Foreign investors remain confident about Vietnam’s business environment

Foreign investors poured nearly US$1.7 billion into Vietnam as of January 20.

In the first month of 2023, newly-registered capital is estimated to have increased 3.1 times over the same period last year, showing that foreign investors still maintain confidence in Vietnam’s investment environment.

Hanoi ranks among the top localities in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2022. Photo: Thang Long Industrial Park

The Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment reported that there were 801 newly-registered projects totaling $1.2 billion and 89 projects increasing capital with a combined amount of $306.3 million.

In addition, 204 transactions of share purchases by foreign investors were worth $174 million, representing a year-on-year decline of 60.7%.

Meanwhile, the disbursement of foreign investments dropped by 16.3% to $1.35 billion.

The agency attributed the decrease in registered and disbursed FDI to the national holiday (the Lunar New Year), noting that it does not reflect the falling investment sentiment in the month.

Specifically, foreign investors poured over $1 billion mainly into processing and manufacturing, accounting for 77.6% of total registered investment capital. Wholesale and retail trade, motor vehicle, and motorcycle repair made up the majority of new projects, with registered capital of nearly $652 million, accounting for 54.1%.

In 2022, Vietnam drew total investment capital of over $27.7 billion, equivalent to 89% of that in 2021.

Hanoi, the capital city, ranked among the top localities in FDI attraction last year with nearly $1.7 billion, up 10.3% year-on-year.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen earlier said at a meeting that the city planned to attract $30-40 billion worth of FDI and disburse 70% of them in 2021-2025. The city is accelerating the construction of new industrial parks and clusters to fulfill the plan of building two to five industrial parks during the period.

The city also focuses on administrative reforms and making new tax and land incentive policies to attract FDI, Quyen stressed.