Fresh FDI approvals at record high in Jan-May
Fresh FDI approvals at record high in Jan-May
Fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals nationwide in the year to May 20 rose by a staggering 69% to a four-year high of over US$16.7 billion, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
The agency’s data shows that the country saw fresh FDI pledges totaling more than US$2.1 billion this month, bringing the five-month figure to US$16.7 billion, compared with the same periods in 2016, 2017 and 2018 at US$10.1 billion, US$12.1 billion and US$9.9 billion, respectively.
Meanwhile, the foreign inflow from mergers and acquisitions was 2.8 times higher than in the year-ago period.
FDI projects reported a total disbursement of US$7.3 billion in the five-month period, up 7.8% from a year earlier.
According to the agency, foreign investors poured roughly US$6.5 billion into more than 1,300 newly licensed projects in the period, marking a year-on-year rise of 38.7% in value.
This period also saw 505 operational FDI projects raising their capital by over US$2.6 billion, up 5.5% against the year-ago period.
These investors also conducted a total of 3,160 transactions to contribute capital and acquire shares in local companies with a combined value of some US$7.6 billion, making up 46% of the total capital pledges.
New FDI capital was mainly poured into the processing and manufacturing sector, at over US$10.5 billion, accounting for a whopping 72% of the total. Following this sector were real estate, at US$1.1 billion, and wholesale and retail, at US$743 million.
Among the 88 countries and territories making fresh investments in Vietnam, Hong Kong took first place, with US$5.08 billion. The most notable transaction was that of Hong Kong Beer Co., which spent US$3.85 billion acquiring a stake in Vietnam Beverage Co., Ltd, a local unit of Thai Beverage Public Co., Ltd.
South Korea came second, with over US$2.6 million, while the third place went to Singapore, with US$2.09 billion.
During the period, Hanoi City attracted the largest proportion of capital commitments, at some US$4.8 billion, followed by HCMC, at US$2.7 billion, and the southern province of Binh Duong, at US$1.25 billion.
As of May 20, the country had over 28,600 valid projects worth a combined US$350.5 billion, of which FDI projects accounted for nearly US$199 billion, 56.7% of the total.
