Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) commitments during the first quarter of 2021 surged by 18.5% year-on-year to US$10.13 billion, a report of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment has shown.

Production at Garment 10 company. Photo: Thanh Hai

Meanwhile, disbursement of the foreign capital inflow also rose by 6.5% to US$4.1 billion.

Year to March 20, 234 new projects have been approved with total registered capital of US$7.2 billion, down 69.1% in the number of projects but up 30.6% in capital year-on-year, while 161 existing projects have been injected an additional US$2.1 billion, down 31.8% in number but up 97.4% in capital. 

During this period, 734 projects had nearly US$805.3 million in capital contributed by foreign investors, down 70.9% in number of projects and 58.8% in value year-on-year.

Investors have poured money into 17 fields and sectors, in which manufacturing and processing led the pack with investment capital of nearly US$5 billion, accounting for 49.6% of total registered capital. Electricity production and distribution came second with US$3.9 billion, or 38.9%, followed by real estate with US$600 million.

The report added that out of 56 countries and territories having projects in Vietnam in the first quarter of the year, Singapore took the lead with US$4.6 billion, or 45.6% of the total registered FDI for new projects, followed by Japan with US$2.1 billion, or 20.8% and South Korea with US$1.2 billion, or 11.8%.

Among 47 cities and provinces having received FDI in the January-March period, the southern province Long An has attracted the largest portion of capital commitments with US$3.2 billion, or 32.1% of the total. The southern city of Cantho came second with nearly US$1.3 billion (13.1%), followed by the northern port city of Haiphong with US$946 million (9.4%).

Big-ticket projects in January-March include the Long A  liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant project worth US$3.1 billion from Singaporean investors; US$1.31-billion O Mon II thermal power plant from Japanese investors; an additional injection worth US$750 million into LG Display Haiphong from South Korean investors; a tire manufacturing plant in the southern province of Tay Ninh with additional fund of US$312 million; and Kodi New Material Vietnam manufacturing plan from Singaporean investor worth US$270 million to make tablets and laptops in the northern province of Bac Giang.