The registered investment capital included US$5.6 billion for 504 projects licensed in the reviewed period, said FIA Chief Phan Huu Thang on August 25.

He stressed that the new investment capital was equivalent to just 10.8 percent of the same period last year.

In the reviewed period, investors saw an increase in capital for their 149 existing projects of US$4.8 billion, up 3.8 percent against the same period last year.

“The rise in existing investment capital shows investors are confident of the likelihood that the Vietnamese national economy will recover and in its potential for development,” said the foreign investment chief.

The most optimistic sign coming from FDI in the aforementioned period was that US$6.5 billion was disbursed. The figure was equivalent to 91.8 percent of the same period last year.

The official commented that with this pace of disbursement, the country is likely to fulfill this year’s goal of disbursing 9 billion USD of FDI.

According to FIA, foreign investors were greatly interested in hotel and restaurant, 20 projects newly-registered were capitalised at US$755 million and three existing projects saw their capital go up by a combined US$3.8 billion in these fields.

The manufacturing and processing industry surpassed the real estate sector in terms of new capital, with two new steel production projects, by the China Steel Corp (Taiwan-China) and Sumitomo Metal (Japan), registering as much as US$1.14 billion.

In the reviewed period, the US became Vietnam’s largest investor with US$3.95 billion, followed by Taiwan with US$1.35 billion and the British Virgin Islands with US$1.24 billion. There are 35 countries and territories investing in Vietnam.

The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau topped other localities in FDI attraction during the period, drawing in US$6.48 billion. It was followed by Ho Chi Minh City (US$1.04 billion), the southern province of Binh Duong (US$755 million), Hanoi (US$367 million) and the southern province of Dong Nai (US$281 million).