January-May foreign investment inflows reach $13.9 billion, promising strong rebound

Foreign investment capital in the first five months of 2020 amounted to $13.89 billion

According to statistics published by the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, foreign investors poured $13.89 billion in total into Vietnam during January-May, signifying a decrease of 17 per cent on-year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The period saw 1,212 newly-registered projects with a total registered capital of $7.44 billion, down 11.1 per cent in the number of projects but up 15.2 per cent in capital value.

Meanwhile, 436 existing projects were allowed to raise investment by more than $3.45 billion, up 31.4 per cent on-year.

According to the agency, foreign-invested capital disbursement reached $6.7 billion in the five months, equivalent to 91.8 per cent of last year’s corresponding period.

Foreign investors pledged to pour capital into 18 sectors, in which manufacturing and processing took the lead with nearly $6.87 billion, accounting for 73.6 per cent of the total capital. It was followed by power production and distribution ($3.92 billion); real estate ($800 million); and wholesale and retail ($776 million).

Among the 54 localities receiving foreign investment in the period, the southern province of Bac Lieu ranked at the top with $4 billion. The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau came second with $1.93 billion and Ho Chi Minh City placed third with $1.6 billion.

Singapore is still the largest foreign investor of Vietnam with the total capital of $5.3 billion, followed by Thailand with $1.46 billion, China with $1.27 billion, and Japan with $1.26 billion.

At a recent meeting hosted by the prime minister, the representatives of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and localities shared that after studying investment opportunities in the country, foreign investors found Vietnam a safe and promising investment destination and a likely candidate for their diversification of supply sources.

The PM also agreed to establish a special working group headed by the Minister of Planning and Investment to catch this wave of new investment.

The special working group was established to build competitive investment attraction policies to tap into the wave of investment going into this global strategic relocation. The policies to be created include incentives on tariffs, access to land, as well as solutions to prevent further disruptions to the supply chain and a lack of human resources. In addition, as a key priority for investors is stability and legal consistency, the special working group will complete the relevant legal framework.