The disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first five months of 2018 was estimated at 6.75 billion USD, up 9.8 percent year-on-year.

Mechanic production at Japanese-invested company in the northern port city of Hai Phong

According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of May 20, Vietnam granted new investment licenses to 1,076 FDI projects with total registered capital of nearly 4.66 billion USD, up 14.6 percent in volume but down 16.8 percent in value.

As many as 393 existing projects registered to increase capital by a total of nearly 2.5 billion USD in January-May, raising total newly-licensed and increased-capital foreign investment to about 7.15 billion USD in the five months, an annual decline of 30.8 percent.

The FDI sector has become an important part in Vietnam’s economy, contributing about 25 percent to social investment capital and 20 percent to gross domestic product, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Close to 58 percent of total FDI capital has went to the processing and manufacturing industries, helping Vietnam increase the value of products and make domestic economic sectors more competitive.

In 2017, the FDI sector made up 72 percent of total export value and generated about 3.5 million direct jobs and 5 million indirect jobs.

Vietnam remained an attractive destination for foreign investors in 2017 with total registered FDI capital hitting a record of 35.88 billion USD, up 44.4 percent against last year.

The most attractive sectors were manufacturing-processing industries, electricity production and distribution and real estate.

Among 115 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in 2017, Japan topped the list, with 9.11 billion USD, making up 25.4 percent of the total. 

It was followed by the Republic of Korea with 8.49 billion USD or 23.7 percent of the FDI, and Singapore with 5.3 billion USD or 14.8 percent.-VNA