Hanoi - Vietnam has attracted foreign direct investment pledges of 5.3 billion dollars so far this year, down 30 per cent from the same period last year, a government official said Thursday.
Le Hai Van, deputy head of the Statistics and Policy Division of Vietnam's Foreign Investment Agency, said that amid the current global economic downturn, the figure was an encouraging sign despite its drop.
'This reflects that foreign investors are still optimistic about the development potential of our economy,' Van said.
About 1.5 billion dollars of the money involved 68 new investment projects. The other 3.8 billion dollars came from increases in the registered capital of 10 already existing projects.
