Vietnam records $10.98 bln in Q1 registered FDI, $4.96 bln in disbursement

Registered foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam hit $10.98 billion in the first quarter of the year, while disbursed capital reached $4.96 billion, up 34.7% and 7.2% year-on-year, respectively.

The manufacturing-processing sector received the biggest share of registered capital with $6.79 billion, up 26% year-on-year and accounting for 61.9% of the total, followed by real estate with nearly $2.39 billion (21.8%), up 44.1%.

At the Ministry of Finance's calculations, registered capital comprises capital for newly-registered projects, additional capital for existing projects, and capital for stake acquisitions.

Singapore led the pack in terms of registered capital (more than $3 billion), or over 27.6% of the country's total, rising 3.8% year-on-year.

South Korea ranked second with nearly $2.04 billion, or 8.5%, 2.7 times higher than the same period last year. Of this, the additional investment capital of Samsung Display was $1.2 billion. Next were mainland China, Japan, and Taiwan.

Among the top recipients of registered FDI capital in the three months, Bac Ninh province led with nearly $1.9 billion, accounting for 17.3% of the country's total, nearly 2.1 times higher than the same period.

Most recently, in Bac Ninh on March 31, six foreign-invested projects received investment registration certificates with total registered capital of $320.5 million; three others had their certificates adjusted to increase their total capital by $135.8 million, and one firm agreed to expand its capital by an extra $260 million.

Ho Chi Minh City ranked second with nearly $1.43 billion, making for nearly 13% of the total, up 58.3% year-on-year. Next are Hanoi, Dong Nai, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and Ha Nam.

Of the country's total registered capital in the three-month period, over $4.33 billion (down 31.5% year-on-year) was pledged for newly-registered projects.

Nearly $5.16 billion, a more than four-fold increase, was additional capital for 401 existing projects (up 44.8%). Capital contributions/stake acquisitions reached $1.49 billion (up 83.7%) with 810 deals (up 11.6%).

According to the Foreign Investment Agency, newly registered capital decreased by 31.5% because there were not many large projects in the three months compared to the same period last year.

Registered FDI in Vietnam hit $38.23 billion in 2024, down 3% year-on-year, while disbursed FDI capital reached $25.35 billion, an all-time high.

Answering the media's enquiries on Thursday several hours after President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on a series of countries, including 46% for Vietnam, Adam Sitkoff, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Hanoi, commented that the tariff issue will not prevent FDI from continuing to enter Vietnam or cause investors to massively withdraw from Vietnam in the near future.

Sitkoff affirmed that Vietnam is a good place for all types of companies to do business, thanks to many advantages like low labor costs.