FDI commitments in the January – August period totaled US$19.54 billion, down 13.7% year-on-year, a report of the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment has shown.

Year to August 20, 1,797 new projects have been approved with total registered capital of US$9.73 billion, up 6.6% in capital and down 25.3% in the number of projects year-on-year. Furthermore, 718 existing projects have been injected an additional US$4.87 billion, up 22.2% in capital but down 20.9% in the number of projects.  

An increase in fresh FDI commitments in the eight-month period was thanks to the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant project worth US$4 billion in the southern province of Bac Lieu, accounting for 41.1% of newly registered FDI. Meanwhile, injections of US$1.38 billion in the Petrochemical Complex project in Ba Ria – Vung Tau province (Long Son Petrochemical) and US$774 million in the West Lake Urban project have directly contributed to higher capital committed for existing projects.

During this period, 4,804 projects have had nearly US$4.93 billion in capital contributed by foreign investors, down 8.2% in the number of projects and 47.2% in value year-on-year.

Investors have poured money into 18 fields and sectors, in which manufacturing and processing led the pack with investment capital of over US$9.3 billion, accounting for 47.7% of total registered capital. Electricity production and supply came second with US$4 billion, or 20.6% of the total, followed by real estate with US$2.87 billion, and wholesale and retail with US$1.21 billion.

The report shows that out of 106 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the first eight months of 2020, Singapore took the lead with US$6.54 billion, followed by South Korea (US$2.97 billion), and China (US$1.75 billion).

Among 59 cities and provinces having received FDI in the eight-month period, Bac Lieu has attracted the largest portion of capital commitments with US$4 billion, or 20.5% of total FDI. Hanoi came second with nearly US$2.86 billion, or 14.6%, followed by Ho Chi Minh City with US$2.62 billion, or 13.4%.

Besides the US$4-billion LNG plant project financed by a Singaporean investor, some other big-ticket projects in January – August include a tire manufacturing plant worth US$300 million from a Chinese investor in Tay Ninh province; an additional injection of US$138 million into a Chinese-invested radian tire production facility; an increase of US$75.2 million to Japan’s Sews-components Vietnam manufacturing plant for electronic and auto parts; and Hong Kong’s Ce Link Vietnam No. 2 plant worth US$49.8 million in Bac Giang for electronic parts and products. 

Source: http://hanoitimes.vn/fdi-commitments-to-vietnam-down-14-to-nearly-us20-billion-in-jan-aug-313983.html