APD | Vietnam lures 14.59 billion USD in FDI in four months

By APD writer Alice

Hanoi, May 5 (APD) – Vietnam attracted 14.59 billion USD foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first four months of 2019, a significant yearly increase of 81 percent.

The result is the highest in the past four years, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under Ministry of Planning and Investment.

FDI disbursement also rose by 7.5 percent from the same period last year to reach 5.7 billion USD.

Up to 1,082 new projects were granted licences with total registered capital of 5.34 billion USD, up 50.4 percent from the same period last year, while 395 existing projects receiving an additional 2.11 billion USD, 94 percent of the level from the corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, capital pledged for stake acquisitions reached 5.68 billion USD, triple the same period last year, the FIA said.

Foreign investors poured their cash into 19 sectors. Manufacturing and processing remained the most appealing sector by attracting 10.5 billion USD, accounting for 72 percent of total investment inflow. It was followed by real estate with 1.1 billion USD (7.5 percent) and wholesale and retail with 742.7 million USD (5 percent).

Hong Kong was the leading source of foreign investment with 4.7 billion USD among 80 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, nearly 32.5 percent of the country’s total FDI. The Republic of Korea ranked second with 1.98 billion USD (13.6 percent), and Singapore came next with 1.87 billion USD (12.8 percent).

In the first four months of the year, Hanoi lured the largest share of registered capital with 4.47 billion USD, or 30.6 percent of total investment. The capital was followed by HCM City with 2.37 billion USD (16.3 percent) and the southern province of Binh Duong with 1 billion USD (7 percent).

Exports (including crude oil) of the foreign sector reached 55.4 billion USD, a 4 percent year-on-year increase and accounting for 70 percent of the country’s total export turnover.

The sector's import turnover in the January-April period rose by 9 percent compared to the same period last year to 42.3 billion USD, accounting for 58 percent of the country’s total import turnover.

The foreign sector enjoyed a trade surplus of 13.1 billion USD in the four months.

The Foreign Investment Agency also said that in the first four months of the year, Vietnamese firms invested nearly 150 million USD in foreign markets.

Of the investment, 96 million USD was poured into 44 new projects while the remaining 53.5 million USD was pledged to nine existing projects.

Vietnam’s outbound investment projects mainly focused on science and technology at 81.7 million USD, accounting for 54.7 percent of the total.

Vietnamese firms invested into 23 countries and territories in the period. Spain lured the biggest amount of investment from them with a large scale project of 59.8 million USD, accounting for 40 percent of the total.

Cambodia and Malaysia followed with 37.9 million USD and 14 million USD, respectively.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)