The southern province of Dong Nai saw a record 86.4 per cent disbursement of foreign direct investment (FDI) last year equivalent to US$1.6 billion.

To set this in context, only $20.5 billion of the $28 billion FDI the province has received so far has been disbursed.

“Last year Dong Nai Province attracted $1.85 billion worth of FDI, 185 per cent of the target,” Nguyen Huu Nguyen, deputy director of the province Planning and Investment Department, told Viet Nam News Agency.

“With the high disbursement ratio, the investment has essentially come into the economy.

“FDI enterprises have accelerated disbursement for quickly bringing projects on stream to take advantage of the tax incentives under the free trade agreements between Viet Nam and its partners.”

Mai Van Nhon, deputy head of the province’s Board of Industrial and Processing Zones, said: “In 2019 the province will continue to be choosy about FDI investment, saying no to polluting, labour-intensive projects and those with obsolete technologies.”

The province is focusing on green, clean and high-tech FDI projects, he said.

“We will pay attention to ensuring high efficiency of investment and tax revenues.

“Other factors like value of output, productivity and investment disbursement proportion should also be paid attention to when granting investment certificates.” – VNS