Vietnam is estimated to lure nearly 4.1 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first eight months of this year, decreasing one percent over the same period of last year, according to local agency Thursday.

Of the investment, roughly three billion dollars come from 421 newly-licensed projects, down 33.5 percent in project number but up 1.5 percent in registered capital, said the Foreign Investment Department under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

In the eight-month period, the country is estimated to nearly attract 1.1 billion dollars of FDI in 216 operational projects.

Foreign-invested enterprises in Vietnam are estimated to post revenues of 18.3 billion dollars from January to August, surging 24.7 percent over the same period of last year, the department said.

Vietnam is expected to attract FDI worth 6.8 billion dollars next year, up from anticipated 6.5 billion dollars this year. Of the FDI in 2007, between five and six billion dollars is expected to be fresh investment, and the rest additional capital of operational projects, it added.

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 dollars worth of FDI in 2005, up 40.2 percent over 2004. As of July 20, it housed 6,427 foreign-invested projects with total registered capital of over 54. 6 billion dollars.

Source: Xinhua