Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s manufacturing sector has proven a magnet forforeign direct investment in the first quarter, absorbing 6.54 billion USD, whichaccounted for 84.9 percent of total registered capital in the period, accordingto the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning andInvestment.

Economic experts said that Vietnam needs to research and create favourableconditions for foreign direct investment (FDI) businesses to improve thequality and value of manufactured products.

In addition, FDI enterprises should be encouraged to enlarge investment scale,renovate technology and diversify investment goals to meet legal regulations onforeign investment as well as manufacturing development planning.

Real estate came in second in FDI attraction with nearly 344 million USD,making up of 4.4 percent of total capital, followed by whole sales and retailsale with 296.8 million USD.

The FIA reported that by March 20, investment licenses were licensed to 493projects with a total registered capital of 2.9 billion VND, a year-on-yearincrease of 6.5 percent.

Meanwhile, 223 operating projects added 3.94 billion USD in capital, up morethan 206 percent from the same period last year. There were also 1,077 deals ofcapital contribution and share purchase by foreign investors with a total valueof nearly 853 million USD, a year-on-year surge of 171.5 percent.

As such,total FDI capital poured into the country was estimated at 7.71 billion USD,increasing 91.5 percent over the same time last year.

Exports of the foreign-invested sector in the reviewed period (including crudeoil) reached over 31.4 billion USD, up 13 percent from the same period in 2016and accounting for 71.8 percent of total exports.

Among 71 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, the Republic of Koreais the country’s largest investor with 3.74 billion USD, accounting for 48.61percent of total investment capital. It was followed by Singapore with 911million USD and China with 823.6 million USD.

Samsung Display Vietnam in northern Bac Ninh province adjusting its capital upby 2.5 billion USD increased the province’s FDI to 2.61 billion USD, or 33.86percent of the total, making the locality the largest FDI recipient in theperiod.

Southern Binh Duong province ranked second with a registered capital of 1.39million USD, or over 18 percent of total foreign investment and Ho Chi Minhcame in third with nearly 600 million USD, or 7.78 percent of the total. -VNA