Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam attracted 35.46 billion USD in total foreigndirect investment (FDI) in 2018, equivalent to 98.8 percent of the previousyear’s figure.

According to a report by the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry ofPlanning and Investment, by December 20, FDI commitment for 3,046newly-licensed projects reached nearly 18 billion USD, equivalent to 84.5percent of the same period last year.

After a yearly decline of nearly 10percent in FDI added to operating projects totaled at 7.59 billion USD, thecapital pledged for stake acquisitions rose by 60 percent year on year to 9.89 billionUSD, the report said.

As per the data, foreign-investedenterprises gained a trade surplus of 32.8 billion USD this year as theyexported 175.5 billion USD worth of goods, up 13 percent while their importshit 142.7 billion USD, up 12 percent.

The manufacturing and processingsector garnered the most interest from foreign investors in the period,accounting for 16.58 billion USD, or 47 percent of the registered capital.

The real estate sector ranked secondwith 6.6 billion USD, or 18.5 percent and the retail sector came third with3.67 billion USD, or 10.3 percent.

Statistics showed that 112 countriesand territories invested in Vietnam from January to December. Among them, Japantook the lead with 8.59 billion USD, making up 24 percent of the nation’s totalFDI. The Republic of Korea and Singapore were the runner-ups with 7.2 billionUSD and 5 billion USD, making up 24.2 percent and 14.2 percent of the nation’stotal FDI, respectively.

The capital city luredthe lion share of FDI with 7.5 billion USD or 21.2 percent of the total capitalpledged for the country.  It was followed by the southern economic hub ofHCM City with 5.9 billion USD or 17 percent, and the northern port city of HaiPhong with 3.1 billion USD, or 8.7 percent.

In a wider scope, there were more than 27,350 valid foreign-invested projectsin Vietnam so far with a total registered capital of 340 billion USD. Over halfof the FDI has been disbursed thus far, according to the above-mentionedreport.

The Republic of Korea was the leading source of FDI with 62.5 billion USD andJapan came next with 57 billion USD. Several others included Singapore, Taiwan(China), British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong (China).

In order to better lure and use FDI resources, it is necessary to haveconcerted awareness and actions to implement orientations and policies onforeign investment, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vu Dai Thangsaid.

Streamlining legal institutions and policies as well as improving the businessinvestment environment in line with market standards and international rulesare important prerequisites for attracting and using foreign investmenteffectively, he told a conference late last week.

Thang also emphasised the importance of developing skilled personnel resourcesto reposition Vietnam’s competitive edge in attracting foreign investmentbesides encouraging and supporting the joint venture, cooperation andtechnology transfer between domestic and foreign-invested firms.-VNA