Fresh FDI surges 40% in Jan-May
By Quoc Hung - The Saigon Times Daily
HCMC – The country has seen as much as US$7.1 billion committed in fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the first five months of the year, up 40% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency.
However, additional capital injected into operational FDI projects tumbled by up to 93.4% to a mere US$400 million, according to the agency. The aggregate FDI amount in the January-May period, therefore, contracted by 23% to US$7.5 billion only.
Prominent newly-licensed projects include AES TKV Mong Duong Power Co., Ltd. worth US$2.1 billion, Kobelco Vietnam worth US$1 billion, Skybridge Dragon Sea Co. Ltd worth US$902.5 million, and Posco SS-Vina worth US$600 million.
In the FDI breakdown, the processing and manufacturing sector received much attention of foreign investors with 127 projects worth a combined US$2.55 billion.
Foreign investors also pledged to invest US$2.2 billion in the fields of production and distribution of electricity, gas and water, accounting for 28.6% of the total, followed by the real estate sector with US$1.283 billion in fresh funds and increased capital.
For the first time, the Netherlands jumped to the top place among 36 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the period, with total registered capital of US$2.2 billion, followed by South Korea with US$1.5 billion.
Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province attracted the most FDI capital in Jan-May, at US$2.16 billion, followed by Quang Ninh with US$2.14 billion, Nghe An with US$567 million and HCMC with US$340 million.
The disbursement of FDI capital has in the year to date risen a modest 7.1% year-on-year to US$4.5 billion. In May alone, foreign investors have disbursed US$1.1 billion, a fairly high level compared with the monthly average of many previous years, according to the agency.
The agency remarked FDI disbursement had shown signs of edging up in 2010. It is predicted FDI disbursement will reach US$11 billion this year, slightly higher than the US$10 billion in 2009. Experts said this was an encouraging sign in the context of the global economic crisis.