US firms continue to pour funds into local industries

A view of US technology giant Intel's plant in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park in HCM City. US enterprises have invested in 17 out of 21 industries in Viet Nam. Photo dantri.com.vn

American investors have poured US$4.68 billion into 17 accommodation and food service projects, accounting for 42.3 per cent of the total US investment in Viet Nam, the Nhan Dan (People) newspaper quoted a source as saying.

The manufacturing and processing industry was their second choice, with an investment of $2.24 billion in 323 projects, accounting for 20.3 per cent of the total US investment in Viet Nam.

By March 20, the United States had 735 valid projects in Viet Nam, with a total registered capital of over $11 billion, ranking seventh among 101 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian country. The average capital per project was $15 million, which was higher than the average capital invested in a foreign direct investment (FDI) project in Viet Nam at $14.3 million.

During the first quarter of 2015, eight new US projects were licensed and two existing projects were approved for expanding capital with a total newly registered and supplemented capital of nearly $70 million, ranking seventh among 33 countries and territories investing in Viet Nam during the first quarter of this year.

The statistics from the Foreign Investment Agency showed that 74.8 per cent of the US investment in Viet Nam was channelised into wholly US-owned projects and 23.5 per cent of investment was guided into joint-venture projects, while a small percentage of investment went to joint stock companies and business cooperation contracts.

American investors are present in 42 of 63 provinces and cities nationwide, with 18 projects worth $5.3 billion in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, making up for half of the total US investment in Viet Nam.

Hai Phong was the runner-up, attracting 13 projects valued at $1.2 billion, while the Binh Duong Province came in third with 970 projects worth $780 million.