Foreign direct investment (FDI) pledged in Vietnam witnessed a significant yearly increase of 52 per cent to 1.9 billion USD in the first month of this year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

January’s FDI disbursement rose 9.3 per cent year-on-year to 1.55 billion USD. Meanwhile, the capital pledged for stake acquisitions reached 761.8 million USD, up 114 per cent compared to the same month last year, the data noted. As per the data, foreign-invested enterprises continued to record a trade surplus of $1.83 billion during the month despite modest decreases of 5.1 per cent and 1.3 per cent in export and import turnovers, respectively. Among 51 countries and territories investing in Vietnam in January, Japan remained the leading investor with nearly $364 million, making up 19 per cent of the nation’s total FDI. It was followed by the Republic and Korea and China.-VNA