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HANOI, May 29 (Xinhua): Vietnam's total registered foreign direct investment (FDI) as of May 20, including new pledges, additional investment funds to existing projects and stake acquisition, fell 7.3 per cent to a combined US$10.86 billion year on year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) said on Monday.
Meanwhile, the country received an estimated US$7.65 billion in actual inflows of the FDI in the first five months of the year, down 0.8 per cent from a year ago, data showed.
Vietnam licensed US$5.26 billion in 962 new projects in the January-May period, up 27.8 per cent from a year ago, said the statistics authorities.
Nearly US$2.28 billion went to 485 existing projects over the period, down 59.4 per cent from a year ago, which indicated a slower declining trend as the additional investment funds slumped 70.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
Foreigners also invested US$3.32 billion in the January-May period, marking a year-on-year increase of 67.2 percent, through acquiring stakes in local companies, the data showed.
Singapore was the top source of direct investment pledges in the period with over US$1.7 billion, with China in the second place.
Of the FDI pledges, which indicate the size of future FDI disbursements, 79.3 per cent or US$5.98 billion would go to manufacturing and processing, while 7.5 percent or over 570 million dollars are to be invested in real estate development.
Foreign direct investment inflows have been a key driver of Vietnam's economic growth. Companies with foreign investments accounted for over 74 per cent of the country's total exports last year, the GSO noted.
Foreign direct investment disbursements in the South-East Asian country rose 13.5 per cent to US$22.4 billion in 2022 from a year earlier, while investment pledges was down 11 per cent toUS$ 27.72 billion dollars, according to the GSO. - Xinhua
