Hanoi (VNA) –Vietnam granted investment licenses to 758 new projects worth 5.5 billion USDin the first quarter of 2020, up nearly 45 percent from the same period last year,according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning andInvestment.
The increase wasattributed to the attraction of the 4-billion-USD liquefied natural gas projectin the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu.
More than 230 existingprojects registered to adjust their capital with an additional 1.07 billion USD in the January-March period, equivalent to 82 percent of the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the value ofcapital contributions and shares purchases by foreign investors reached almost 2 billion USD, equivalent to 34.4 percent of the same time in 2019.
Meanwhile, FDI disbursementwas estimated at 3.85 billion USD, a year-on-year decline of 6.6 percent.
Foreign investorspumped capital into 18 sectors, of which the electricitygeneration and distribution took the lead with total pledged capital of over 4 billion USD,making up 47.5 percent of the total registered investment.
The processing andmanufacturing sector ranked second with total investment of 2.72 billion USD,followed by the retail and real estate with respective sums of 682 millionUSD and 264 million USD.
Singapore topped thelist of 87 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 4.54 billionUSD, accounting for 53.1 percent of the country’s FDI.
Japan came second with 846.7million USD, followed by China with 815.6 million USD.
The Mekong Deltaprovince of Bac Lieu was the most attractive among the 55 cities and provincesreceiving FDI with 4 billion USD, or 46.8 percent of the total.
The southern economichub of Ho Chi Minh City ranked second with total registered capital of 506.8million USD, followed by the capital city of Hanoi, southern Binh Duong and BaRia-Vung Tau provinces./.