Four-month FDI disbursement up 5% year on year

Disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first four months of 2015 reached US$4.2 billion, up 5% over the same period of last year.

Photo for Illustration (Photo: Thai Thien).

According to the Foreign Investment Agency, as of April 20 investment licences were granted to 448 new projects with pledges worth US$2.7 billion.

Foreign investors also planned to pour an additional US$1 billion in 167 existing projects, bringing total FDI pledges in the first four months of the year to US$3.7 billion, equivalent to 76.7% of the amount during the same period of 2014.

Exports by the foreign sector, including oil revenues, posted a year-on-year rise of 12.6% to reach US$35 billion, accounting for 70% of Vietnam’s total shipment value and outstripping its imports by more than US$2.7 billion.

The manufacturing industry remained the most attractive to foreign investors, making up more than three fourths of total pledges in the four months to April, followed by property trading and retail sales.

The Republic of Korea consolidated its position as the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, accounting for nearly 25% of FDI pledges. Turkey and the British Virgin Islands came second and third with 17.7% and 13.7% respectively.

The southern province of Dong Nai overtook Ho Chi Minh City as the largest recipient of FDI, attracting US$916.75 million in the January-April period.

Ho Chi Minh City dropped to second place with US$784.93 million while the port city of Hai Phong remained third with US$292.11 million.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)