HANOI: Vietnam attracted around US$5.5 billion of foreign investment in January and February this year, down 15.6 per cent against the same period last year, reported Xinhua news agency citing the country's General Statistics Office report Tuesday.

Specifically, Vietnam licensed 126 new foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with total registered capital of over US$3.3 billion, down 74.8 per cent in quantity and 33.9 per cent in capital year on year.

Over the two months, foreign investors also spent US$543.1 million buying shares and contributing capital to Vietnamese firms, down 34.4 per cent year on year.

A total of US$2.5 billion of FDI was disbursed in the period, up 2 per cent against the first two months of 2020, said the office, adding that 71.8 per cent were for the processing and manufacturing sector, 15.6 per cent for the real estate, and 6.1 per cent for the electricity, gas, hot water, steam and air conditioner production and distribution.

Among 46 countries and regions with newly licensed investment projects in Vietnam during the period, Japan was the largest source of registered capital with nearly US$1.5 billion, followed by Singapore with US$861.1 million and China with US$374.9 million, said the office.

-- BERNAMA