The country's foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in the first two months of the year declined more than 60 percent to 1.54 billion USD against the same period last year.
However, industry insiders forecast that the FDI flow will increase this year.
According to the General Statistics Office, of the total investment, 830 million USD was the registered capital of 122 new projects, while the rest was additional capital of 41 existing projects.
Processing and manufacturing remained the most attractive industries for foreign investors in the first two months of the year, comprising 1.18 billion USD of the total capital. Real estate followed with 278.3 million USD.
The Republic of Korea was Vietnam's biggest investor with nearly 469 million USD. Singapore ranked second with 264.5 million USD.
Japan and the US also poured 263.36 million USD and 129.2 million USD respectively into Vietnam in the first two months.
Though the FDI flow in the initial months of the year was significantly modest, industry insiders expect the activity to increase in the coming months. This is based on the recent actions of foreign investors who are sanguine about the prospects of doing business in Vietnam.
This week, high-level executives from 33 leading US companies are visiting Vietnam for the annual US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) meet and to look for investment opportunities. The number of participants at this year's event sees an increase of 11 businesses over last year's event.
This is a clear signal that the US business community views the Southeast Asian nation as a lucrative investment location and is waiting for the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to be signed.
USABC explained that one of the main reasons for the keen interest of the US businesses is that the macro-economy in Vietnam has improved significantly and the inflation rate and exchange rate have been kept in check.
In the latest survey released by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) on business confidence among Japanese-affiliated firms in 20 countries and territories in Asia and Oceania from October to November last year, 70 percent said they regarded Vietnam as an important investment base and planned to expand investment in the country. JETRO surveyed 9,371 Japanese firms operating in 20 countries, including 435 Japanese firms in Vietnam.
According to Yasuzumi Hirotaka, managing director of JETRO in HCM City, said at a meeting early this week that the percentage of respondents in Vietnam planning to expand operations was rather high compared with other countries in the region (Indonesia with 66.4 percent; Thailand, 66.2 percent; Philippines, 58.1 percent; China, 54.2 percent; and Malaysia, 51.4 percent).-VNA
However, industry insiders forecast that the FDI flow will increase this year.
According to the General Statistics Office, of the total investment, 830 million USD was the registered capital of 122 new projects, while the rest was additional capital of 41 existing projects.
Processing and manufacturing remained the most attractive industries for foreign investors in the first two months of the year, comprising 1.18 billion USD of the total capital. Real estate followed with 278.3 million USD.
The Republic of Korea was Vietnam's biggest investor with nearly 469 million USD. Singapore ranked second with 264.5 million USD.
Japan and the US also poured 263.36 million USD and 129.2 million USD respectively into Vietnam in the first two months.
Though the FDI flow in the initial months of the year was significantly modest, industry insiders expect the activity to increase in the coming months. This is based on the recent actions of foreign investors who are sanguine about the prospects of doing business in Vietnam.
This week, high-level executives from 33 leading US companies are visiting Vietnam for the annual US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) meet and to look for investment opportunities. The number of participants at this year's event sees an increase of 11 businesses over last year's event.
This is a clear signal that the US business community views the Southeast Asian nation as a lucrative investment location and is waiting for the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to be signed.
USABC explained that one of the main reasons for the keen interest of the US businesses is that the macro-economy in Vietnam has improved significantly and the inflation rate and exchange rate have been kept in check.
In the latest survey released by the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) on business confidence among Japanese-affiliated firms in 20 countries and territories in Asia and Oceania from October to November last year, 70 percent said they regarded Vietnam as an important investment base and planned to expand investment in the country. JETRO surveyed 9,371 Japanese firms operating in 20 countries, including 435 Japanese firms in Vietnam.
According to Yasuzumi Hirotaka, managing director of JETRO in HCM City, said at a meeting early this week that the percentage of respondents in Vietnam planning to expand operations was rather high compared with other countries in the region (Indonesia with 66.4 percent; Thailand, 66.2 percent; Philippines, 58.1 percent; China, 54.2 percent; and Malaysia, 51.4 percent).-VNA
