Pic: Shutterstock
In Q1 2025, 401 projects registered capital adjustments—up by 44.8 per cent YoY, with the additional investment volume totalling nearly $5.16 billion—almost 5.1 times the figure in the corresponding period last year.
Additionally, there were 810 instances of foreign investors contributing capital or purchasing shares—an 11.6-per cent YoY increase, amounting to nearly $1.49 billion—up by 83.7 per cent YoY.
FDI disbursement hit $4.96 billion—a 7.2-per cent rise, with the bulk channelled into the manufacturing and processing sectors, accounting for nearly 62 per cent of total registered capital—up by 26 per cent YoY.
This is the highest level of FDI disbursement recorded in the first quarter over the past five years.
However, experts feel that to draw more FDI, comprehensive measures, including stronger reforms in all fields, are needed, a domestic news agency reported.
Freshly registered FDI in Q1 2025 reached only $4.33 billion—down by 31.5 per cent YoY.
According to the Foreign Investment Agency, the situation improved in March, with newly registered capital surging by 66.5 per cent compared to the January figure and nearly 2.4 times that of the February figure. The number of new projects also increased by 42.7 per cent month on month (MoM) and 18.4 times that of the February figure.
The overall decline was mainly due to a lack of large-scale projects, but the downturn in new capital registration showed signs of moderation, from the 48.4 per cent in the first two months and 43.6 per cent in January alone.
Encouragingly, the surge in adjusted capital (up by 407 per cent YoY) and share purchases (up by 83.7 per cent (YoY) offset the fall in new registrations, especially since the average size of new projects was smaller. Overall, total FDI influx for Q1 2025 rose by 34.7 per cent YoY.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)