Taiwan tops list of 38 nations and territories by investing $8.6 billion in 112 projects.

HA NOI — Despite high inflation and slow economic growth, Viet Nam remained an attractive destination in the eyes of foreign investors who pumped a record US$47.2 billion into the economy in the first eight months this year, more than four times last year.

The number of new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects hit 772, down 20 per cent from last year. However, they still contributed a combined registed investment capital at $46.3 billion, a five-fold increase on last year, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) reported yesterday at a meeting in Ha Noi.

According to the ministry, the investment capital of each new project averaged $60 million, much higher than in previous years.

New FDI projects were in services (accounting for 50.9 per cent), manufacturing and construction (48.6 per cent) and the agro-forestry-fishery sector.

So far this year, Taiwan led 38 nations and territories by investing $8.6 billion in 112 projects, some 18.6 per cent of the total FDI.

Japan ranked second with $7.2 billion in 78 projects, followed by Malaysia, Brunei, Canada, Singapore, Thailand, the British Virgin Islands and the US.

Among 43 cities and provinces attracting FDI this year, southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province ranked first, followed by HCM City, Ha Tinh, Thanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Kien Giang and Dong Nai.

Besides new projects, foreign investors in the country expanded projects with a combined additional investment of $833 million, a year-on-year increase of 55 per cent.

The additional capital mainly came from South Korean investors, who staked nearly 24 per cent of the total added investment.

According to the MPI, operational FDI enterprises notched up a revenue of $30.4 billion, contributing around $1.4 billion to the State Budget, a rise of 33 per cent on last year.

The foreign sector in the first eight months generated 18,000 jobs, bringing the total number of labourers employed by this sector to 1.4 million.

Representatives of foreign-invested enterprises admitted that the Vietnamese economy was facing great challenges, but said they were confident the country would overcome these obstacles to become more attractive to international investors in the long term.

Also at yesterday’s meeting, the MPI released a series of statistics relating to other socio-economic issues – trade deficit, inflation, industrial production, retail and wholesale sales, services, agriculture, finance and banking.

MPI Deputy Minister Cao Viet Sinh said: "August is a significant month to review the nation’s socio-economic development for the whole of the year and to prepare for the coming year’s unexpected volatility caused by disasters, epidemics, pricing, among other things."

"Thus, we have to clarify the advantages and disadvantages for production, trade, investment and others areas to find appropriate solutions," he said. — VNS