FDI inflows slightly decrease in 2022

The total newly-registered capital, adjusted capital, capital contributions, and share purchases stood at $27.7 billion in 2022, equivalent to 89 per cent of last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency.

Specifically, 2,036 projects were granted investment registration certificates over the year with total registered capital of almost $12.5 billion, down 18.4 per cent from last year. Adjusted capital reached over $10.1 billion, up 12.2 per cent on-year. A very similar number of projects registered for capital adjustment this year.

There were 3,566 capital contributions and share purchases as of December 20, equivalent to $5.2 billion (a decrease of 25.2 per cent over 2021). One bright spot was disbursed capital, which topped $22.4 billion over the year (13.5 per cent higher than in 2021).

The FIA census also showed that foreign investments were seen in 19 out of the 21 economic sectors during the period. Of which, processing and manufacturing took the lead with $16.8 billion. Real estate was next with a total investment of $4.5 billion, followed by electricity production and distribution with $2.3 billion and scientific and technological activities with $1.3 billion.

It is also worth noting that wholesale and retail, processing and manufacturing, and scientific and technological activities were the sectors with the largest number of newly-registered projects, accounting for 30 per cent, 25.1 per cent, and 16.3 per cent of respectively.

By partner, 108 countries and territories poured money into Vietnam this year. Singapore was on top with $6.5 billion, accounting for 23.3 per cent of the total foreign investment into the country. South Korea came second with $4.9 billion and Japan was third with $4.8 billion. Other names further down the list included China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Ho Chi Minh City attracted the largest amount of FDI at just under $4 billion, followed by Binh Duong with $3.1 billion, and Quang Ninh with $2.4 billion.

The export turnover of foreign-invested enterprises (FIE) continued increasing by about 12 per cent on-year to roughly $276.5 billion, making up about 74 per cent of the country's total export value. Their import turnover was estimated at $234.7 billion, up 7.4 per cent on-year and accounting for 65.1 per cent of the total.

The FIE trade surplus was $41.8 billion (including crude oil) or $39.5 billion (excluding crude oil). Local businesses reported a trade deficit of $30.8 billion.

The over 36,278 valid foreign-invested projects accumulated across the country boasted total registered capital of more than $438.7 billion. Their disbursement was about $274 billion, equivalent to 62.5 per cent of the valid registered capital.