Despite an increase in additionally registered foreign capital by 50 per cent on-year, newly-registered foreign direct investment (FDI) pulled down the total in the first eight months of the year.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency, Vietnam counted total FDI inflows of about $16.8 billion in the first eight months of the year, equivalent to 87.7 percent of the previous year's total.
Of this, $6.35 billion were poured into 1,135 newly licensed projects, equivalent to the number of projects last year, and a sharp reduction of 43.9 percent in value.
Another $7.5 billion were added to 676 projects currently underway, a rise of 50.7 percent in value and 5.8 percent in quantity. Overseas investors also poured almost $2.9 billion into just over 2,425 share purchase deals, an increase of 3.6 percent over the same period last year.
Another $7.5 billion were added to 676 projects currently underway, a rise of 50.7 percent in value and 5.8 percent in quantity.
FDI disbursement climbed slightly by 10.5 percent on-year, to around $12.8 billion.
Among the 18 sectors receiving funds in the first seven months, processing and manufacturing took the lead with more than $10.7 billion, accounting for 63.9 percent of total FDI, followed by real estate ($3.3 billion), science-technology, professional activities ($620.8 million), and ICT ($519 million).
Singapore led the 94 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the first eight months with a total investment capital of around $4.53 billion, followed by South Korea ($3.5 billion) and Japan ($1.49 billion).
Ho Chi Minh City attracted the highest amount of FDI in these eight months with over $2.7 billion, followed by Binh Duong with $2.64 billion, and Bac Ninh with $1.75 billion.
The export turnover of foreign-invested enterprises (FIE) continued increasing by 17 percent on-year to about $184.66 billion (including crude oil) or $183 billion (excluding crude oil), making up about 73.6 percent of the country's total export value.
Their import turnover was estimated at around $161.26 billion, up 14.2 percent and accounting for 65 percent of the total.
The trade surplus of FIEs was $23.4 billion (including crude oil) or $21.7 billion (excluding crude oil) in the first eight months, while local businesses reported a trade deficit of $21.8 billion.
Almost 35,539 valid foreign-invested projects were accumulated across the country, with a total registered capital of more than $430 billion. Their disbursement was about $264.4 billion, equivalent to 61.5 percent of the valid registered capital.
(Vietnam Investment Review)