Disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in Vietnam reached US$2.5 billion in the first two months of this year, representing an increase of 2% year-on-year, a report of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment has shown.

Electronics production at Quang Minh Industrial Park in Me Linh district, Hanoi. Photo: Pham Hung.

Meanwhile, FDI commitments during the January – February period fell 15.6% year-on-year to US$5.46 billion as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to exert its impacts on global economy, noted the FIA.

Year to February 20, 126 new projects have been approved with total registered capital of US$3.31 billion, down 74.8% in the number of projects and 33.9% in capital year-on-year, while 115 existing projects have been injected an additional US$1.61 billion, falling 23.8% in number but rising by 2.5-fold in capital. 

During this period, 445 projects had nearly US$543.1 million in capital contributed by foreign investors, down 71.9% in number of projects and 34.4% 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 over US$3 billion, accounting for 55.7% of total registered capital. Electricity production and distribution came second with US$1.44 billion, or 26.5%, followed by real estate and R&D with respective figures of US$485 million and US$153 million.

The report added that out of 46 countries and territories having projects in Vietnam in the first two months of the year, Japan took the lead with US$1.64 billion, or 30% of the total registered FDI, followed by Singapore with US$1.07 billion, or 19.6% and South Korea with US$1.05 billion, or 19.3%.

Among 43 cities and provinces having received FDI in the two-month period, Can Tho has attracted the largest portion of capital commitments with US$1.31 billion, or 24.1% of the total. Hai Phong came second with nearly US$918 million (16.8%) followed by Bac Giang with US$573 million (10.5%).

Big-ticket projects in the January-February include an additional injection of US$312 million into a tire manufacturing plant in Tay Ninh province; Kodi New Material Vietnam manufacturing plan from Singaporean investor worth US$270 million to make tablets and laptops in Bac Giang province; the manufacturing project of photovoltaic products Ja Solar PV Vietnam from Ja Solar Investment (Hong Kong) with investment capital of US$210 million at Bac Giang; hi-tech project Everwin (Hong Kong) worth US$200 million to produce plastic products at Nghe An; a semi-conductor manufacturing plant of United States Enterprises (US) with US$100 million in Danang.