Vietnam sees foreign investment rise to $4.1b in first quarter

Vietnam received $4.1 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first three months of 2021, up 6.5 per cent from a year earlier, government data showed on Saturday.

FDI has been a key driver of Vietnam’s economic growth. Companies with investment from foreign firms account for about 70 per cent of the southeast Asian country’s exports, reports Reuters. 

FDI pledges — which indicate the size of future FDI disbursements — rose 18.5 per cent from a year earlier to $10.13 billion in the January-March period, the government said in a statement.

Of the pledges, 49.6 per cent would go to manufacturing and processing, while 38.9 per cent are to be invested in electricity distribution, it added.

Singapore was the top source of FDI pledges in the period, followed by Japan and South Korea.