A worker at the Hanoi-based Vietnam Stanley Electric Co Ltd, a joint venture with Japan (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam reached 3.4billion USD in the first two months of the year, up 21.5 percent, compared tothe same period last year, the Foreign Investment Agency’s latest statisticshas revealed.
Upto 313 new foreign-invested projects, with a capital of more than 2 billion USD,received licences during the period, up 6.5 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile,137 existing projects received approvals to expand their capital by anadditional 760 million USD in total, equal to 84.5 percent of the same periodin 2016.
Inthe period between January and February, foreign investors channelled a totalof 619 million USD into local businesses by purchasing their stocks, four timeshigher than last year’s figures for the corresponding period, according to thedata.
Theperiod also saw a slight increase in FDI disbursement at 1.55 billion USD.
FDIcapital was poured into 18 industries and sectors in two months. Themanufacturing and processing industry remained the most attractive area toforeign investors, followed by the real estate, wholesale, and retail sales.
Singaporeremained Vietnam’s largest source of FDI with 881.6 million USD, accounting for25.8 percent of the nation’s total FDI. China and the Republic of Korea rankedsecond and third with 721 million USD and 637 million USD, respectively.
Upto 47 localities nation-wide received FDI in two months. Of them, southern BinhDuong province took the lead with 791 million USD or 23.2 percent of the totalFDI registered in the country. It was followed by the capital city with 519million USD and southern economic hub of HCM City with 464.2 million USD.
Amonglarge-scale foreign-invested projects during the period were a 285 million-USD Vietnam-SingaporeIndustrial Park 3, being developed in Binh Duong and a China-invested polyesterand fiber manufacturing plant in Tay Ninh province worth 220 million USD.-VNA
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