The southern province of Dong Nai has so far this year attracted 1.35 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI), up 35 percent compared to its yearly target and 20 percent year-on-year.

According to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment, the province licensed 67 new projects with total registered capital of 651.3 million USD, while 68 existing projects were allowed to add a combined 700 million USD.

The FDI disbursement in 2013 reached 970 million USD, increasing 7.8 percent from the yearly plan, raising the province’s cumulative disbursement to over 13 billion USD, or 67.6 percent of the total registered capital.

Dong Nai’s success was to lure FDI in hi-tech and environmentally friendly projects and those in the support industry. In 2013, these projects accounted for 74 percent of the total new investment.

These outcomes were attributed to the increase of investment promotion activities, especially in Japan, making the country a leading investor in the province with a newly registered and added investment of 465.7 million USD.

It was followed by the Netherlands with 298.9 million USD and the Republic of Korea with 277.1 million USD.

Statistics from the Department of Planning and Investment shows that by December, the province had 1,059 valid projects worth 19.5 billion USD.-VNA