During the period, foreign investors also registered to pump nearly $5.67 billion into 587 projects, equal to only 62.7 per cent of that invested in the same period last year. Of the investments, 455 were newly licensed projects with a total registered capital of $4.4 billion and the remaining 132 were existing projects accepting additional capital totalling $1.27 billion.

Processing and manufactur-ing topped the list of foreign direct investment targets, with 205 projects and $3.3 billion of registered capital, accounting for 58.8 per cent of the country’s total FDI registered capital in the first six months. The construction industry followed with 54 projects totaling $474.8 million.

Among 38 countries and territories invested in Viet Nam in the first six months of the year, Singapore was the largest investor with $1.33 billion, followed by South Korea and Hong Kong with $673.6 million and $631.8 million, respectively.

Attracting $1.47 billion of FDI registered capital in the first six months, HCM City was the country’s biggest destination for foreign investors. The southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Ha Noi ranked the second and third with $550.1 million and $498.5 million, respectively.

The agency also reported foreign invested firms fetched $22.95 billion from exports in the first half of the year, up 31.1 per cent over the same period last year. The firms also spent $21.36 billion for imports during the period, up 29.5 per cent.

Despite a decline in FDI attraction during the first half of the year, industry insiders expect a rebound, especially from Japan, in the coming months.

Director of the Foreign Investment Research Centre Phan Huu Thang said that many Japanese investors had recently sought further information on investing in Viet Nam, especially in the support industry, due to difficulties they faced in the wake of the recent tsunami.