Workers at a foreign-invested firm in Bình Dương Province which ranked second among localities with highest FDI in 2022. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

HÀ NỘI — Foreign investment in Việt Nam remains a bright spot on Việt Nam's economic picture, despite experiencing a year-on-year decrease in value, thanks to its disbursement reaching a five-year high.

Data from the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed as of December 20, there were 2,036 newly-registered foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth US$12.45 billion, up 17.1 per cent year-on-year in the number of projects, but down 18.4 per cent in value.

In addition, 1,107 projects had their capital adjusted, with a total amount of $10.12 billion, up 12.4 per cent and 12.2 per cent year-on-year, respectively.

Capital contributions and share purchases (foreign indirect investment or FII) were worth $5.15 billion, down 25.2 per cent. This figure makes total foreign investment in the country in 2022 topping $27.7 billion. 

Meanwhile, FDI disbursement in 2022 is estimated at nearly $22.4 billion, up 13.5 per cent year-on-year, making it the highest amount in the past five years, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported.

Accumulated to December 20, 2022, the whole country has 36,278 valid projects with a total registered capital of approximately $438.7 billion. The accumulated realised capital of foreign investment projects topped $274 billion, equalling 62.5 per cent of the total valid registered investment capital.

Foreign investors poured funds into 19 out of 21 sectors in the national economic classification system, of which the processing and manufacturing industry maintained its lead in terms of attracting FDI with a total investment of over $16.8 billion, accounting for 60.6 per cent of the country’s total capital.

It was followed closely by real estate with a total investment of $4.45 billion, accounting for 16.1 per cent of the total registered investment capital; electricity production and distribution with over $2.26 billion, and scientific and technological activities with nearly $1.29 billion. The rest came to other sectors.

It is also worth noting that wholesale and retail, processing and manufacturing, and scientific and technological activities were the sectors with the largest number of newly-registered projects, accounting for 30 per cent, 25.1 per cent and 16.3 per cent of the total, respectively.

Among 108 nations and territories pouring capital into Việt Nam this year, Singapore ranked first with $6.46 billion. It was followed by the Republic of Korea ($4.88 billion), and Japan ($4.78 billion). 

The foreign investors invested in 54 provinces and cities nationwide in 2022. HCM City came first with more than $3.94 billion, Bình Dương ranked second with a total investment capital of over $3.14 billion. Quảng Ninh ranked third with a total registered investment capital of $2.37 billion. 

Import-export performance

Export including crude oil was estimated at $276.5 billion or a year-on-year increase of 12 per cent, accounting for 74.4 per cent of the country’s export turnover. Export excluding crude oil was over $274.1 billion, with a yearly increase of 11.8 per cent, accounting for 73.8 per cent of the country’s export turnover.

Imports from the foreign investment sector attained more than $234.7 billion or 7.4 per cent year-on-year increase, accounting for 65.1 per cent of the country’s import turnover.

In 2022, the FDI sector saw a trade surplus of $41.8 billion, while the domestic sector had a trade surplus of more than $30.8 billion.

FDI outflows of Việt Nam

In 2022, the country’s total newly-registered and additional investment were about $534 million and it was $367 million in 2021. As many as 109 projects were granted new investment registration certificates, with a total registered capital of $426.6 million and 26 projects registered for capital adjustment of $107.4 million. — VNS