FDI in Vietnam rises by 7.8% YoY to $4.42 bn in Q1 2022

01 Apr '22

2 min read

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Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam rose by 7.8 per cent to $4.42 billion in the first quarter of this year compared to the figure in the corresponding period in 2021—a five-year record. Up to $4.06 billion of capital was added by foreign businesses to 228 operating projects during the period—up by 93.3 per cent year on year (YoY), according to the General Statistic Office (GSO).

GSO said 322 new foreign projects, capitalised at $3.21 billion, were licensed in the first three months—up by 37.6 per cent in the number of projects, but down 55.5 per cent in capital YoY.

The country’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) attributed the substantial decline in newly-registered capital to fact that some large-scaled projects worth over $100 million were already registered in the first quarter of 2021. Capital pledged to such projects accounted for 75.3 per cent of the country's total registered capital in the reviewed period, Vietnamese news media reported.

The quarter saw only a single foreign-invested project worth over $1 billion—a LEGO Manufacturing Vietnam plant valued at $1.32 billion in Binh Duong province, FIA said.

Meanwhile, foreign investor capital contributions and share purchases doubled over the same period last year to $1.63 billion, which brought the total foreign investments into the country in the first quarter to $8.9 billion, equivalent to 87.9 per cent of the figure during the same period last year.

The agency said many projects on manufacturing electronic and high-tech products have raised their level of capital in the first three months of the year.

The processing and manufacturing sector lured the largest share of FDI with over $5.3 billion, accounting for 59.5 per cent of the country's total capital.

From January to March this year, Singapore was Vietnam’s leading foreign investor with nearly $2.29 billion, making up almost 25.7 per cent of the total FDI registered in the country. South Korea followed with more than $1.61 billion or 18 per cent, and Denmark with $1.32 billion or 15 per cent.

Vietnamese firms, meanwhile, invested $211.5 million overseas in the first quarter, down by 63 per cent YoY, FIA said. Of that sum, over $180 million came from 24 newly-licensed projects—up by 28.5 per cent, while the remaining $31.2 million came from three capital-added projects, a yearly decline of 93 per cent.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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