As of November 20, disbursement of FDI projects in Vietnam jumped to US$16.5 billion, representing an increase of 3.1% year-on-year, as the US and China have not show signal of backing down from their trade spat, a report of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment has shown.

According to the agency, 2,714 new projects have been approved with total investment capital of US$15.78 billion between January and November, down 20.3% from the corresponding period last year, while 1,059 existing projects have injected an additional US$7.4 billion, down 7.4% on-year. 

Meanwhile, in the 11 months through November, 5,882 projects have had US$7.6 billion in capital contributed by foreign investors, up 44.4% year-on-year.

Investors have invested in 18 fields and sectors, in which manufacturing and processing continued to attract substantial attention with investment of US$14.2 billion, accounting for 46.2% of total capital approvals.

Real estate was the second most heavily invested, with US$6.5 billion, or 21.3% of total registered capital, followed by retail and wholesale with US$3.1 billion or 10%.  

The data shows that 108 countries and territories have invested in Vietnam in the 11-month period, with Japan taking the lead with US$8 billion, accounting for 25.9% of total investment. South Korea came second with US$6.8 billion or 22.3% of total investment, while the third place belonged to Singapore with US$4.1 billion or 13.4%.

Among 59 cities and provinces having received foreign investment, Hanoi attracted the largest portion of registered capital with US$6.3 billion, or 20.4% of total investment, followed by Ho Chi Minh City with US$5.6 billion or 18.1% of the total investment, and Ba Ria - Vung Tau with US$2.49 billion, accounting for 8% of total investment.  

The biggest-ticket projects in six months include the smart city project in Dong Anh district, Hanoi with total investment capital of US$4.138 billion; the US$1.2-billion polypropylene manufacturing plant by Hyosung Corporation (South Korea) located at Cai Mep Industrial Zone in Ba Ria - Vung Tau; the Laguna hospitality project with additional fund of US$1.12 billion from Singaporean investors.

Additionally, Vietnam licensed the US$600-million Lotte Mall Hanoi project that embraces a hotel, apartment, office, and trade center complex; and the LG Innotek Hai Phong facility with additional capital of US$501 million for manufacturing camera modules.

According to experts and fund managers, Vietnam is poised to reap benefits from the ongoing US-Sino trade war as manufacturers shift production to the country from China.

So far, foreign investors have committed to pour over US$300 billion in Vietnam, with South Korea taking the lead with US$62.27 billion, followed by Japan and Singapore. 

Hanoitimes