Registered foreign direct investment capital in Vietnam declined 38.8% to $5.45 billion in the first quarter of 2023, while disbursed capital dropped 2.2% to $4.3 billion.
Registered FDI capital included newly registered capital, additional capital of ongoing projects, and capital contributions for stake acquisitions.
The Foreign Investment Agency cited the drop to the $1.32 billion Danish toy-making giant Lego licensed in the first quarter of last year as the main reason for the year-on-year decline. Its registered capital accounted for 41% of the country's newly-registered FDI capital during the period.
Manufacturing and processing received the largest amount of registered FDI in the year to March 20 with $4 billion, accounting for 73% of Vietnam's total and down 25% year-on-year. The real estate sector ranked second with $766 million, or 14.1%, down 71.6%.
Wholesale-retail attracted $276 million, two times higher year-on-year, and warehouses brought in nearly $151 million, up 37%.
Of the 67 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the period, Singapore led the pack with $1.69 billion, or nearly 31% of the total, down 26.3% year-on-year.
Mainland China ranked second with nearly $552 million, accounting for 10.1% of the total, down 38.3%, followed by Taiwan with $477 million (8.8%), up 47.5%; South Korea, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands.
The number of newly-registered FDI projects reached 522 with total investment capital of $3 billion, up 62.1% and down 5.9%, respectively.
The newly-registered projects were located mainly in cities and provinces with strengths in terms of infrastructure, human resources, and administrative reform that made efforts to attract FDI, like Bac Giang, Bac Ninh and Hai Phong in the north, and Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City in the south.
Capital expansion of operational FDI projects dropped 70.3% year-on-year to just over $1.2 billion. A total of 228 projects received adjustments, up 2.6%.
Capital contributions for stake acquisitions rose 3.7% compared to the same period last year to nearly $797.9 million, while the number of deals increased 10% to 440.