Vietnam is estimated to have attracted a record 60 billion U.S. dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first 11 months of this year, the local newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing the source with Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

During November, 726 million U.S. dollars was pumped into 106 new FDI projects, bringing the total amount of newly-registered FDI capital absorbed by Vietnam to 59 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2008, a seven-fold rise over the same period last year, said MPI's Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

In November alone, FDI disbursement reached 950 million U.S. dollars, bringing the total amount of FDI disbursement to 10 billion U.S. dollars so far this year, a year-on-year increase of 44.2 percent.

Vietnam is likely to attract up to 65 billion U.S. dollars in FDI in 2008, three-times higher than last year's figure. FDI disbursement is expected to peak at 11 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 37 percent year-on-year, said FIA director Phan Huu Thang.

However, FDI commitment in Vietnam in 2009 is forecast to decrease, but still reach at least 30 billion U.S. dollars, and FDI disbursement is expected to reach 12-13 billion U.S. dollars, or 9-12 percent more than this year's figure, said Thang.

Malaysia has become so far this year the biggest among 44 foreign investors in Vietnam, with registered FDI capital of more than 14 billion U.S. dollars, followed by Taiwan with 8.6 billion U.S. dollars and Japan with 7.2 billion U.S. dollars.

(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2008)