HANOI, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's newly-registered foreign direct investment (FDI) remained high in the first quarter (Q1) of this year at over 4.77 billion U.S. dollars, up 57.9 percent year on year, Vietnam News Agency reported Thursday, citing the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
The country's total registered FDI in Q1, including new pledges, additional investment funds to existing projects and equity acquisition, surged 13.4 percent year on year to over 6.17 billion dollars, said the agency.
Do Nhat Hoang, the agency's director, said many major projects in battery production, photovoltaic cells, silicon bars, electronic components and product manufacturing attracted new investment in Q1.
According to Vietnam News Agency, the international community including many multinational corporations made an optimistic assessment on Vietnam's business investment environment.
Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said electronic, semiconductor chip, and smart manufacturing are Vietnam's top priority areas for attracting investment.
Last year, Vietnam attracted around 36.6 billion dollars in foreign investment, a rise of 32.1 percent year on year, said the General Statistics Office. ■
