Fresh foreign investment surge

Vietnam attracted total foreign direct investment (FDI) of US$3.1 billion in the first two months, down 38% year-on-year.

According to data of the Foreign Investment Agency, despite the overall fall, fresh FDI recorded strong growth, with 261 projects with total registered capital of over US$1.76 billion licensed, rising 2.8-fold against the same period last year. Foreign investment through capital contribution and share purchase also increased, with 440 deals worth nearly US$798 million, up 3.7% year-on-year. However, the capital increase of existing projects fell sharply, with 133 projects approved to raise capital by US$535.4 million, down 85.1% year-on-year, and is the main factor for the overall fall in FDI.

FDI capital disbursement in the period was US$2.55 billion, down 4.9% year-on-year.

The processing and manufacturing sector attracted the most FDI, with US$2.17 billion. The real estate sector came second with US$396.9 million, followed by wholesale and retail with US$202.1 million and logistics with US$141.9 million.

Singapore was the top foreign investor in the period, with US$978.4 million. It was followed by Taiwan (US$407.1 million), the Netherlands (US$369 million), China (US$341.7 million) and South Korea (US$223.9 million).

Bac Giang Province took the lead in FDI attraction, with US$824.3 million. HCMC ranked second with US$369.1 million. However, the city ranked first in the number of new FDI projects, at 103.

As of February 20, 2023, there were 36,611 valid FDI projects with total capital of US$442.3 billion in Vietnam, with US$267.5 billion disbursed, or 62.5% of the total registered capital.