Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam is estimated to surge 49.2 percent, a record year-on-year rise since 1999, to nearly 3.5 billion US dollars in the first eight months of this year.

Vietnam has so far this year licensed 490 foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of over 2.2 billion dollars,up 12.6 percent and 88.8 percent, respectively, the Foreign Investment Department under the country's Ministry of Planning and Investment told Xinhua on Friday. Meanwhile, Vietnam lured 1.2 billion dollars worth of additional capital from 328 operational projects, posting respective increases of 7.9 percent and 24 percent, the department said, noting that the country is likely to attract FDI of 5 billion dollars this year.

Of the fresh FDI in the 8-month period, 1.1 billion dollars are to be poured into the industry sector, and 1 billion dollars into services. Up to three fourths of the investment are to go to the capital of Hanoi, southern Ho Chi Minh City, and the two southern provinces of Binh Duong and Dong Nai.

Vietnam now houses over 6,600 operational FDI projects with total registered capital of some 62 billion dollars, with Asia accounting for around 70 percent of the capital.

Source: Xinhua