HANOI: Foreign direct investment in the first seven months declined by 8 percent year-on-year to US$8.8 billion, the Foreign Investment Agency has reported.
Newly licensed projects were worth $6.9 billion, 1 percent up from last year while the rest was brought in by operational projects increasing their investment.
Manufacturing, real estate, and retail have attracted the largest investments, a combined total of nearly $3.5 billion.
Ho Chi Minh City topped the list of FDI destinations, followed by its neighboring provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai.
South Korea remained the largest investor in Vietnam and the UK took the second position followed by the British Virgin Islands.
The sum actually invested this year rose by nearly 9 percent to $7.4 billion. Several experts said that the disbursement of around $1.1 billion a month is a good indication of Vietnam’s good business environment and policies and investors’ trust in them, especially considering that FDI inflows had almost stopped in the early months of the year.
