Vietnam has attracted more than US$18.7 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the initial nine months of the year, an annual decline of 15.3%, according to detail compiled by the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).
Despite this drop, FDI disbursement continued to increase sharply, reaching US$15.4 billion in the reviewed period, a rise of 16.2% compared to the same period from last year.
This high disbursement rate can be viewed as a positive sign as FDI firms have resumed and expanded post-pandemic production, noted the FIA.
Although newly-registered capital has yet to fully recover due to global supply disruptions and geo-political fluctuations, the adjusted capital and capital contribution and share purchase by foreign financiers inched up by 29.9% and 1.9%, respectively.
These impressive figures affirm the confidence of foreign investors in the Vietnamese economy and the local investment climate, a factor which has made them not hesitate to expand investment in the country.
Throughout the reviewed period, 1,355 new projects capitalised at US$7.12 billion were granted investment registration certificates, an increase of 11.8% in project numbers compared to the same period from last year, despite being a drop of 43% in capital.
This sharp fall in newly-registered capital can largely be attributed to policies implemented in order to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, a factor which have made it difficult for foreign investors to move to Vietnam and explore investment opportunities, as well as challenges in carrying out procedures related to investment registration.
Meanwhile, the global market has recently experienced sharp fluctuations as a result of the geo-political conflict in Europe, high inflation pressure, and supply chain disruptions, all of which have combined to negatively affect the investment capital outflow of major economies, especially Vietnamese investment partners.
FIA statistics also show foreign financiers have invested in a total of 18 out of 21 national economic sectors in the country. The processing and manufacturing industry continued to take the lead by attracting over US$12.1 billion, or 64.6% of the total registered investment capital.
The real estate sector ranked second with total investment capital of over US$3.5 billion, followed by science and technology with US$ 676.9 million, and wholesale and retail industries with US$617.9 million, respectively.
Singapore remained Vietnam’s leading foreign investors with over US$4.75 billion, representing a year-on-year fall of 24.3%, trailed by the Republic of Korea with over US$3.8 billion and Japan with over US$1.9 billion.
