The Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the ministry remarks that FDI disbursement had shown a tendency to increase in 2010. The figure increased from US$400 million in January to US$700 million in February, then doubled to US$1.4 billion in March.

Experts said this was an encouraging sign in the context of the global economic turbulence. According to FIA, this figure is a high result in FDI disbursement, especially so early in the year.

Ministry officials as well as industry experts have therefore suggested placing greater emphasis on FDI disbursement in 2010, especially in production-oriented areas.

It is predicted that FDI disbursement will reach US$11 billion this year, slightly more than last year’s amount of US$10 billion.

However, new FDI pledges fell strongly in the first three months this year, compared to the same period of last year.

Vietnam attracted nearly US$2.14 billion in fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) this year, including the newly registered funds and extra capital from operational projects, a sharp fall of almost 71% from the same period last year.

The ministry said only US$1.92 billion was committed to nearly 140 fresh FDI projects, down by 40.9% and 40.5% respectively.

As for operational projects, during these three months, 41 projects were approved to increase capital, with additional capital of US$215 million, equal to only 5.2% of the added capital in the year-earlier period.

The Southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau continues to top the list of provinces attracting FDI, with registered capital of more than US$902 million, followed by HCMC, which claimed US$448 million.

The central province of Quang Ngai ranks third with an investment certificate for PetroVietnam Oil Stockpile Limited Company to build the country’s largest underground oil depot worth US$340 million. The project is a joint venture between subsidiaries of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group and two foreign partners, Hong Kong’s ESPECO Company and South Korea’s SK Company.

The U.S remains Vietnam’s largest investor, with US$980 million in registered capital, followed by South Korea with US$585 million, and Singapore with US$147 million over the last three months.