Vietnam has witnessed a notable increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) as it attracted $2.36 billion in inflows by January 20, reflecting a substantial 40% year-on-year surge compared to the same month last year. The Foreign Investment Agency, as reported by Vietnam+, revealed that the government granted registration certificates to 190 new projects, amounting to a registered capital of $2 billion. This figure represents a significant 67% increase from January 2023.
Investors from 39 countries and territories have announced projects in Vietnam since the beginning of the year. Leading the pack, Singaporean businesses have contributed over $1.4 billion in FDI inflows, constituting 59.3% of the total investment capital spent in Vietnam.
The upswing in capital this month can be attributed to both an increase in the number of projects and the announcement of several large-scale initiatives by Western companies seeking alternative options to China. For instance, on September 23, Japanese tech company Kyocera Document Solutions unveiled plans to invest $237 million in expanding its machine and equipment factory in Hai Phong, situated 120 kilometres east of Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi.
This positive news about higher FDI inflows in January follows last year’s report by Vietnamese officials, indicating a remarkable 54% surge in FDI between January 1 and October 20, 2023, reaching a total of $15.29 billion. Notably, around $5.29 billion of this sum was allocated to 1,051 existing projects. Despite a 39% decrease in capital, the number of projects increased by 19.4% from January to October 2022, indicating investor confidence in Vietnam’s favourable investment climate.
Moreover, official data reveals that foreign investors allocated more than $5.13 billion for shares in domestic companies through 2,836 transactions, further underscoring the robust interest and trust in Vietnam’s business landscape.
