Feed is produced at a Thai-invested plant in Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Zone in southern Dong Nai Province. The region climbed to number four on the list of provinces attracting the highest volume of foreign direct investment. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam

DONG NAI (Biz Hub)— The southern province of Dong Nai climbed to number four on the list of provinces attracting the highest volume of foreign direct investment (FDI), with US$19.64 billion flowing into the province by October 20, according to the Foreign Investment Agency.

The province exceeded its yearly FDI attraction target in the first 10 months of 2013 with a total investment capital of more than $1 billion and 1,056 projects, the agency added.

Investors from as many as 36 countries and territories have invested in Dong Nai, with the lions share coming from Taiwan, the Republic of Korea and Japan. Investors from the ASEAN community, Europe and America were also ploughing investment into the province.

Japan, the province's third highest investor, poured a massive $3 billion into local projects in the hi-tech and support industries.

The results follow intensive efforts by Dong Nai to promote investment, including preferential policies to lure foreign investors, said provincial Planning and Investment Department director Bo Ngoc Thu.

The province has indicated a clear priority to develop hi-tech and support industries in the region, targeting value adding projects that are environmentally-friendly and energy efficient, she added.

Dong Nai has also created a healthy and transparent business environment, with administrative reforms and direct support to foreign investors.

The province is also looking to address concerns of environmental sustainability, with a particular emphasis protecting the Dong Nai River from high-polluting projects.

Backing up these claims, Dong Nai withdrew investment licences from 354 FDI projects ($4.4 billion) with inadequate waste water treatment facilities.

Viet Nam brought in $19.2 billion in FDI in the first 10 months of this year, a whopping 65.5 per cent more than last year's figure, according to the General Statistics Office.

As many as 52 countries and territories have launched new investment projects in Viet Nam since the beginning of this year. — VNS