A precision springs production line of Advanex Viet Nam Company Ltd in the northern Hai Duong Province. The processing and manufacturing industry remained the top destination for FDI. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$19.2 billion poured into Viet Nam through October 20, 2015, a whopping rise of more than 40 per cent over the same period last year.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), Viet Nam had 1,657 new FDI projects during the period with a total registered capital of more than $12.4 billion, increasing by respectively 27 per cent and 25 per cent.

Of note, some $11.8 billion were disbursed, up 16.3 per cent against a year ago.

The processing and manufacturing industry remained the top destination for FDI which attracted $12.4 billion during the period, or more than 64 per cent of the country's total registered FDI. The property sector came third with total registered capital worth $2.1 billion.

Attracting more than $2.5 billion in registered capital, southern Tra Vinh Province earned the distinction of being the province that attracted FDI among 47 provinces and cities, according to the GSO.

There were more than a dozen provinces and cities that failed to attract FDI in the first ten months of this year. The problem had been addressed by the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment last month.

Malaysia was the top FDI investor in Viet Nam from 59 countries and territories with an investment of $2.4 billion, followed by Korea with more than $2 billion, the United Kingdom with $1.2 billion, and Japan with $1.1 billion.

Viet Nam is expected to attract $23 billion registered FDI this year with disbursed capital of $12.5 billion. Last year, the country attracted more than $20 billion in FDI. — VNS