FDI down 8% this year to US$8.8 billion
Vietnam has attracted US$8.8 billion in foreign direct investment in the year-to-date, an 8% fall year-on-year, the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency reported.
In the first seven months 1,068 new foreign projects with an investment of US$6.92 billion received investment certificates, marginally up in money terms from last year.
What has dragged down the overall FDI figure is a steep 29.8% fall in capital augmentation by operational foreign companies as 341 of them applied to bring in an additional US$1.88 billion.
Most of the FDI flowed into 16 sectors, including processing, manufacturing, and real estate.
The Republic of Korea remained the top investor followed by the UK.
FDI disbursement in the past seven months reached US$7.4 billion, up 8.8% over the same period of last year.
Ho Chi Minh City was the most attractive destination as US$2.4 billion found its way there. It was followed by the neighbouring provinces of Binh Duong with US$1.11 billion and Dong Nai with US$1.1 billion.
Exports by foreign businesses jumped by 15.1% to nearly US$64.7 billion. Their imports grew even faster – by 23.1% to US$56.7 billion.