The Viet Nam - Singapore Industrial Park in the southern Binh Duong Province. Singapore has become one of the top foreign investors in Viet Nam. -- Photo thesaigontimes.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Singapore became one of the top three foreign investors in Viet Nam by the end of February, with a total investment capital of US$33 billion.

This was revealed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

Singapore has so far invested in 1,379 effective investment projects in Viet Nam, with total investment capital pegged at $33 billion, and is the third largest investor among 101 foreign investors in Viet Nam after South Korea and Japan.

According to the FIA, the average capital scale for a Singaporean project in Viet Nam stood at $24 million, higher than the average capital scale of each foreign investment project at $14 million, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Most investment capital from Singapore was concentrated in the processing and manufacturing industry and property, the FIA said.

Singaporean investors have invested in 18 out of 21 economic sectors in Viet Nam, mainly in the processing and manufacturing industry, with a total registered capital of $13.37 billion ploughed into 426 projects (accounting for 40.5 per cent of a total registered capital of Singapore in Viet Nam).

Singapore's next big investment target is the real-estate sector with a total registered capital of $10 billion channelled into 74 projects, accounting for 30.1 per cent of Singapore's total registered capital in Viet Nam.

Other key investment sectors included accommodation and catering services, construction and entertainment, with a total registered capital of $1.88 billion, $1.86 billion and $1.78 billion, respectively.

Investors from Singapore have invested in Viet Nam, mainly based on the model of wholly invested projects, with 995 projects worth $20.75 billion holding 63 per cent of the total Singaporean registered capital in Viet Nam. Meanwhile, 27 per cent of these projects are joint ventures, joint stock companies and have entered business cooperation contracts.

Singaporean projects are located in 44 provinces and cities nationwide, but are concentrated in Ha Noi (226 projects worth $4.17 billion – holding 12.6 per cent of the Singaporean total registered capital) and HCM City (686 projects worth $9 billion – accounting for 27.3 per cent).

During the first two months of this year alone, Singapore had 12 newly-invested projects and eight projects ramping up investment capital for Viet Nam, with the total registered capital pegged at $71 billion. Singapore became the sixth largest investor in Viet Nam during the first two months of this year, said FIA. — VNS