HCMC – Fresh foreign-investment approvals in Vietnam in the year to December 20 had amounted to US$36.6 billion, up by 32.1% year-on-year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) at the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
Of the total, newly registered capital was nearly US$20.19 billion, surging by 62.2% over the same period last year.
FIA data showed a total of 3,188 new foreign-invested projects were registered this year, up by 56.6% year-on-year.
There were 1,262 operational foreign-invested projects revising up their investment capital pledges by a total of over US$7.88 billion, up by 14% in project number but down by 22.1% in capital.
Foreign investors conducted 3,450 transactions to contribute funds to and acquire shares in local firms with total capital of some US$8.5 billion, rising by 65.7% year-on-year.
Notably, there was a 3.5% uptick in the capital injected into foreign-invested projects this year, surpassing an estimated US$23.1 billion and setting a new record as the highest level to date.
A total of 144 countries and territories had made investments in Vietnam as of December 20, with South Korea, Singapore and Japan being the biggest investors.
Foreign direct investment continued to flow into provinces and cities with significant advantages, such as HCMC, Haiphong, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Thai Binh, Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Nghe An, Binh Duong and Dong Nai.
In the year to date, foreign investors have poured capital into 18 of 21 national economic industries in Vietnam, with the processing and manufacturing sector taking the lead in investment capital at US$23.5 billion, accounting for 64.2% of the total registered capital.
The property sector came in second with over US$4.6 billion, representing 12.7% of the total.
