Vietnam attracted over $6.17 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) as of 20th March, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.4%.

This is according to the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

During this time, 644 new projects were given investment certificates, with a total registered capital of $4.77 billion, a 23.4% increase in projects, and 57.9% in value year-on-year, VN Express International reports.

A combined sum of $934.6 million was recorded to be injected into 248 ongoing projects, with an additional $466.2 million designated for stake purchases and capital contributions.

Furthermore, the disbursed foreign investment increased by 7.1% in Q1, reaching $4.63 billion, according to the agency. This signals that the disbursement is expected to sustain its positive trend going forward.

Foreign investors directed capital into 17 out of 21 economic sectors, with the manufacturing and processing industry leading the way, accumulating a total registered capital of $3.93 billion. This represents a slight decline of 1.3% compared to the same period last year.

Following the manufacturing and processing industry, the real estate sector ranked second with a total registered capital of $1.58 billion, marking a substantial increase of 2.1 times compared to the figure from last year.

This was followed by the wholesale and retail industry with an investment of $224.8 million and the science and technology sector with $190.2 million in investment.

The influx of foreign investment stemmed from 62 countries and territories. Singapore emerged as the largest investor in Vietnam during the period, with a total registered capital exceeding $2.55 billion, marking a significant increase of 51.3%. Hong Kong followed closely behind, with $1.05 billion in investment, which was 2.3 times higher than the previous period.

Moreover, Hanoi emerged as the top destination for FDI, experiencing an influx of $970.8 million, representing a remarkable increase of 6.1 times compared to the same time last year. Following closely behind was the northern province of Bac Ninh, which attracted $745.2 million in investment.