In the first four months of 2013, the northern central coastal and central coastal provinces have led in foreign direct investment (FID) attraction.

According to statistics from the Foreign Investment Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam has attracted 8.2 billion USD from foreign investors in the reviewed period, a 17 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Remarkably, the FDI flow has shown a change in direction, with the northern central coastal and central coastal regions surpassing other regions to lead in FDI attraction, followed by the northern midlands and mountainous region, the southeast and Red River delta.

Two provinces prominent in FDI attraction in the central coastal region are Thanh Hoa with the Japanese-invested Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex valued at 2.8 billion USD and Binh Dinh with a bus assembly project valued at 1 billion USD.

Preferential policies on infrastructure investment and enterprise operations, and continuously-organised investment promotion activities have increased the provinces’ attraction, said experts.-VNA