Vietnam has so far this year attracted over 2.7 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI), dropping 0.6 percent over the same period last year, according to local foreign investment agency on Monday.

Of the investment, over 2.2 billion dollars came from 327 newly- licensed projects, representing respective year-on-year rises of 18.5 percent and 1.2 percent, said the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

In the period, the country lured additional 501 million dollars of FDI in 163 operational projects, posting year-on-year decreases of 42 percent and 23.5 percent respectively.

The biggest investors were mainly from South Korea, Japan, China's Taiwan and the United States, said the department. Foreign invested enterprises in Vietnam are estimated to post revenues of roughly 12.5 billion dollars in the first half of this year, surging nearly 17 percent over the same period last year.

To lure more FDI, the Vietnamese government and localities will create a more liberal investment environment and lower fee charges, especially on telecommunications and air transport service, deputy minister of Planning and Investment Tran Dinh Khien said at a recent press conference.

Vietnam attracted nearly 5.9 billion U.S. dollars worth of FDI in 2005, up 40.2 percent over 2004. As of May 20, it housed 6,341 foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of over 53. 6 billion dollars, said the department.

Source: Xinhua