Illustrative photo. (Photo: VNA)Vietnam’s manufacturing sector has proven a magnet for foreign direct investment in the first quarter, absorbing 6.54 billion USD, which accounted for 84.9 percent of total registered capital in the period, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Economic experts said that Vietnam needs to research and create favourable conditions for foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses to improve the quality and value of manufactured products.
In addition, FDI enterprises should be encouraged to enlarge investment scale, renovate technology and diversify investment goals to meet legal regulations on foreign investment as well as manufacturing development planning.
Real estate came in second in FDI attraction with nearly 344 million USD, making up of 4.4 percent of total capital, followed by whole sales and retail sale with 296.8 million USD.
The FIA reported that by March 20, investment licenses were licensed to 493 projects with a total registered capital of 2.9 billion VND, a year-on-year increase of 6.5 percent.
Meanwhile, 223 operating projects added 3.94 billion USD in capital, up more than 206 percent from the same period last year. There were also 1,077 deals of capital contribution and share purchase by foreign investors with a total value of nearly 853 million USD, a year-on-year surge of 171.5 percent.
As such, total FDI capital poured into the country was estimated at 7.71 billion USD, increasing 91.5 percent over the same time last year.
Exports of the foreign-invested sector in the reviewed period (including crude oil) reached over 31.4 billion USD, up 13 percent from the same period in 2016 and accounting for 71.8 percent of total exports.
Among 71 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, the Republic of Korea is the country’s largest investor with 3.74 billion USD, accounting for 48.61 percent of total investment capital. It was followed by Singapore with 911 million USD and China with 823.6 million USD.
Samsung Display Vietnam in northern Bac Ninh province adjusting its capital up by 2.5 billion USD increased the province’s FDI to 2.61 billion USD, or 33.86 percent of the total, making the locality the largest FDI recipient in the period.
Southern Binh Duong province ranked second with a registered capital of 1.39 million USD, or over 18 percent of total foreign investment and Ho Chi Minh came in third with nearly 600 million USD, or 7.78 percent of the total./.