Construction of LG factory of Korea with a total investment capital of $1.5 billion in Hai Phong province. — Photo VNA

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Viet Nam drew US$17 billion worth of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the past nine months of the year, the planning and investment ministry said.

The figure represents a year-on-year increase of more than 53 per cent.

It includes $11 billion worth of 1,432 newly licensed projects, up 44 per cent over the same period last year. The remaining capital came from 461 FDI projects that received licences to increase their investment capital, a year-on-year increase of 73 per cent.

The ministry said during a meeting on September 26 that there was a sharp increase in FDI in the past nine months in comparison with the same period last year, as a result of large-scale projects that were granted licences in August and September.

These projects include the Duyen Hai 2 thermal power plant by a Malaysian investor with a total investment capital of $2.4 billion in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh, and the $3-billion expansion of Korea's Samsung Display Project in Bac Ninh Industrial Zone.

The FDI disbursement in the nine-month period reached nearly $10 billion, a year-on-year rise of eight per cent.

Foreign investors invested in 49 provinces and cities during the period, with Bac Ninh continuing to be the top FDI destination in the country, followed by HCM City and the southern Dong Nai Province.

The Republic of Korea is still the leading investor in Viet Nam, followed by Malaysia, the United Kingdom and the British Virgin Islands, according to the ministry's Foreign Investment Agency.

Manufacturing and processing continued to be the most attractive sector, with real estate coming in second place.

Viet Nam has set a goal of luring $23 billion FDI this year, with FDI disbursement expected to hit approximately $12.5 billion. — VNS