4-month FDI disbursement up 7.6%, registers down

Vietnam saw foreign direct investment disbursement in the first four months of the year expand 7.6% year-on-year to $5.92 billion, while registered capital dropped 11.7% to $10.8 billion.

Registered capital includes capital of newly registered projects, registered capital expansion of operational projects, and capital contribution for stake acquisitions.

Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) data shows that capital of newly registered projects in the year to April 20 plunged 56.3% to $3.7 billion, but both registered capital expansion and capital contribution for stake acquisitions rocketed 92.5% and 74.5% to almost $5.29 billion and $1.83 billion, respectively.

Foreign investors invested in 18 out of 21 economic sectors, mostly in processing and manufacturing with $6.2 billion, accounting for 57.2% of the total registered FDI. The real estate sector came second with $2.8 billion, and retail third with $667.8 million.

Singapore was the four-month period’s top investor with $3.1 billion, equal to 28.8% of the total. South Korea ranked second with $1.82 billion, while Denmark was the third thanks to toymaker Lego Group’s $1.3 billion registered for a major smart factory project in the industrial province of Binh Duong, which borders Ho Chi Minh City.

Some other major projects recorded in the past four months included Bac Ninh province-based Viet Nam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP), which raised its capital by nearly $941 million, and Korea’s Samsung Electro-mechanics Vietnam Co., which added $920 million to its investment.

Among the 44 cities and provinces securing FDI in the period, Binh Duong in the south took the lead with $2.35 billion. Bac Ninh in the north came second with $1.57 billion, while the economic hub of HCMC was third with almost $1.28 billion.

The FIA said the opening of international air routes from March 15 would positively affect investment capital flows soon. "Despite the negative effects of the pandemic, foreign investors still put their faith in the economy and investment environment of Vietnam, made new investment decisions, and expanded their operational projects."

So far this year, Vietnamese enterprises have invested almost $330 million abroad, down 40% year-on-year, according to the agency. Of the sum, over $285 million was injected into 34 new projects.