Disbursements of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in Vietnam totaled US$3.85 billion in the first quarter of 2020, representing a decline of 6.6% year-on-year, a report of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment has shown.

Illustrative photo.

Meanwhile, FDI commitments in the January – March period totaled US$8.55 billion, down 20.9% year-on-year. 

Year to March 20, 758 new projects have been approved with total commitments of US$5.5 billion, up 44.8% in capital year-on-year, while 236 existing projects have been injected an additional US$1.07 billion, down 18% in capital.  

A surge in newly registered FDI in the three-month period was thanks to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant project worth US$4 billion in the southern province of Bac Lieu.

During this period, 2,523 projects have had nearly US$2 billion in capital contributed by foreign investors, up 52.6% in the number of projects and down 65.6% in value year-on-year.

Investors have poured money into 18 fields and sectors, in which electricity production and supply led the pack with investment capital of over US$4 billion, accounting for 47.5% of total registered capital. Manufacturing and processing came second with US$2.73 billion, or 31.9% of the total, followed by wholesale and retail with US$682 million, real estate with US$264 million.

The data shows that out of 87 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the first quarter of 2020, Singapore took the lead with US$4.54 billion, or 53.1% of the total. Japan came second with US$846.7 million, or 9.9%, while the third place belonged to China with US$815.6 million, or 9.3%.

Among 55 cities and provinces having received FDI in the three-month period, Bac Lieu has attracted the largest portion of capital commitments with US$4 billion, equivalent to 46.8% of total registered capital. Ho Chi Minh City came second with over US$1 billion, or 12.3%, followed by Tay Ninh with US$506.8 million, or 6%.

Besides the US$4-billion LNG plant project financed by a Singaporean investor, some other big-ticket projects in January – March include a tire manufacturing plant worth US$300 million from a Chinese investor in Tay Ninh province; an injection of an addition of US$138 million for 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; Hong Kong's Ce Link Vietnam 2 plant worth US$49.8 million in Bac Giang for electronic parts and products.