Registered FDI in Vietnam hits record of $4.26 bln in Sept, $24.8 bln in 9 months

Registered foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam totaled $24.78 billion in the first nine months of this year, up 11.6% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The figure included $4.26 billion in September alone, the highest-ever monthly figure, the ministry highlighted.

Registered capital comprises of capital for newly-registered projects, additional capital for existing projects, and capital for stake acquisitions.

For the nine-month period, $13.55 billion was pledged for 2,492 newly-registered projects, up 11.3% and down 4.3% year-on-year, respectively. Additional capital for 1,027 existing projects reached $.764 billion, up 7.3% and 48.1% year-on-year.

About $3.59 billion came from 2,471 capital contributions and share acquisition deals, down 26.2% and 6.5%, respectively. This was the only segment that recorded a year-on-year decrease in terms of capital.

Locality-wise, the northern province of Bac Ninh was the most attractive FDI destination with $4.51 billion, up 247% year-on-year and accounting for 18.2% of the national total.

Major projects in the province this year include $1.07 billion of additional investment committed by Amkor, a $383.3 million electronic components factory by Taiwanese electronic giant Foxconn, a $280 million plant by Goertek Technology Vina Company Limited, and a $260 million high-precision printed circuit board (PCB) project by Victory Giant Technology (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.

Other top localities were Ho Chi Minh City with $1.91 billion, the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh with $1.81 billion, and the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau with $1.7 billion.

By sector, manufacturing-processing continued to post the biggest figure of $15.64 billion, or 63.1% of the total registered capital; followed by real estate with $4.38 billion, or 17.%. Regarding year-on-year changes, the manufacturing-processing sector slightly fell 0.4% while the real estate sector jumped 123.6%.

Singapore was the biggest FDI provider during the period with $7.35 billion, up 69% year-on-year, followed by mainland China with $3.23 billion, and South Korea with $2.89 billion.

In terms of the number of new projects, mainland China led the pack with 729, or 29.3% of the total.

The FDI disbursement in the nine-month period reached $17.3 billion, up 8.9% year-on-year.

Vietnam has so far attracted 41,314 valid FDI projects with a total registered capital of $491.71 billion. Disbursement has reached $314.5 billion, or 64% of the registered FDI capital, ministry data shows.

The biggest investors have been South Korea with $88.3 billion, or 18% of the total; and Singapore with $81.1 billion, or 16.5%.

The top FDI recipients in Vietnam have been HCMC with $58.2 billion, or 11.8% of the total; followed by Hanoi with $43.7 billion, or 8.9%; and the southern province of Binh Duong with $42 billion, or 8.5%.