HCM City posts continued FDI expansion in five months

During the period, 330 projects worth US$393.92 million received investment registration certificates, up 16.6% in the project number and 14.7% in investment capital from the same period last year.Processing and manufacturing attracted the biggest foreign investment, US$127.79 million, accounting for 32.4% of total capital and rising by 4.2% year on year. Property business ranked second with US$121.66 million, making up 31% of the total and rising threefold. About US$78.47 million was poured into the wholesale, retail and repair of automobiles, motors, motorcycles and other motorised vehicles, which made up 20% of total FDI, down 15.4% from the same period last year.Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea was the largest foreign investor in the southern economic hub of Vietnam in the five months with US$111 million, accounting for 28.2% of total capital. It was followed by Singapore (US$100.85 million, 25.6%), Norway (US$70.08 million, 17.8%), Japan (US$39.18 million, 10%), and Hong Kong of China (US$30.5 million, 7.7%).Ninety-three FDI projects raised their capital by US$258.48 million, up 14.8% in project number and down 10.3% in investment capital.The city also permitted 882 foreign investors to register US$1.19 billion to contribute capital, buy shares and buy capital owned by domestic investors in businesses.Between January and May, 16,493 new enterprises with total registered capital of VND185.5 trillion (US$8.1 billion) were set up in HCM City, up by 6.5% in the business number but falling 4.3% in registered capital, the Department of Planning and Investment noted.