Vietnam Jan FDI disbursement up 5 pct to $420 mln
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Foreign investors disbursed an estimated US$420 million in Vietnam this month, a rise of 5 percent from last January, the Planning and Investment Ministry's foreign investment agency said on Wednesday.
Pledges of new investment and increased capital for existing foreign direct investment projects plunged 84.3 percent from a year ago to a combined $187.6 million after a fall of 17.8 percent in full year 2010, the agency said in a report.
The FDI data is preliminary, compiled by the agency on the the 24th of each month.
Foreign direct investment in Vietnam is expected to be between $11 billion and $11.5 billion this year, unchanged to slightly higher than in 2010, while new pledges were expected to rise 16 percent to $20 billion, the government said in December.
Foreign direct investment, remittances from overseas and aid money are an important source of foreign exchange for Vietnam, helping offset its trade deficit.
Overseas remittances are expected to rise at least 6 percent this year to $8.45 billion, a government report said early this month.
