A view of HCM City which is among leading provinces and cities in term of FDI attraction in the first nine months of this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Quang Nhựt

HÀ NỘI — Bạc Liêu ranked first among 63 provinces and cities in term of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction in the first nine months of this year, with projects including an LNG-to-power project worth US$4 billion from Singapore, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

This project alone accounted for 18.8 per cent of total registered FDI in Việt Nam in January-September.

The latest update from the FIA showed foreign investors registered to pour a total of $21.2 billion in Việt Nam from the beginning of this year to September 20, equivalent to 81.1 per cent of the same period last year.

Of the figure, $13.76 billion was disbursed, 96.8 per cent of the same period last year.

Although there were some drops in registred and disbursed capital in the period, Việt Nam’s FDI attraction results were positive amid a sharp decline in global investment due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FIA said.

There were 1,947 FDI projects with a total registered capital of $10.36 billion, 29.4 per cent and 5.6 per cent lower than the same period last year, respectively.

Nealy 800 projects registered to increase their capital to the tune of $5.11 billion, 23 per cent lower in terms of the number of projects but 6.8 per cent higher in additional capital.

Foreign investors also spent $5.73 billion on buying stakes, 55.1 per cent of the same period last year.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, FDI flowed into 18 sectors, among which, the processing and manufacturing industry led in FDI attraction with a value of nearly $9.9 billion.

Power generation and distribution ranked second with a total investment of $4.3 billion, followed by real estate with $3.2 billion FDI and wholesale and retail sales with $1.3 billion.

The statistics showed that 111 countries and territories invested in Việt Nam in January-September. Singapore was the largest investor with total registered capital of $6.77 billion, followed by South Korea with $3.17 billion and China with $1.87 billion.

In terms of the number of new FDI projects, South Korea ranked first with 499 projects. China was second with 271 projects, Japan third with 209 and Singapore fourth with 173.

In the first nine months of this year, foreign investors invested in 60 out of 63 provinces and cities in Việt Nam.

With the Singapore-invested $4 billion LNG-to-power project, Bạc Liêu became the leading locality in FDI attraction.

Other leading destinations included HCM City with $3.25 billion worth of registered FDI and 719 projects and Hà Nội with $2.92 billion investment and 409 projects.

In June, a working group was founded to promote foreign investment and attract quality and high-tech FDI flow and capture the opportunities from the global production shift. — VNS