Vietnam lures more than US$36 billion in FDI this year

The country attracted nearly US$36.61 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) from January to December 20, representing an increase of 32.1% against the same period from last year, according to statistics compiled by the Foreign Investment Agency.

Of the figure, newly-registered capital surged by 62.2% to reach nearly US$20.19 billion against the same period from last year. In addition, the number of newly-registered projects also reached 3,188 projects, up 56.6%.

According to insiders, this is a positive sign as both new projects and newly-registered capital experienced a sharp rise throughout the reviewed period.

More than US$7.88 billion was added to 1,262 existing projects, marking a drop of 22.1% against the same period from last year.

Meanwhile, the value of capital contribution and share purchase deals rose by 65.7% to reach more than U$8.5 billion on-year.

According to information given by the Foreign Investment Agency, FDI inflows were mainly channeled into provinces and cities with advantages such as favourable infrastructure, stable human resources, simplified administrative procedures, and dynamism in investment promotion.

These localities include Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Thai Binh, Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Nghe An, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai.

These 10 localities alone account for 78.6% of new projects and 74.4% of the country's total FDI during the entire year.

This year has seen foreign investors inject money into 18 industries out of 21 national economic sectors. Of which, the processing and manufacturing industry led the way with a total investment capital of more than US$23.5 billion, accounting for 64.2% of total registered capital and representing an annual increase of 39.9%.

The real estate sector ranked second with nearly US$4.67 billion, followed by electricity production and distribution with more than US$2.37 billion and finance, whilst the banking sector was at nearly US$1.56 billion

Singapore topped the list of 111 countries and territories pouring capital into the Vietnamese market with more than US$6.8 billion, up 5.4% on-year.

Elsewhere, Japan ranked second with nearly US$6.57 billion, up 37.3%, followed by Hong Kong (China) with more than US$4.68 billion, China, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan (China).

(Source:VOV)