Malaysia ranked 12th among the countries and territories investing in Viet Nam in 2018 with total registered capital hitting US$435.54 million, according to the Vietnamese trade office in Malaysia.

The country pumped $254.76 million into 41 new investment projects in Viet Nam from the start of 2018 to December 20, while its investors added $27.47 million in total to their capital at 13 existing projects.

Malaysian investors also spent $153.31 million buying shares in Vietnamese companies. Malaysia’s accumulated investment in Viet Nam as of December 20 reached nearly $12.48 billion in 586 projects, ranking 8th among 129 economies investing in the country.

Two-way trade value between Viet Nam and Malaysia last year expanded more than 14 per cent on a yearly basis to nearly $11.5 billion.

Of the volume, Viet Nam’s imports from Malaysia were worth nearly $7.45 billion, up more than 27 per cent from 2017, while exports dropped to around $4.05 billion. Viet Nam ran a trade deficit of $3.4 billion with Malaysia. Major imports included petrol and oil, computers, electronics goods and parts, which reached over $1 billion. Computers, electronic products and parts from Viet Nam experienced a sharp drop of more than 32 per cent. — VNS