Annual FDI tops $20b on manufacturing
Annual FDI tops $20b on manufacturing
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 per cent decline compared with the same period last year but had exceeded the annual target of $17 billion by 19 per cent. Up to 1,558 new foreign-invested projects, worth a combined total of $15.64 billion, received investment licences during the reviewed period, representing a year-on-year increase of 9.6 per cent, the agency said.
In addition, some 594 operating projects received approval to increase their capital by $4.58 billion, or the equivalent of 62.4 per cent of the figures seen in the same period last year.
As of mid-December, FDI disbursement has seen encouraging growth of 7.4 per cent to reach $12.35 billion, the agency noted in its latest report.
The manufacturing and processing sector absorbed the lion's share of the FDI, with $14.49 billion, or 71.6 per cent of the nation's total FDI. Estate trading came second ($2.54 billion, or 12.6 per cent), while construction came third ($1.05 billion, or 5.2 per cent).
Among the 60 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam, South Korea took the lead with $7.32 billion, making up 36.2 per cent of the total FDI registered in the country. It was followed by Hong Kong ($3 billion, or 14.8 per cent), Singapore ($2.79 billion, or 13.8 per cent) and Japan ($2.05 billion, or 10.1 per cent).
The agency said that the northern province of Thai Nguyen was considered the most attractive destination by foreign investors, having received $3.35 billion in investments, accounting for 16.6 per cent of the nation's total FDI. The southern economic hub of HCM City and southern Dong Nai Province ranked second and third, with $3.1 billion and $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. These three areas have attracted combined investment capital of $4.29 billion.
According to the agency, the foreign-invested sector recorded a trade surplus of $17.03 billion in 2014 as it had generated $101.59 billion from exports–an annual increase of 15.2 per cent, or equivalent to 68 per cent of the country's total export turnover–while importing $84.56 billion worth of goods, up 13.6 per cent.
