Foreign direct investment pledges go down

This year's FDI inflow inched down by 5 percent against last year to US$10.5 billion.

Director of the Ministry's Foreign Investment Agency Do Nhat Hoang said that FDI in the manufacturing and processing sectors- the focal points of Vietnam's FDI attraction policy - had increased remarkably this year.

According to the ministry, manufacturing and processing were the most attractive industries to foreign investors this year with a registered capital of US$8.9 billion, accounting for 70 percent of the country's total registered capital.

Several large projects are taking shape in these industries, including a US$ 870 million electronic components project supervised by Taiwan's Wintek and a US$830 million mobile phone project for Samsung of the Republic of Korea.

The real estate industry followed closely behind with US$1.8 billion, 14.5 percent of the country's total registered capital.

Japan was reported to remain the largest investor with total registered capital of more than US$ 4 billion, followed by the Republic of Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The southern province of Binh Duong was the most attractive destination to foreign investors this year with more than US$1.63 billion, making up 20.9 percent of the country's total registered capital.

It was followed by the northern city of Haiphong, the capital city of Hanoi and the southern province of Dong Nai, with more than US$1.11 billion, US$618.8 million and US$468.7 million, respectively.

Planning and Investment Minister Bui Quang Vinh said that the country's goal for FDI pledges next year would be US$14-15 billion, of which US$10-11 billion would be disbursed.

As the continuous global economic slowdown could affect the country's FDI attraction target, experts recommended that the country intensify administrative procedures to ease investors' spirits.
Human resource development, especially in the areas of science and technology, could also make the country more attractive to foreign investors, experts said.