VOV.VN - Vietnam attracted a total of US$16.74 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the first five months of the year, the highest figure recorded over the past four years, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The Foreign Investment Agency said that the figure includes newly registered capital, capital contributed, and shares purchased by foreign investors, a rise of 69.1 per cent over last year’s corresponding period. 

Accordingly, the country has granted new investment licenses to 1,363 projects with a total of newly registered capital amounting to US$6.46 billion, an increase of 38.7 per cent in comparison to the same period last year. 

As many as 505 projects registered to inject additional capital totaling US$2.63 billion, up 5.5 per cent on-year.

The value of capital contribution and share purchases by foreign investors reached US$7.65 billion, 2.8 times higher than seen during the same period in 2018 and accounting for 45.7 per cent of total registered capital.

Notably, FDI projects were estimated to have disbursed US$7.3 billion, a slight rise of 7.8 per cent.

Foreign investors have injected their money into 19 different sectors, with the manufacturing and processing industry being the most popular with total capital reaching US$12 billion, accounting for 71.8 per cent of total registered capital.

The real estate sector ranked second with total investment capital of US$1.138 billion, while the wholesale and retail sectors were in third position with total registered capital of US$864 million. 

Hong Kong remained top of the list of 88 nations and territories that are currently investing in Vietnam with total investment capital of US$5.08 billion, making up 30.4 per cent of the total FDI inflow. This is followed by the Republic of Korea with US$2.62 billion and Singapore with US$2.09 billion.

Hanoi was the most attractive investment destination nationwide, receiving FDI with a total registered capital of US$4.79 billion, accounting for 28.6 per cent of total investment. This was followed by HCM city with US$2.78 billion, and Binh Duong with US$1.25 billion.