However, disbursement had a tendency to decrease month-by-month since Tet (Lunar New Year holiday), from $1.4 billion in March to $1 billion in April and only $900 million this month, the ministry’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) said.

This month also witnessed the lowest level of new FDI with only $322 million coming from 51 new foreign-invested projects, an 80 per cent drop against the previous month’s figure.

FIA director Do Nhat Hoang declined to comment on the slump yesterday.

During this month, 13 existing projects were allowed to increase their capital by a total of $343 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 50 per cent in capital but a slump of 53 per cent in the number of projects.

The latest addition has brought the total of FDI registered during January-May to $4.7 billion, down 76.5 per cent against the same period last year, FIA said.

The foreign-invested sector saw an estimated five-month export turnover of $16 billion, up 33.7 per cent year-on-year. The sector also experienced an export surplus of $1.4 billion.

Despite the country’s gloomy picture of FDI attraction, FDI influx into HCM City still increased by 67.5 per cent to reach $1.52 billion during the first five months of this year, the municipal Department of Planning and Investment said.

During the period, the city granted licences to 123 new foreign-invested projects worth $1.33 billion, up 61 per cent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, it also approved capital increases valued at $193 million for 42 operating projects, a 126 per cent surge against the same period last year.