Of the registered FDI, which includes newly-registered capital, capital supplements and stake acquisitions, $8.44 billion went into new projects, according to the Foreign Investment Agency.

It included $4 billion invested in a 3,200 MW liquefied natural gas-fired power plant in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu.

Over $3.7 billion went into existing projects. It included an addition of $1.39 billion to the Long Son Petrochemicals project in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

Foreign investors picked up stakes worth $3.51 billion in companies, down by well over half.

The FDI came from 98 countries and territories. Singapore led with $5.44 billion, Thailand and mainland China were tied in second place with $1.58 billion each and Japan, South Korea and Taiwan followed.

Localities that attracted the highest FDI were Bac Lieu Province with $4 billion, Ho Chi Minh City with more than $2 billion, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau with $1.95 billion.

In 2019, FDI pledges for new projects, capital supplements and stake acquisitions in Vietnam rose 7.2 percent year-on-year to $38 billion, marking a 10-year high.