The figure left Ho Chi Minh City, who ranked second with USD4.96 billion, far behind.
Of the FDI flow into Hanoi, USD945 million was poured into new projects, while USD578 million was added to existing ones and about USD5.33 billion was injected by foreign investors via capital contributions and share purchase.
Noteworthy projects in the period included the smart city project in Dong Anh district which costs more than USD4.2 billion, invested by a joint venture between BRG Group and Sumitomo Corporation of Japan. Hong Kong’s BeerCo Limited spent USD3.85 billion on acquiring a stake in Vietnam Beverage Co., Ltd, a local unit of Thai Beverage Public Co., Ltd. Meanwhile, Japan’s Meiko Electronics added USD200 million to its facility.
According to the municipal Department of Investment and Planning, the FDI capital flowed the most into property development, processing and manufacturing industry, trade and services, and telecommunications and information.
In October, the capital city licenced 91 new FDI projects, worth USD468 million, including 72 wholly foreign invested and 19 associate and joint venture ones.
The month also saw ground broken at the smart city project in Dong Anh district, the biggest FDI project in Vietnam so far.
The 272-hectare project stretches across over 11km along both sides of the Nhat Tan – Noi Bai Road.
It will be built in five phases, which are all scheduled to be operational by 2028, and will apply digital technologies including smart energy management, transportation systems, security management, classroom systems, economics and smart life.
The highlight will be the 108-storey financial tower, with the investors saying it will become a financial hub for not only Vietnam, but also Southeast Asia.
The Department of Investment and Planning said the FDI injection has been on a rise in Hanoi and was forecast to exceed USD8 billion this year.
The department’s director Nguyen Manh Quyen noted Hanoi prioritized high-quality projects that produce value-added products and are competitive in pursuit of sustainable development. Prioritized sectors include IT services, biotechnology, education, tourism, healthcare and logistics, he said.
Last year, Hanoi attracted USD7.5 billion worth of FDI, the highest among the country’s 63 provinces and cities, and more than twice as much as the 2017 figure.
Eighty percent of the city’s projects were wholly owned by foreign investors. The remaining were associate and joint venture businesses.
Japan was Hanoi’s largest investor with total capital of USD10.2 billion. The followers included Singapore (USD6 billion) and the Republic of Korea (USD5.5 billion).
