With more than 75 per cent of registered FDI in January, electricity production and distribution leads other industries in FDI attraction. — Photo baocongthuong.vn

Viet Nam raked in US$5.3 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first 20 days of 2020, a year-on-year surge of 179.5 percent, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The figure includes $4.5 billion funneled into 258 new FDI projects, up 454.1 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively, while the remainder came in the forms of additional FDI, capital contributions and share purchases by foreign investors.

Singapore was Viet Nam’s biggest foreign investor in the month with over $4.05 billion, representing 90.9 percent of the total FDI.

Last year, the Southeast Asian country ranked third with $4.5 billion, following the Republic of Korea in first place ($7.92 billion) and Hong Kong (China) in second ($7.87 billion).

Viet Nam welcomed about $38.02 billion in FDI in 2020, a 10-year high and a 7.2 percent increase on a yearly basis. — VNS