FDI commitments in the January – August period totaled US$19.54 billion, down 13.7% 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.

Year to August 20, 1,797 new projects have been approved with total registered capital of US$9.73 billion, up 6.6% in capital and down 25.3% in the number of projects year-on-year. Furthermore, 718 existing projects have been injected an additional US$4.87 billion, up 22.2% in capital but down 20.9% in the number of projects.  

An increase in fresh FDI commitments in the eight-month period was thanks to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant project worth US$4 billion in the southern province of Bac Lieu, accounting for 41.1% of newly registered FDI. 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, 4,804 projects have had nearly US$4.93 billion in capital contributed by foreign investors, down 8.2% in the number of projects and 47.2% 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$9.3 billion, accounting for 47.7% of total registered capital. Electricity production and supply came second with US$4 billion, or 20.6% of the total, followed by real estate with US$2.87 billion, and wholesale and retail with US$1.21 billion.

The report shows that out of 106 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the first eight months of 2020, Singapore took the lead with US$6.54 billion, followed by South Korea (US$2.97 billion), and China (US$1.75 billion).

Among 59 cities and provinces having received FDI in the eight-month period, Bac Lieu has attracted the largest portion of capital commitments with US$4 billion, or 20.5% of total FDI. Hanoi came second with nearly US$2.86 billion, or 14.6%, followed by Ho Chi Minh City with US$2.62 billion, or 13.4%.

Besides the US$4-billion LNG plant project financed by a Singaporean investor, some other big-ticket projects in January – August 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 No. 2 plant worth US$49.8 million in Bac Giang for electronic parts and products.