Foreign direct investment (FDI) poured into Vietnam during the first quarter of 2021 increased compared to the same period last year despite complex developments of COVID-19, which was a relatively positive result but is not sustainable, an insider has said.
Vietnam attracted 10.13 billion USD in FDI in the first quarter of 2021 (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Foreign directinvestment (FDI) poured into Vietnam during the first quarter of 2021 increasedcompared to the same period last year despite complex developments of COVID-19,which was a relatively positive result but is not sustainable, an insider hassaid.
In Q1, the country attracted 10.13 billion USD inFDI, up 18.5 percent year-on-year. Of the figure, 4.1 billion USD wasdisbursed, rising 6.5 percent.
Nguyen Van Toan, Vice Chairman of the VietnamAssociation of Foreign Invested Enterprises, told the Cong Thuong (Industry& Trade) newspaper that foreign investment is yet to be sustainable sincegrowth was concentrated in March, with nearly 5 billion USD registered.
He highlighted a liquefied natural gas-fuelledpower plant worth 3.1 billion USD invested by Singapore in the Mekong Deltaprovince of Long An. This major project was granted an investment registrationcertificate on March 19, providing a strong boost to FDI inflows in March andQ1 as a whole.
In addition, most investment during the periodstill came from traditional partners like Singapore, the Republic of Korea,Japan, and China, while that from the US and Europe remained modest. Giventhis, there weren’t any breakthroughs in FDI flows during the first threemonths, he went on.
Considerable improvements have been recorded inFDI disbursement, Toan noted, with disbursed capital increasing each year, from12.5 billion USD in 2014 to 20.3 billion USD in 2019 and then 19.98 billion USDin 2020 despite the pandemic.
However, he also pointed out that total registeredFDI in Vietnam has to date reached 388.8 billion USD, but only 234.36 billionUSD or 60.2 percent has been disbursed. Disbursed capital in Q1 accounted forjust 40 percent of registered investment.
It is disbursed capital, not registered capital,that shows FDI is flowing into the economy, according to Toan.
To narrow the gap between registered and disbursedcapital, he suggested, the Government, ministries, sectors, and localitiesshould adopt more effective and stronger solutions in the time ahead./.
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Vietnam attracted 10.13 billion USD in FDI in the first quarter of 2021 (Photo: VNA) 
