A corner of Bac Giang Province which lures the lion share of FDI with $562 million in January. — Photo baochinhphu.vn

Foreign investors poured nearly US$2.02 billion into Viet Nam in the first month of this year, down 62.2 per cent from January 2020, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

Of the sum, $1.3 billion was pumped into 47 newly-licensed projects, representing a yearly decline of 81.8 per cent in the number of projects and a reduction of 70.3 per cent in level of capital.

Meanwhile, $472.2 million from 46 existing projects registered to add capital, down 40.3 per cent in the number of projects but up 41.4 per cent year-on-year in term of capital.

During the month, capital contributions and shares purchases by foreign investors stood at $220.8 million, down 58.7 per cent.

In a bright spot, disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) in January saw a slight yearly increase of 4.1 per cent to an estimated $1.51 billion, according to the FIA.

Foreign investors pumped capital into 14 sectors in the month, with processing and manufacturing holding the lead at nearly $1.54 billion, accounting for 76.4 per cent of the total.

The real estate sector ranked second with nearly $179 million, making up 8.9 per cent of the total. It was followed by transport and warehousing and agro-forestry-fisheries sectors with $112 million and $60.4 million, respectively.

Singapore topped the list of the 33 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam in January, with $681 million, equivalent to 34 per cent of the total. Mainland China came next with $618 million or 31 per cent, followed by Hong Kong with $222 million or 11 per cent. Other foreign investors came from the US, South Korea and Netherlands.

The FIA said the northern province of Bac Giang lured the lion's share of FDI with $562 million, representing 28 per cent of the total. Two provinces of Tay Ninh and Nghe An were the runners-up with $349 million or 17.3 per cent and $200 million or 9.1 per cent, respectively, followed by HCM City, Bac Ninh Province and Da Nang City.

In January, foreign-invested businesses earned $19.6 billion from exports, surging 52.3 per cent from the same month of last year and making up 73 per cent of the nation's total export turnover. At the same time, the firms spent $17.3 billion on imports, up 47 per cent year-on-year or equivalent 64.3 per cent of total import value. That resulted in a trade surplus of $2.3 billion.

Last year, FDI registered in Viet Nam experienced a yearly decline of 25 per cent to hit $28.53 billion due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said many foreign-invested enterprises in the country have gradually recovered and maintained business and production activities. More importantly, many others have shown strong interest in investing in Viet Nam.

Statistics from the MPI showed nearly 300 international companies were seeking investment opportunities in Viet Nam or expanding their operations in the country. Of them, more than 60 firms have made initial steps in investing or expanding presence in the nation. — VNS