Vietnam attracted approximately US$8.88 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) during the opening four months of the year, equivalent to 82.1% of the amount recorded during the same period from last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Of the figures, US$4.1 billion came from 750 newly-registered projects, surging by 11.1% and 65.2% on-year.

The agency noted that a total of 386 operating projects have been permitted to raise their capital by US$1.66 billion, marking an increase of 19.5% against the same period from last year.

Throughout the reviewed period, capital contributions and share purchases made by foreign investors stood at US$3.1 billion, representing a year-on-year rise of 70.4%.

Foreign investors invested in 18 out of 21 economic sectors, mostly in the processing-manufacturing sector with US$5.1 billion,  accounting for 57.8% of total FDI. This was followed by banking and finance with US$1.5 billion, along with real estate with US$972 million.

In the January to April period, Singapore led 77 countries and localities investing in the Vietnamese market with US$2.2 billion, making up 24.7% of the total FDI. Japan came second with nearly US$2 billion, while China was third with around US$752 million.

As of April the country was home to 37,065 valid projects with a total registered capital of approximately US$445.9 billion.

VOV