A customer care services centre of Star Telecom, a joint venture between Lao Asia Telecom and Viettel in Laos. Việt Nam’s overseas investment dropped by 54.5 per cent over the same period last year to US$189.6 million in the first nine months of this year. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Chương

Việt Nam’s overseas investment was modest in January - September, dropping by 54.5 per cent over the same period last year to US$189.6 million, according to statistics of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

One hundred and five new projects were granted investment licences in the period, with a total registered capital of $177.5 million, down by 27.5 per cent against the same period last year. Twenty existing projects increased their registered capital by $12 million, down by 93 per cent.

Vietnamese investors are investing in 15 sectors abroad, mainly in mining ($58.6 million) and processing and manufacturing ($34.7 million).

Vietnamese investments are present in 27 countries and territories. Holland is the top destination with a total investment of $54.6 million in the nine-month period. Laos comes the second with $43.5 million, followed by the US with $41.8 million, Cambodia with $21.8 million, the UK with $20.4 million and Indonesia with $6.3 million.

So far, Việt Nam has poured nearly $22.1 billion into 1,772 projects abroad. More than 31.8 per cent of the capital flows are going into the mining industry and 15.3 per cent into agro-forestry-fishery sector.

Laos is the biggest recipient of Vietnamese investment, accounting for 24.9 per cent of the total capital, followed by Cambodia with 13.3 per cent.

The ministry said that Việt Nam’s overseas investment is slowing down due to the impact of difficulties within the global economy and Vietnamese economy. — VNS