The southern province of Dong Nai attracted 567 million USD of foreign investment in the first five months of 2013, fulfilling 61 percent of its yearly target, the provincial Planning and Investment Department has reported.

Of the 34 newly licensed projects in the province in the January-May period, 15 projects are funded by Japanese businesses with registered capital totalling 162 million USD.

The province has so far granted investment licences to 1,343 projects with a total registered capital of 23.4 billion USD, including 1,034 ongoing projects capitalised at 19 billion USD.

Businesses from 35 countries and territories have invested in Dong Nai, including the Republic of Korea , Japan , Taiwan , ASEAN countries, the EU and America .

Japanese enterprises have shown increasing interest in the province, with a rising number of enterprises investing in the locality.

Over the past years, Dong Nai has driven FDI to major areas of high-tech and supporting industries, as well as high value added and environmentally friendly projects.

Besides, it has limited investment in projects with a high risk of causing environmental pollution and industrial zones that lack adequate water treatment systems.

In a gloomy macro economy, Dong Nai has focused on stepping up administrative reforms and improving the quality of its human resources and infrastructure system, while concentrating on tackling obstacles and difficulties faced by enterprises investing in the province.-VNA