The first four months of the year saw the capital grant investment licenses to 235 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, with registered capital totaling US$324 million.

Hanoi licenses 235 new FDI projects over four-month period

Of the overall figure, 35 projects were granted permission to adjust their investment capital by an additional US$365 million. This investment comes alongside foreign financiers contributing capital and acquiring shares in Vietnamese firms with a total value of US$293 million.

Throughout the reviewed period, the export turnover of businesses declined by 4.7% to US$4.33 billion in comparison with the same period last year, of which the domestic economic sector and FDI sectors experienced a downward trajectory of 4.6% and 4.7%, respectively.

Petrol and oil suffered the largest fall in export turnover with a drop of 49.1%, followed by phone and components, agricultural products, computers, electronics and components. 

A number of commodity groups were able to maintain export turnover against the same period seen last year, including timber and wooden products which enjoyed an increase of 19.9%, trailed by ceramic and porcelain products, vehicles and spare parts, along with footwear and leather products. 

Elsewhere, other essential items and medical equipment for COVID-19 battle enjoyed a 23% surge. 

With regard to industrial production, Hanoi’s industrial production index in April fell by 14.7% in comparison to March and 4.3% annually. 

Of the figure, the processing and manufacturing sector endured a decline of 15.8% from March and a 5.5% drop on-year. 

The production and distribution of gas and electricity declined by 3.3% compared to March, but enjoyed an annual increase of 11%, while the mining sector experienced a drop of 4.9% against March and a fall of 13.3% on-year.

Despite suffering a series of falls across a range of sectors during the first four months of the year, Hanoi's industrial production index increased by 2.3% over the same period from last year.