FDI capital hits US$8.9 billion in first quarter

Along with newly-registered investment capital continuing to fall, both adjusted investment capital and capital contribution and share purchases increased sharply compared to the same period from last year.

The US$1.32 billion LEGO Manufacturing Vietnam (Denmark) Co., Ltd. project is the only investment of US$1 billion and has been granted investment certification with the goal of manufacturing toys and exercising the right to import, export, and conduct wholesale and retail goods in the southern province of Binh Duong.

Through this the project has made an important contribution to bringing the total foreign investment capital into the country over the past three months to US$8.9 billion.

Furthermore, along with recently-granted schemes, according to the Foreign Investment Agency, the first quarter of the year saw 228 projects registering for adjustment of investment capital, marking an annual rise of 41.6%, with total registered capital of more than US$4.06 billion, up 93.3% from 2021.

With continuous and effective support provided by the Government and competent agencies, alongside efforts made by the business community to overcome the pandemic and adapt to the new situation, local businesses have gradually recovered. As a result they have been capable of maintaining and expanding production and business activities, the Foreign Investment Department said.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency the situation relating to foreign investment in the nation has shown positive signs. This can be seen as the total amount of FDI in new and existing projects, capital contribution, and share purchases made by foreign investors has all increased compared to the previous year in terms of both quantity and overall investment capital level.

Many projects on manufacturing electronic and high-tech products have since expanded their capital on a large scale over the first three months of the year.

Although newly-registered investment capital dropped sharply, leading to a fall in terms of total investment capital throughout the reviewed period, the number of new investment projects continued to grow by 37.6%.

This indicates that, despite facing the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign investors remain confident of the Vietnamese economy and investment environment moving into the new normal, while making new investment decisions, as well as expanding existing investments.

The reopening of tourism from March 15, coupled with a visa-free policy for some countries and trend of capital shift of European investors due to the influence of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, will also affect the attraction of foreign investment to the country moving forward, the agency said.

Viewed from another angle, the first quarter of the year witnessed foreign financiers invest in 18 sectors out of 21 national economic industries.

Of the figure the processing and manufacturing industry led the way with a total investment of over US$5.3 billion, thereby accounting for 59.5% of total registered investment capital, followed by real estate businesses at nearly US$2.7 billion, thereby making up 30.3% of total registered investment capital.

Regarding investment partners, Singapore remained the largest investor in the Vietnamese market with a total investment of nearly US$2.29 billion, accounting for 25.7% of total investment capital, a drop of 50.1% over the same period from 2021. The Republic of Korea ranked second with approximately US$1.61 billion, accounting for 18% of total investment capital, representing a 35.6% rise on-year.

Meanwhile, the United States was Vietnam's largest export market in the first quarter of 2022, with an estimated turnover of US$25.2 billion.

Most notably with a large-scale LEGO project, Denmark ranked third with a total registered investment capital of roughly US$1.32 billion, accounting for 14.8% of total FDI capital in Vietnam.