FDI inflows in 2021 up 9 per cent, surpassing $31 billion

As of December 20, both newly- and additionally-registered capital were up against the year previous.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency, $15.2 billion was poured into 1,738 newly-licensed projects, a decrease of 31.1 per cent in number but a rise of 4.1 per cent in value.

Besides this, $9 billion was added to 985 projects currently underway, down 13.6 per cent in number but up 40.5 per cent in capital. Foreign investors also poured $6.9 billion into share purchase deals, a decline of 7.7 per cent on-year.

A slight decline in share purchases almost countered increases in the other two categories, with total FDI inflows up 9.2 per cent on-year. However, capital disbursement was down slightly 1.2 per cent on-year to $19.74 billion.

Among the 18 sectors receiving investment from foreign investors in 2021, processing and manufacturing took the lead with $18.1 billion, accounting for 58.2 per cent of the total FDI. It was followed by power production and distribution with over $5.7 billion, making up 18.3 per cent, followed by real estate ($2.6 billion), wholesale, and retail ($1.4 billion).

Singapore led the 106 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in 2021 with a total investment capital of nearly $10.7 billion, followed by South Korea ($5 billion) and Japan ($3.9 billion).

The northern province of Haiphong has surpassed the Mekong Delta province of Long An to attract the highest amount of FDI in 2021 with over $5.26 billion, three times as much as last year, followed by Long An ($3.84 billion), Ho Chi Minh City ($3.74 billion), Binh Duong ($2.13 billion), Bac Ninh ($1.66 billion), and Hanoi ($1.5 billion).

The export turnover of foreign-invested enterprises continued to increase in the whole year to $246.7 billion (including crude oil), or $245 billion (excluding crude oil), an increase of 20.7 per cent on-year, while the import turnover was about $218.3 billion, up 29.2 per cent on-year. Generally, in 2021, the trade surplus of the FDI sector was about $28.5 billion (including crude oil), or $26.7 billion (excluding crude oil), while the trade deficit of local enterprises was $25.5 billion.