AsemconnectVietnam - In January of this year, Vietnam had attracted more than 2.36 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI), an increase of 40.2% over the same period of 2023, according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

In the period, 190 new projects were granted investment registration certificates, an increase of 24.2% over the same period last year, with a total registered capital of more than 2 billion USD, 66.9% higher than that of the same period last year.
The sharp increase in the number of projects and the appearance of large-scale projects (with an investment of more than 600 million USD each) were one of the main factors driving the sharp increase in foreign investment capital.
In addition, 75 projects registered to adjust investment capital with more than 235.4 million USD added, down 15.7% and 23.1% respectively.
The month also saw foreign investors contribute more than 116.5 million USD to make 174 share purchases, down 14.7% and 33.1% respectively over the same period last year.
Foreign investors disbursed 1.48 billion USD during the month, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%.
In terms of investment fields, foreign investors invested in 15 industries out of 21 national economic sectors. Of that, the real estate sector attracted the most with more than 1.27 billion USD (53.9%) and the processing and manufacturing industry ranked second with nearly 926 million USD (39.2%). They were followed by the science and technology sector with 65.2 million USD and wholesale and retail with nearly 54.5 million USD.
The wholesale and retail sector attracted the highest number of new projects (accounting for 38.9%) and capital contribution to purchase shares (accounting for 49.4%).
Companies from 39 countries and territories invested in Vietnam in January of 2024. Of them, Singapore led with more than 1.4 billion USD, accounting for 59.5% of total investment capital. Japan came second with nearly 297 million USD.
The foreign investors invested in 35 provinces and cities across the country. Hanoi attracted the most FDI this month with over 867 million USD, or 36.7% of the total registered investment capital and 39.7 times higher than the same period in 2023. Ba Ria-Vung Tau ranked second with nearly 282 million USD, followed by Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, and Dong Nai.
The FDI sector's trade surplus reached over 3.5 billion USD in January of 2024
Overall, in January of 2024, the foreign invested enterprise sector had a trade surplus of over 3.5 billion USD including crude oil and a trade surplus of 3.4 billion USD excluding crude oil.
The total imports and exports of Vietnam reached 650 billion USD in the first month of this year, the trade surplus reached more than 25 billion USD in January 2024, and the total trade surplus of Vietnam reached 0.38 billion USD in the month.
According to the data from the Foreign Investment Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment), the export turnover of the foreign investment (FDI) sector increased in January of 2024.
Specifically, exports including crude oil were estimated at more than 24.82 billion USD, up by 7.8% over the same period last year and accounting for 73% of the country's export turnover. The exports excluding crude oil were estimated to reach 27.7 billion USD, up by 7.9% over the same period of 2023, accounting for 72.6% of the country's export turnover.
Also in January of 2024, the imports of the foreign-invested enterprise sector were estimated to reach 21.3 billion USD, up by 37% over the same period of 2023 and accounting for 63.6% of the country's total import turnover.
Overall, in January of 2024, the foreign invested enterprise sector had a trade surplus of over 3.5 billion USD including crude oil and a trade surplus of 3.4 billion USD excluding crude oil. Meanwhile, the domestic business sector had a trade deficit of more than 3 billion USD.
Previously, in 2023, the exports (including crude oil) of the foreign-invested enterprise sector were estimated to reach nearly 258.8 billion USD, accounting for 73.1% of Vietnam's total export turnover in 2023. The exports excluding crude oil were estimated at more than 256.9 billion USD, accounting for 72.6% of the country's export turnover.
The imports of the foreign-invested enterprise sector were estimated to reach more than 210 billion USD, accounting for 64.2% of the country's import turnover in 2023. Although export turnover decreased in 2023, the FDI sector still had a trade surplus of nearly 48.8 billion USD including crude oil and nearly 46.9 billion USD excluding crude oil. Meanwhile, the domestic business sector had a trade deficit of more than 21.9 billion USD.
Vietnam got a turning point after 35 years of FDI attraction
During the 35-year journey of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, Vietnam has continously improved institutions and incentives to attract and better manage domestic and foreign investment resources. The expansion of economic diplomacy activities by the Party and Government in recent times has created more opportunities for Vietnam to attract high-quality capital flows into new industries.
In 2023, Vietnam attracted 36.6 billion USD of FDI, an increase of more than 32% over 2022. Of which, newly registered capital reached more than 20 billion USD, up 62.2%; supplemented capital reached nearly 7.9 billion USD, down 22.1%; and the total value of capital contribution by foreign investors was over 8.5 billion USD, up 65.7%.
Vietnam now has a great opportunity to attract investment like the period of the country’s joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO). But the difference is that at this time, it sees many opportunities to attract high-quality capital into new industries. In the context of the global FDI slowdown, Vietnam is trying to implement effective solutions to attract high-quality FDI flows, including preparing conditions to to receive investment projects in the semiconductor supply chain.
According to Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, to implement the Vietnam-US Joint Statement on upgrading bilateral relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, regarding cooperation in the semiconductor industry, Vietnam has actively perfected its one-stop-shop mechanism and built a project to develop human resources in the semiconductor industry which aims to to train 50,000 engineers by 2030.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment has established the National Innovation Centre to receive investment projects in the semiconductor industry with the highest incentives. The National Assembly has also assigned the Government to conduct a comprehensive review to synchronously complete the system of policies and laws on investment promotion.
Vietnam’s main investment incentives focus on three categories, including corporate income tax, import and export taxes, and land financial incentives.
The investment attraction policy has paid off as the FDI sector has made significant contributions to the country’s socioeconomic development. In particular, several large FDI projects which were granted tax incentives such as Samsung projects in Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen, have contributed significantly to Vietnam’s exports over recent years.
Specifically, total export turnover from Samsung projects in Vietnam reached more than 30 billion USD in 2015, accounting for 20% of Vietnam’s total export revenue. In 2022, the respective figures were 65 billion USD and 8.9%, making a considerable contribution to the country's economic recovery and development process.
According to the World Bank, Vietnam can pursue policies to attract large-scale multinational corporations with high production capacity and close links with the global value chain, thanks to its strengths in political stability, favourable geographical location and great economic openness when Vietnam has joined 15 new-generation free trade agreements.
However, the Ministry of Planning and Investment also pointed out some limitations in current investment policies. For example, investment incentives are mostly based on income but not on costs, which does not encourage substantive, long-term investment activities.
Vietnam’s investment incentive policies have not yet kept pace with advanced policies and international practices. In addition, several investment policies have been stipulated in the law, but there are no specific instructions for implementation, leading to no effect in practice. Tax incentives are also stipulated in many different tax laws, causing difficulties during implementation and increasing compliance costs.
CK
Source: VITIC/Vietnamplus.vn/haiquanonline.com.vn