Vietnam’s first quarter foreign direct investment up 7.8% from a year ago

Vietnam received $4.42 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first quarter, up 7.8% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said on Monday.

FDI has been a key driver of Vietnam’s economic growth. Companies with FDI account for around 70% of the Southeast Asian country’s exports.

FDI pledges — which indicate the size of future FDI disbursements — fell 12% in the January-March period from a year earlier to $8.9 billion, the ministry said in a statement.

Of the pledges, 59.5% are to be invested in manufacturing and processing, while 30.3% would go to real estate, it said.