HCMC attracts $980 mln FDI in four months

Ho Chi Minh City attracted $979.6 million in registered FDI capital in the year to April 20, down 23.4% year-on-year.

Registered foreign direct investment capital included newly registered capital, additional capital of ongoing projects, and capital contributions for stake acquisitions.

The number of newly-registered FDI projects in the city reached 307 in the four-month period, with total investment capital of $171.3 million, up 69.6% and 8%, respectively.

Wholesale-retail and vehicle repair accounted for the biggest portion with 126 projects worth $63.3 million, or 37% of total newly-registered capital; followed by construction with three projects worth $53.7 million, or 31.4%; science-technology with 81 projects worth $33.7 million, or 19.7%; and information and communications with 52 projects worth $7.9 million, or 4.6%.

Singapore topped the list with 58 projects worth $108.3 million, or 63.2% of the total newly-registered capital; followed by Japan with 26 projects worth $14.8 million, or 8.6%; and Hong Kong with 23 projects worth $11.1 million, or 6.5%.

Capital expansion of operational FDI projects increased 41.8% year-on-year to $372.6 million. A total of 95 projects received adjustments, up 115.9%.

Sciene-technology was the most attractive sector with $136.1 million, or 36.5% of the total value; followed by information and communications with 20 projects worth $129 million, or 34.6%; and wholesale-retail and vehicle repair with 33 projects worth $53.9 million, or 14.5%.

The U.S. was the biggest source with $215.5 million, or 57.7% of the total.

Capital contributions for stake acquisitions fell 3.8% compared to the same period last year to over $435.7 million, while the number of deals decreased 4.3% to 691.

With $182.3 million, wholesale-retail and vehicle repair made up the biggest pie of 41.8% of the total; followed by science-technology with $156.3 million, or 35.9%; and processing-manufacturing with $45.7 million, or 10.5%.

Singapore and South Korea were the biggest contributors with 64.5% and 11.8% of the total.

As of April 20, the southern economic hub had attracted 11,668 FDI projects with new investments and capital hikes worth $56.68 billion; and 24,981 capital contribution deals of $24.43 billion. In total, HCMC had attracted FDI of $80.91 billion.

Registered FDI capital in Vietnam declined 17.9% to $8.88 billion in the first four months of 2023, while disbursed capital dropped 1.2% to $5.85 billion, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Meanwhile, remittance flow into HCMC reached $2.12 billion in the first quarter of this year, up 19.41% year-on-year, according to the HCMC branch of the State Bank of Vietnam.

Remittance is an important source of foreign currencies for Vietnam, apart from exports and foreign direct investment. The HCMC figure was equivalent to 32% of the national total in the period.

Asia was the biggest provider with 43% of the total, thanks to the continent's stable economic growth; meanwhile, those from the Americas, Africa, Oceania dropped due to economic hardships and inflation.

HCMC received a remittance of $6.6 billion in 2022, down 6.67% year-on-year. The figure was equivalent to 33% of the city’s budget collection and 50% of the country's total remittance.