The manufacturing-processing industry absorbs more than half (57.9 percent) of the foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow into Vietnam over the past years to May 2018, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. 

Workers at an electronic spare parts manufacturing company

As of the end of May this year, aggregated foreign capital poured into the industry amounted to 198.13 billion USD, out of the total FDI value of nearly 323 billion USD in 25,691 valid foreign-invested projects. 

Real estate came second, attracting 51.84 billion USD (16.1 percent). 

It was followed by the power-gas-water production and distribution with 21.71 billion USD. 

The agency reported that in the first five months of 2018, Vietnam attracted 9.9 billion USD of FDI, equivalent to 81.6 percent of that in the same period last year. 

 Of which, the processing and manufacturing industry lured 5.18 billion USD, or 52.3 percent, while real estate enjoyed 1.07 billion USD, and retail and wholesale sector attracted 1.02 billion USD. 

The foreign-invested sector continues to account for a major share of the country’s export turnover. It earned 66.66 billion USD from exports (including crude oil) in the January-May period this year, or 71.6 percent of the national figure, representing a 15 percent increase year on year. 

Excluding crude oil, the sector’s export value was 65.74 billion USD, up 15.8 percent on a yearly basis and accounting for 70.6 percent of the national figure. 

The sector imported 52.85 billion USD in the period, nearly 58.9 percent of the national figure and an increase of 6.6 percent from the same period last year. 

In total, the FDI sector posted a trade surplus of 13.81 billion USD (crude oil included) and 12.89 billion USD without crude oil in the first five months of 2018.-VNA