Foreign investors continue confidence in Vietnam’s economy

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Foreign investors continue confidence in Vietnam’s economy

Foreign investment inflows into Vietnam during the first nine months of this year rose 4.4 percent year-on-year to USD22.15 billion despite the impact of Covid-19.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of 20 September 2021, from January to September this year, total newly registered capital and capital contributions and share purchases by foreign investors hit USD22.15 billion, up 4.4 percent year on year. However, due to the complicated development of Covid-19 which resulted in factory closures or suspension, disbursement of foreign direct investment fell 3.5 percent yearon-year to USD13.28 billion.

Vietnam was home to 34,141 valid foreign-invested projects worth USD403.2 billion. Of the sum, USD245.14 billion or 60.8 percent has been disbursed.

Foreign-invested businesses posted a trade surplus of nearly USD18.2 billion in the first 9-month period as they gained USD178 billion from exports, a yearly hike of 23 percent while their imports hit USD159.8 billion, up 34.4 percent.

In the first nine months, foreign investors have poured money into 18 fields and sectors, in which manufacturing and processing led the pack with investment capital of nearly USD11.8 billion, accounting for 53.4 percent of the total registered capital. Electricity production and distribution came second with USD5.5 billion, or 25 percent, followed by real estate with USD1.78 billion and wholesale and retail with over USD750 million.

94 countries and territories having projects in Vietnam from January to September 2021, with Singapore taking the lead with USD6.3 billion, or 28.4 percent of the total FDI capital. South Korea surpassed Japan to rank second with over USD3.9 billion, up 23.4 percent year-on-year or equivalent to 17.7 percent of the total FDI. Japan came next with nearly USD3.3 billion, up 89 percent. Other leading sources of Vietnam's FDI were from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Among 58 cities and provinces having received FDI in the period, the southern province Long An has attracted the largest portion of capital commitments with USD3.6 billion, or 16.4 percent of the total. The northern port city of Hai Phong came second with nearly USD2.7 billion (12.2 percent), followed by Ho Chi Minh City with USD2.4 million (10.6 percent).

According to the Vietnam Macro Monitoring report recently released by the world Bank, the foreign direct investment inflow suggests continued confidence in Vietnam’s economy. Looking ahead, according to the world Bank, economic recovery in 2021 will depend on whether the government will be able to manage the current outbreak effectively in September so that economic activities can resume in the last quarter of the year.

Ha Long City, Quang Ninh province