Vietnam attracted US$8 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) during the first seven months of this year, down by 67% year-on-year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency's latest statistics.
A total of 584 new foreign-invested projects, worth US$5.2 billion, were granted licences during the period, about 56% of the number at the same time last year.
However, capital added to existing projects surged. More than 230 projects registered to increase their capital by a total of US$2.83 billion, a yearly increase of 5.2%.
During January-July, FDI disbursement almost equalled that for the same period last year, reached US$6.25 billion or 99.2% of last year's figure.
Of the 49 countries and territories supplying FDI to Vietnam, Japan remained the largest source of foreign investment. Japanese investors registered to invest US$4.29 billion, making up 53.4% of total FDI.
Samoa surprisingly came second, pumping in US$890 million or 11% of total FDI. It was followed by the Republic of Korea with more than US$600 million and Hong Kong with US$492 million.
The processing and manufacturing industry took lead in term of investment capital, gobbling US$5.5 billion or 68.5% of total national FDI.
Southern Binh Duong province's US$1.2 billion Tokyu Binh Duong urban area, the largest in seven months, lifted real-estate to second position at US$1.61 billion.
The retail trade and repair sector attracted the third largest FDI amount at US$314 million.
In January-July, the southern provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai, the northern port city of Hai Phong, northern Bac Giang province and the economic hubs of Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi remained the most attractive locations for foreign investors.
(VNA)