Disbursements of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Vietnam totaled US$10.12 billion in the first seven months of this year, representing a decline of 4% year-on-year, a report of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment has shown.

Data: MPI. Chart: Hai Yen.

Meanwhile, FDI commitments in the January – July period totaled US$18.82 billion, down 6.9% year-on-year. 

Year to July 20, 1,620 new projects have been approved with total registered capital of US$9.46 billion, up 14.4% in capital year-on-year, while 619 existing projects have been injected an additional US$4.7 billion, up 37% in capital.  

A surge in fresh FDI commitments in the seven-month period was thanks to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant project worth US$4 billion in the southern province of Bac Lieu. Meanwhile, injections of US$1.38 billion in the Petrochemical Complex project in Ba Ria – Vung Tau province (Long Son Petrochemical) and US$774 million in the West Lake Urban project have directly contributed to higher capital committed for existing projects.

During this period, 4,459 projects have had nearly US$4.64 billion in capital contributed by foreign investors, up 1.64% in the number of projects and down 45.5% in value year-on-year.

Investors have poured money into 18 fields and sectors, in which manufacturing and processing led the pack with investment capital of over US$8.96 billion, accounting for 47.6% of total registered capital. Electricity production and supply came second with US$3.95 billion, or 21% of the total, followed by real estate with US$2.8 billion, wholesale and retail with US$1.1 billion.

The report shows that out of 104 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the first seven months of 2020, Singapore took the lead with US$6.44 billion, followed by South Korea with US$2.8 million, and China with US$1.7 billion.

Among 59 cities and provinces having received FDI in the seven-month period, Bac Lieu has attracted the largest portion of capital commitments with US$4 billion. Hanoi came second with nearly US$2.82 billion, followed by Ho Chi Minh City with US$2.4 billion.

Besides the US$4-billion LNG plant project financed by a Singaporean investor, some other big-ticket projects in January – July include a tire manufacturing plant worth US$300 million from a Chinese investor in Tay Ninh province; an additional injection of US$138 million into a Chinese-invested radian tire production facility; an increase of US$75.2 million to Japan's Sews-components Vietnam manufacturing plant for electronic and auto parts; and Hong Kong's Ce Link Vietnam 2 plant worth US$49.8 million in Bac Giang for electronic parts and products.