Illustrative image. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Up to 1.6 billion USD worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) was disbursed in January, a year-on-year increase of 6.8 percent, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
The disbursement of investment sourced from the State budget fulfilled 4.8 percent of the yearly target, and increased 8.6 percent year-on-year, to 25.3 trillion VND (1.09 billion USD).
As of January 20, total registered FDI, comprising new and adjusted capital, capital contribution and share purchase by foreign investors, stood at 2.1 billion USD, a rise of 4.2 percent from the previous year.
Following the start of the recovery at the end of 2021, after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many foreign-invested enterprises have stabilised and expanded their production and business activities. Disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) also saw a positive increase of 6.8 percent to surpass 1.61 billion USD during the first month of this year, FIA said in its report.
According to the report, up to 103 new foreign-invested projects were licensed with a total registered capital of nearly 388 million USD, up 119.1 percent year-on-year in terms of the number of projects, but down 70.7 percent in value.
Although registered investment capital decreased compared to the same period last year, due to a lack of large-scale projects, an increase in the number of new investment projects shows the confidence of foreign investors in the country's investment environment, FIA said.
Meanwhile, 71 operating projects were allowed to raise their capital by 1.27 billion USD, up 54.3 percent in project number and nearly triple the level of capital seen in the same month last year.
Capital contributions and share purchases by foreign investors stood at 443.5 million USD, double the amount compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
Among 15 sectors receiving FDI in the first month, processing and manufacturing took the lead with over 1.2 billion USD, accounting for 58.9 percent of the total FDI. Real estate came next with 472 million USD, equivalent to 22.5 percent. Administrative sectors and supporting services and wholesale and retail were the runners-up with over 221 million USD and 52.5 million USD, respectively.
As per the data, Singapore led 33 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with total investment capital of nearly 666 million USD, making up nearly 31.7 percent of the total FDI registered in the country.
The Republic of Korea (RoK) ranked second with over 481 million USD, up five times year-on-year or equivalent to 30 percent of the total FDI. Mainland China came third with nearly 451 million USD, down 27 percent or 21.5 percent.
The capital city attracted the highest amount of FDI, with over 448 million USD, 29.9 times higher than last January and making up 21.3 percent of the total.
The central province of Nghe An came second with 400 million USD, 19 percent of the total, thanks to two existing projects increasing their levels of capital.
Following Nghe An was followed by Bac Ninh, Long An and Phu Tho.
Earlier, the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper reported that Vietnam expects good results in FDI attraction in 2022 and following years, following optimism from many experts from the end of 2021.
The Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) also commented that 2022 and the following years could be good for Vietnam, with many large-scale and high-quality projects from world-leading firms.
Furthermore, 67 percent of European businesses said that they are optimistic about the business climate in Vietnam.
A survey by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) showed that 55.3 percent of Japanese firms said that they intend to expand their business in Vietnam, and only 0.3 percent plan to withdraw. According to the survey, which was conducted from August to September 2021, 56.2 percent of the firms expect higher profits in 2022, and only 9.6 percent predict lower profits.
Vietnam had 15 new outbound investment projects valued at 44.2 million USD, 14 times higher than the corresponding time last year, and two others reduced capital by 7.2 million USD./.
