January-May foreign investment pledges hit four-year record

Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledges to Vietnam in the first five months of 2019 reached US$16.74 billion, the highest figure in the last four years, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

The manufacturing sector attracted US$12 billion in FDI pledges.
The manufacturing sector attracted US$12 billion in FDI pledges.

Data as of May 25th showed it was up 69.1% compared with the same period from 2018.

During the January-May period, 1,363 new projects worth US$6.46 billion were granted investment licenses while US$2.63 billion were pledged to 505 existing projects.

Foreign investors also poured US$7.65 billion in Vietnam in the form of capital contributions and share purchases.

FDI disbursement during the period rose 7.8% year on year to US$7.3 billion.

According to the FIA, manufacturing remained the most attractive sector with US $12 billion, accounting for 71.8% of total FDI pledges.

Property trading came second with US $1.138 billion while wholesale and retail attracted US$864 million to rank third.

The January-May period saw Hong Kong (China) as the largest foreign investor in Vietnam with US$5.08 billion, followed by the Republic of Korea and Singapore with US$2.62 billion and US$2.09 billion respectively.

A breakdown of localities showed that Hanoi was the largest recipient of foreign investment with US$4.79 billion. Ho Chi Minh City came second with US$2.78 billion and the province of Binh Duong came third, with US$1.25 billion invested.