Japan has replaced South Korea as the largest foreign country or territory investing in Vietnam as the Southeast Asian nation’s multi-billion dollar projects continue to attract investment from overseas.

Vietnam’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first half of 2017 totaled US$19.22 billion, according to the latest statistics from the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The figure was 54.8 percent higher than last year’s, largely thanks to over $7 billion in FDI reported in June alone.

Of the sum, $11.83 billion was poured into new projects, up 57.9 percent year-on-year, while $5.14 billion was added to ongoing projects, a rise of 35.8 percent from 2016.

The remaining $2.24 billion came from 2,501 capital contribution and share purchase deals made by foreign investors, which saw a 97.6 hike compared to the first half of 2016.

Two particular megaprojects in the energy sector played a heavy role in the remarkable FDI growth over the past six months, according to the report announced by the Foreign Investment Agency.

The Nghi Son 2 thermal power plant in Thanh Hoa Province attracted over $2.79 billion in capital investment from Japan, allowing it to reclaim its place as Vietnam’s largest FDI investor in the first six months of 2017.

Japan invested $5.08 billion in total in Vietnam during that period, accounting for 26.45 percent of the Southeast Asian country’s reported FDI over the months.

South Korea was not far behind with $4.95 billion in Vietnam-directed investment, making up 25.79 percent, while Singapore ranked third at 18.1 percent with $3.48 billion in investment.

The second megaproject was the Nam Dinh 1 thermal power plant in Nam Dinh Province in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam.

The $2.07 billion project was funded by a Singaporean developer.

The two projects helped make energy the second most FDI-attractive sector of Vietnam in the first two quarters of 2017, having received $5.21 billion in foreign capital and accounted for 27.34 percent of Vietnam’s total FDI in the period.

Manufacturing continued to attract the most FDI, having contributed 49.3 percent to the country’s total FDI in 2017’s first half with $9.48 billion in foreign investment.

Since the beginning of this year, $7.72 in FDI has been disbursed, up 6.5 percent from last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

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