Manufacturing and processing was the biggest FDI attractor in the first two months of 2013 as it attracted an additional 44 FDI projects and a total FDI capital of US$408.9 million in this period.

According to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, from January 1 to February 20, 2013, Vietnam attracted 99 FDI projects with a total registered capital of US$532 million, 46.1 percent of that during the same period last year, while 31 FDI projects increased their registered capital by US$98.3 million – 19.7 percent of that in the same period of 2012. This means that Vietnam attracted an additional US$630 million in FDI (both newly licensed and increased capital) from January 1 to February 20, 2013, 38.1 percent of that in the same time last year.

FIA analyzed that FDI in the first two months of 2013 is just 38.1 percent of that in the same time last year because in February 2012 alone Vietnam licensed a number of large FDI projects, including the US$574 million Bridgestone Vietnam tire production project, the US$180 million Oshima Shipbuilding Vietnam Company Limited project and the US$150 million Lock and Lock Living Company Limited project; meanwhile, few large FDI projects totaling less than US$100 million in capital each were licensed in February 2013, these included the US$98 million Terumo BCT Vietnam project from Japan, the US$80 million Shink Mark Hospital project in Dong Nai Province of Radiant City from Samoa and Shink Mark from Chinese Taipei, and the Thai US$50 million Pruksa Vietnam Company Limited project in Hai Phong City.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, a number of leading foreign economic groups intended to invest in Vietnam; with the Samsung group intending to invest US$2 billion in Thai Nguyen Province.

Although FDI in the first two months of 2013 decreased compared to the same time last year, there were more positive signs in terms of FDI capital disbursement. About US$1.05 billion in FDI were already invested in the first two months of this year, up five percent from the same period of last year. A survey of Japanese businesses operating in Asia and Oceania shows that although they weren’t really satisfied with the Vietnamese business environment, 65.9 percent of Japanese businesses in Vietnam said that they would expand their businesses in the country. With US$258 million in newly licensed and increased capital (40.9 percent of all FDI that Vietnam attracted in the first two months of 2013), Japan ranked first among 25 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in the first two months of this year.

Since early this year foreign investors have invested in 14 industries and sectors in Vietnam. Manufacturing and processing was the biggest FDI attractor as it attracted an additional 44 FDI projects and a total FDI capital of US$408.9 million, both newly licensed and increased capital, accounting for 64.9 percent of all registered FDI capital that Vietnam attracted in the first two months of this year.

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