Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Disbursement Shows Recovery in First Half of the Year
In the first half of the year, the disbursement of foreign investment capital reached $10.02 billion, marking a modest increase of 0.5% compared to the same period last year. However, the total registered capital declined to $13.43 billion. Despite the continuous decrease in the first five months, the disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) has started to show a slight upward trend, which is a positive sign in a challenging environment. However, the registered FDI still experienced a decline.
As of June 20, the total registered investment stood at $13.43 billion, equivalent to 95.7% YoY, representing a decrease of 4.3%, which is a smaller reduction compared to the previous month. During the first half, 1,293 new projects were granted investment registration certificates, with a total registered capital of over $6.49 billion. This reflects a significant increase of 71.9% in the number of projects and 31.3% YoY in terms of capital. The adjusted capital of approximately 632 ongoing projects amounted to around $2.93 billion, showing a 29.8% YoY increase in the number of projects but a 57.1% decrease in capital.
Moreover, there were around 1,594 capital contributions and share purchases, totaling $4 billion as of June 20, indicating a substantial increase of 76.8% YoY. The Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) highlighted that newly registered capital has been rising more prominently in both value and project numbers compared to previous months. This suggests that small and medium-sized investors are increasingly interested in Vietnam and appreciating the favorable investment climate.
The FIA report also revealed that FDI was observed in 18 out of the 21 economic sectors during the first half. Among these sectors, processing and manufacturing took the lead with $8.46 billion, accounting for 63% of the total. However, this sector experienced a 4.2% drop compared to the same period in 2022. Banking and finance ranked second with $1.53 billion, representing 11.4% of the total, followed by real estate, professional services, science, and technology with $1.53 billion and $630.6 million, respectively.
Singapore emerged as the top foreign investor in Vietnam, contributing close to $3 billion, which accounted for 22.3% of FDI in the country during the first half of 2023. However, this figure represented a decrease of over 27.5% YoY. Japan ranked second with $2.21 billion, followed by China with $1.95 billion. South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan also made notable contributions. Foreign-invested projects continued to favor cities and provinces with advantageous infrastructure development, human resources, and streamlined administrative procedures, such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Bac Giang.