FDI capital exceeds US$10 billion in Q1
According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the total newly-registered and adjusted capital, capital contribution, and share purchases of foreign direct investment enterprises from the beginning of this year to March 20 hit US$10.13 billion, up 18.5 percent over the same period last year.
The realized FDI capital was estimated at $4.1 billion, up 6.5 percent over the same period last year.
Among the FDI projects, there were 234 newly-licensed projects, with a total registered capital of $7.2 billion, an increase of more than 30 percent compared to the same period last year. Besides, there were 161 projects registered to adjust investment capital for an additional capital of $2.1 billion, an increase of more than 97 percent year-on-year. There were 734 times of capital contribution and share purchases, with a total value of $805.3 million, down nearly 59 percent over the same period.
Noticeably, the average size of newly-licensed projects and capital-adjusted projects both increased sharply over the same period. The three largest investment projects accounted for nearly 72 percent of the total newly-registered capital in the first three months of this year. Leading in the investment scale was the Long An I and II LNG-to-power plant projects, with a total registered capital of over $3.1 billion. The goal of the project is to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity in Long An Province.
The O Mon II thermal power plant project followed with a total registered capital of over $1.31 billion. The project aims to build a thermal power plant to supply power to the regional grid and the national power system in Can Tho by a Japanese enterprise. The LG Display Hai Phong project of a Korean enterprise ranked third with an additional investment capital of $750 million.
FDI enterprises have invested in 17 fields. Of which, the processing and manufacturing industry was in the first place, with a total investment capital of nearly $5 billion, accounting for nearly 50 percent of total registered investment capital. The field of electricity generation and distribution was the runner-up, with a total investment capital of $3.9 billion, accounting for 38.9 percent. The real estate sector came in third, with a total registered capital of $600 million.
More than 55 countries and territories had invested in Vietnam in the first quarter of the year, led by Singapore, with a total investment of nearly $4.6 billion, accounting for nearly 46 percent of the total FDI capital in Vietnam.
Japan chased after with nearly $2.1 billion, accounting for nearly 21 percent. South Korea ranked third with a total registered investment capital of nearly 1.2 billion, accounting for nearly 12 percent.
Long An was the province, leading in FDI attraction among 63 provinces and cities, with a total registered investment capital of $3.2 billion, accounting for more than 32 percent of total registered investment capital. Can Tho City was next, with a total registered capital of nearly $1.3 billion, accounting for more than 13 percent. Hai Phong City stood in third place with $946 million, accounting for more than 9 percent.
Thus, by March 20, Vietnam has attracted 33,294 valid FDI projects, with a total registered capital of $393.3 billion. Accumulated realized capital was estimated at $236.96 billion, accounting for nearly 60 percent of total valid registered investment capital. Import and export turnover of the FDI sector continued to increase in the first three months of the year, with a surplus of about $2.1 billion.
Source: SGGP
