Pledged foreign direct investment in Vietnam slumped 32.3 percent during the first three months of the year to US$178.6 million, state media said yesterday.
The number of projects also fell by 48 percent, with only 79 projects licensed, the Nhan Dan daily said.
Seventy-six percent of the total flowed into the industrial and construction sectors, with most of the projects located in the southern provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Ba Ria-vung Tau close to the commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City.
The figures confirm an overall trend showing foreign investors have not felt comfortable with Vietnam's economical and political environment these last years.
Last year, pledged foreign direct investment into Vietnam plummeted 41.1 percent compared with the previous year to US$1.33 billion across 669 projects, with South Korea leading the foreign investor pack followed by Taiwan and Hong Kong.
In an attempt to improve the investment climate here Hanoi has consistently reduced telephone charges, licensing fees and administrative bottlenecks for foreign companies.
During a conference in Hanoi in early March, experts underlined the necessity for the country to improve its foreign investment environment. They said transportation, utilities, communications and the banking system all needed to be improved.
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