Vietnam will focus less on the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) registered capital, but more on FDI disbursement next year, expecting to dole out 10-11 billion USD, said an official.

The country sets a target of attracting 15-16 billion USD of FDI registered capital in 2012, with a focus placed on improving the projects’ quality and efficiency, and enhancing the State’s management, said Do Nhat Hoang, Head of the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment at a press briefing in Hanoi on Dec. 30.

Areas for investment will also be carefully selected, with priorities to infrastructure, "green" industries that are friendly to the environment, supporting industries, and high-tech industries of highly global competitiveness. Meanwhile, limit will be in non-production areas that may increase the imports or pollution.

In 2011, Vietnam attracted 14.7 billion USD in FDI, down 26 percent from the previous year, but total disbursement hit 11 billion USD, the same as in 2010, which accounted for nearly 26 percent of the total social investment. The FDI sector contributed 3.5 billion USD to the country's remittances, up 15 percent year-on-year.

Industry and construction lured 76.4 percent of the total FDI capital, while the real estate accounted for only 5.8 percent, down from 34.3 percent in 2010.

By Dec. 25, there are 13,667 FDI projects operating in Vietnam with a total registered capital of 198 billion USD.

Singapore is the largest foreign investor with a total registered capital of 24 billion USD, followed by the Republic of Korea , Japan , and Taiwan .

The southern economic hub of Ho Chi Minh City took the lead in attracting FDI capital with 32.67 billion USD, followed by the oil-rich province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Hanoi capital city, and southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong./.