Disbursed foreign direct investment up 7% in first quarter

Foreign direct investment disbursement in the first quarter of 2015 was estimated at US$3.05 billion, up 7% over the same period of last year, the Foreign Investment Agency has reported.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) disbursement in the first quarter of 2015 was estimated at US$3.05 billion, up 7% over the same period of last year, the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) has reported.

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As of March 20, investment licences were granted to 267 new FDI projects with pledges totalling US$1.21 billion, while foreign investors also committed to pour an additional US$621.12 million in 102 existing projects.

According to the FIA, export revenues by the foreign sector, including oil revenues, were estimated to reach US$25.08 billion in the three months leading up to March, up 12.9% year on year and making up 70% of Vietnam’s total export value.

The sector, meanwhile, imported goods worth US$23.09 billion, running a trade surplus of nearly US$2 billion.

The manufacturing industry remained the strongest magnet for foreign investment, attracting 76.6% of pledges in the January-March period, followed by property trading and retail sales sectors.

The first three months of 2015 saw the return of the Republic of Korea as the largest investor with more than a quarter of all FDI commitments to Vietnam. The second and third positions belong to the British Virgin Islands and Japan.

Ho Chi Minh City was the largest recipient of FDI in the quarter ending in March, with US$540.24 million, or nearly 29.4% of total FDI pledges. The port city of Hai Phong came second with US$235.21 million and Binh Duong province third with US$140 million.