While Vietnam’s foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals dropped by 22.5 percent in the first two months of this year, new FDI pledges in Ho Chi Minh surged 170.5 percent year-on-year, The Saigon Times reported.

The city licensed 41 fresh projects with total capital of 421.7 million USD in January-February, up 180 percent in value against a year ago, the paper quoted sources from According to the municipal Department of Planning and Investment as saying.

Besides, the investors of 20 operational FDI projects registered to increase their capital by 84.6 million USD.

In all, the FDI capital pledged for new and operational projects in the first two months of the year amounted to 506.3 million USD, up a staggering 170.5 percent year-on-year.

The Foreign Investment Agency said the city attracted more FDI than other parts of the country in the period.

Experts projected that FDI approvals in HCMC will rise in the remaining months of the year.

Investments of domestic enterprises were notable in the first two months when 3,826 firms were established with total capital of some 18.298 trillion VND, up 58 percent in number and 34.7 percent in value.

Besides, about 6,660 enterprises expanded their business operations with additional capital of around 21.77 trillion VND, up 49.6 percent and 66.7 percent respectively.

Registered fresh and additional capital of domestic enterprises in the city in the period picked up 50.4 percent to over 40.07 trillion VND.

The number of suspended enterprises in the first month of the year declined 40.8 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the HCM City Department of Planning and Investment.-VNA