Foreign capital inflows fell whereas disbursed capital rose in the first 10 months of 2022, showing the strong commitments of foreign-invested companies to the country, the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment reported.
The total newly-registered capital, adjusted capital, and capital contribution and share purchase stood at 22.46 billion USD in the January-October period, down 5.4% year-on-year.
One bright spot was disbursed capital, which topped 17 billion USD in the first ten months of the year, over 15% higher than the same period last year. It was expected to hit 22 billion USD by the year-end.
Adjusted capital, as a single item itself, reached over 8.7 billion USD, up more than 23% year-on-year.
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According to the Foreign Investment Agency, foreign investors invested in 18 out of 21 sectors of the economy during the period. Of which, processing and manufacturing took the lead in terms of foreign investment.
Singapore ranked number 1 with 5.3 billion USD, accounting for 23.8% of the total foreign investment into the country, followed by Japan and the Republic of Korea, the Vietnam News citied a report from Foreign Investment Agency.
EuroCham Chairman Alain Cany highlighted the attractiveness of the country as an investment destination despite a challenging global economic environment.
“I can see that in the investors’ minds, Vietnam has become not only a country of cheap labor but a country for sustainability, development, and investment,” Cany told reporter.
Cany’s view was echoed by Secretary-General of the OECD Mathias Cormann, who considered Vietnam an appealing option for foreign investors to diversify regional and global supply chains.
The latest Business Climate Index (BCI) from EuroCham showed 42% of European companies expect to expand their investment in Vietnam in late 2022.
Cormann noted Vietnam has become a bright spot in a dim global economic picture, thanks to adequate infrastructure, a friendly business environment, and success in Covid-19 control.
He anticipated that the Vietnamese economy will continue its upward trend in the coming times, with his own forecast of the country’s GDP above 6% in 2022 and beyond.
This encouraging performance, according to Cormann, would come from the positive foreign capital inflows, as businesses from OECD members come to Vietnam to diversify their supply chains, the Hanoi Times reported.