Meanwhile pledges to new and existing projects rose by 40.5% to US$10.95 billion, reported the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
In the first four months of the year, Vietnam granted licences to 734 new foreign-invested projects worth US$4.88 billion, a 4% drop compared to the same period of 2016, while foreign investors registered an additional US$4.36 billion in 345 current projects.
During the period, foreign investors also poured US$1.35 billion in capital contribution and share purchases.
The manufacturing sector remained the largest recipient of foreign investment, accounting for nearly 70% of total pledges, followed by the mining and wholesale and retail sectors.
The Republic of Korea remained the largest foreign investor in Vietnam with US$4.05 billion while Japan and Singapore were the second and third largest providers of invested capital with US$1.85 billion and US$1.1 billion respectively.
In the first four months, Bac Ninh received the largest share of foreign investment at US$2.7 billion.
The southern provinces of Binh Duong and Kien Giang attracted US$1.53 billion and US$1.28 billion to rank second and third respectively.
