Vietnam has so far this year attracted fresh foreign direct investment (FDI) worth over 2.6 billion U.S. dollars, posting a year-on-year rise of 21 percent, according to a local foreign investment agency on Wednesday.

In the period, the country licensed nearly 400 projects with investors mainly coming from Germany, Spain, South Korea, Japan, China's Taiwan and the United States, said the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Between January and July, Vietnam's southern economic hub, Ho Chi Minh City, lured most of FDI, followed by Hanoi capital, the northern province of Hai Duong, and the three southern provinces of Ba Ria Vung Tau, Dong Nai and Binh Duong.

To entice more FDI, the Vietnamese government and localities will create a more liberal investment environment and lower charges, especially those on telecommunications and air transport services, said the department.

Vietnam is expected to lure 6.5 billion U.S. dollars of FDI this year, up from nearly 5.9 billion dollars last year, said Nguyen Anh Tuan, vice head of the department.

As of June 20 this year, Vietnam housed 6,390 foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of over 53.9 billion dollars.

Source: Xinhua