Disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in Vietnam hit 11.58 billion USD this year to August 20, an increase of 2 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Workers at a Japanese-invested firm in Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

Disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital in Vietnam hit 11.58 billion USD this year to August 20, an increase of 2 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The ministry said 1,135 new projects were granted investment licences in the period, plunging 36.8 percent against the same period last year. However, total registered capital was up 16.3 percent to nearly 11.33 billion USD.

About 640 existing projects had their capital adjusted up by a total of nearly 5 billion USD, up 2.3 percent year on year.

Capital contributions and share purchases by foreign investors fell 43.4 percent to 2.81 billion USD.

Foreign investment was poured into 18 sectors, with processing and manufacturing absorbing the largest amount, with 9.3 billion USD, or 48.4 percent of the total FDI inflow in the 8-month period.

Power generation and distribution followed with nearly 5.5 billion USD, while real estate attracted 1.6 billion USD and wholesale and retail sales 734 million USD.

Of 92 countries and territories investing in Vietnam during the period, Singapore took the lead with more than 6.2 billion USD, followed by Japan with more than 3.2 billion USD and the Republic of Korea (RoK) with 2.4 billion USD.

The Mekong Delta province of Long An led in attracting FDI with over 3.6 billion USD, Ho Chi Minh City came second with about 2.2 billion USD, and its neighbouring province of Binh Duong was third with 1.7 billion USD./.