietnam attracted US$2.71 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first half of this year, down 0.6 per cent against the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
The country licensed 327 new FDI projects with total registered capital of US$2.21 billion in the period, up 1.2 per cent in terms of project number and up 18.5 per cent in terms of capital on-year. It also allowed 163 existing projects to raise capital by US$501 million in total, down 23.5 per cent in project and down nearly 42 per cent in capital.
The FDI from Asia, the US and Europe, mainly flowed into industrial and construction sectors, service, agriculture, forestry and fishery of Vietnam. HCM City, Hanoi, and southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai, and Binh Duong provinces, continued being the most attractive destinations to foreign investment.
According to the ministry, FDI into Vietnam in the two recent months showed signs of decrease. In June, Vietnam lured US$302 million of total FDI, nearly US$40 million less than the previous month’s figure.
Long-lasting land dispute, sluggish project implementation, increasing number of strikes by workers in foreign-invested firms in southern Vietnam, and inadequate investment license and appraising in Vietnam are attributed to the fall of FDI flow into the country, according to experts from the ministry. Moreover, foreign investors are also waiting for guiding documents to implement the new Common Investment Law and Corporate Law, the ministry says.
Total implemented FDI capital in the first half was over US$1.85 billion, up 17.7 per cent against the same period last year, but accounting for over 40 per cent of the yearly target.
In June, foreign-invested firms in Vietnam, excluding oil and gas firms, reported total revenues of US$2.65 billion, raising their total earnings to US$12.45 billion in the first half of 2006, up nearly 17 per cent on-year. They earned export revenues of US$6.64 billion in the first six months, up 30.8 per cent on-year, and contributed more than US$565 million to the State budget, up 16 per cent on-year.
Investment, Liberated Saigon
Vietnamese
