With the newly licensed 1.2 billion USD Samsung Electro-Mechanics project in northern Thai Nguyen province, the flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Vietnam looks likely to witness a robust growth this year.

The new factory is the sixth billion-dollar project (accounting for both newly licensed and capital- increased projects) in Vietnam so far this year.

In the first nine months, FDI to Vietnam (both new capital and capital added one ) was posted at over 15 billion USD. As much as 8.3 billion USD of that figure came from billion-dollar projects in northern Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen and Hai Phong provinces, and central Thanh Hoa and Binh Dinh provinces.

Thanks to Samsung’s new project in October, the total FDI in the first 10 months will be secured at a minimum of 16.2 billion USD, a considerable increase from 10.49 billion USD of the corresponding period last year and the target of 13–14 billion USD for 2013.

The situation is even more promising when considering that the Vung Ro oil refinery project is set to receive a licence in October to raise its investment capital from 1.7 billion USD to 3.18 billion USD. In addition, a 2 billion USD project of Thailand ’s Amata Corporation to build an urban area is expected to be licensed at the end of this year.

Chairman of the Vietnam ’s Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises Nguyen Mai hailed the level of capital disbursement – 8.62 billion USD – in the nine month period, a yearly increase of 6.4 percent, and the attraction of big projects from large groups like Samsung and LG.

According to the National Financial Supervisory Commission, the progressively stable and improving macro economy has helped regain foreign investors’ confidence in Vietnam .

HSBC bank said that the vigorous inflow of FDI has improved the country’s export and import in the last nine months and is a positive signal for continued economic development.-VNA