HANOI, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Foreign direct investment (FDI) to Vietnam in the first three months of this year hit over 6 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 63.6 percent year on year, reported the Vietnam General Statistics Office on Monday.
Meanwhile, the FDI projects disbursed 2.7 billion U.S. dollars during the period, up 7.1 percent compared to the same period last year.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), from the beginning of this year to March 20, 191 new FDI projects were granted licenses, with a total registered capital of over 2.9 billion dollars, up 2.2 percent year on year; 71 on-going projects expanded investment with a total capital of 3.1 billion dollars, up 3.7 times over the same period last year.
During the 3-month period, foreign investors invested in 15 sectors, mostly in the processing and manufacturing industries with 84 new FDI projects, capitalized at over 5.53 billion dollars, accounting for 91.8 percent of the country's total FDI attraction.
Real estate was followed with newly registered and expanded capital of 249.8 million dollars (4.1 percent). Whole sale and retails, and repairs services came next with 85.2 million dollars.
Japan remained the largest investor out of 31 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the first quarter, having newly registered and expanded capital of over 3.15 billion dollars, accounting for 52.3 percent of the country's total FDI attraction, followed by Singapore with 2.27 billion dollars (37.8 percent) and South Korea with 156.9 million dollars (2.6 percent).
Central Thanh Hoa province ranked top among 28 localities nationwide in luring FDI in the first three months, with an expanded investment of 2.8 billion dollars to the Nghi Son oil refinery, accounting for 46.4 percent of the country's total FDI. Northern Thai Nguyen came second, having over 2 billion dollars ( 33.4 percent), and southern Binh Duong province with 385.9 million dollars.
According to MPI, major FDI projects granted licenses in Q1 included the Nghi Son Oil refinery in central Thanh Hoa province, with expanded capital of 2.8 billion dollars; the Samsung Electronics Vietnam in Thai Nguyen province having 2 billion dollars investment in producing and assembling electronic appliances; the VSIP project, worth 199.6 million dollars, in southern Binh Duong province in construction of a complex of houses and offices for rent.
Besides, the Terumo BCT Vietnam Co. Ltd. in southern Dong Nai province by Japanese investor Terumo Corporation had 98 million dollars in manufacturing medical equipment; the Shink Mark by Samoa's Radiant City and Shink Mark of China' Taiwan in Dong Nai Province in building hospitals worth 80 million dollars.
During the 3-month period, the FDI sector pocketed 19.2 billion U.S. dollars from the exports (including crude oil), up 25.6 percent year on year and making up 64.8 percent of the country's total export value. If crude oil excluded, the figures are 17.3 billion dollars, 27.1 percent, and 58.48 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, it spent 16.14 billion dollars for the imports, up 25.5 percent, and accounting for over 55.2 percent of the country' s total import value.
As a result, the FDI sector earned a trade surplus of over 3.1 billion dollars, compared to the country's trade surplus of 481 million dollars, reported the MPI.
Vietnam set a target to attract 15 billion U.S. dollars from the FDI in 2013, and disburse about 11 billion dollars.
In 2012, the country lured 16.3 billion dollars, up 4.7 percent year on year, while it disbursed 10.46 billion dollars, down 4.9 percent, according to the MPI.
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