Foreign investment highest in 10 years
Foreign investment highest in 10 years
Pledged foreign investment in Vietnam had reached US$38.02 billion in the year to December 20, the highest in the past decade, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Newly pledged foreign investment was 7.2% higher than from the year-ago period.
Nearly 3,900 new projects had obtained investment certificates, with total registered capital of US$16.75 billion, equivalent to 93.2% of the figure recorded in the same period last year. The average capital per project was down from US$5.9 million in 2018 to US$4.3 million this year.
In addition, nearly 1,400 operational foreign-invested projects had won approval to inject an additional US$5.8 billion, equivalent to 76.4% of the figure in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the period also saw a surge in foreign indirect investment.
Foreign investors had conducted more than 9,800 transactions to contribute funds and acquire shares in local firms, at a combined value of US$15.47 billion, surging 56.4% year-on-year.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency, foreign investors were increasingly keen on capital contributions and share acquisitions. In 2017, foreign indirect investment made up 17.2% of the total foreign investment, while the 2018 and 2019 rates were 27.9% and 40.7%.
Foreign investors were committed to 19 sectors, of which the manufacturing and processing sector has attracted the most capital, at US$24.56 billion, nearly 64.6% of new capital.
The real estate sector came in second, with US$3.88 billion, followed by the wholesale-retail and science-technology sectors.
South Korea was Vietnam’s largest investor in the period, with US$7.92 billion, or 20.8% of the total. Hong Kong ranked second, with US$7.87 billion, followed by Singapore with US$4.5 billion.
Of note, Chinese investment rocketed by nearly 1.65 times, compared to the same period last year.
As for localities, Hanoi attracted the most registered foreign investment, with over US$8.45 billion, accounting for 22.2% of the nation’s total. It was followed by HCMC, with nearly US$8.3 billion.
In 2019, the number of foreign business delegations to Vietnam to seek investment opportunities has surged by 30%. They are mainly from Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. Moreover, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has held multiple meetings with enterprises from these markets, as well as those from Germany, Thailand, the Netherlands and India.
The disbursed foreign investment had also reached a new record of US$20.38 billion in the year to December 20, up 6.7% over the same period last year.
